Bringing the Nation’s Husband Home - Chapter 825-849

Song Xiangsi didn’t start the car, but stared calmly ahead for a long while. She pulled open her bag and took out her test results. She saw two boxes of folic acid inside her unzipped bag.

Her period was always on time. Now it was a week late and still hadn’t come. Deep down inside, she had a bad feeling about it. Since she had no work this afternoon and Xu Jiamu was at the office, she took the opportunity to secretly go to the hospital for a check up. But in the end, she never imagined that her speculations were right—she was pregnant.

One month pregnant… that’s one month after Qiao Anhao got pregnant. Xu Jiamu’s baby was, so to speak, the baby in her belly. This baby would have to call Qiao Anhao’s baby ‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’.

She and Xu Jiamu always used contraception when they did it.

Even though they say that condoms aren’t a hundred percent effective, but they had been entangled together for seven years and she never once was successful with him. But who knew that she would now get into an accident.

Honestly speaking, she didn’t mind the arrival of the baby, after all, she wasn’t young. She used to fight so hard just to break out of poverty, but now she wasn’t poor anymore, and she didn’t want to be alone anymore in Beijing. She really wanted to start a family here, have a pretty baby, and be with him as he grew up. She wanted to be a normal woman and live out her days warmly and comfortably.

But the baby’s father had bought her for five million RMB seven years ago. After a week, it’ll be eight years, and yet in the end, he didn’t have the slightest interest in marrying her.

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At that thought, Song Xiangsi’s head slightly ached. Her eyes were filled with a touch of sadness as they stared at the pregnancy test report. For someone who has always been competent and striving for self-improvement, a touch of helplessness surfaced beneath her eyes.

After a long while, Song Xiangsi shoved the array of reports she was holding onto the backseat. She started the car up and slowly drove off.

She aimlessly followed the flow of the traffic. When the car in front of her stopped, she also stopped. When the car in front of her moved, she moved.

On the road, a lot of thoughts went through her mind. Should she call Xu Jiamu to tell him that she was pregnant and see if he wanted to take responsibility for the baby. He had never wanted to marry her, but if he wanted to marry her now because of the baby, then what? She loved him and wanted to marry him, but she wanted him to willingly marry her. What’s more, she didn’t want the baby in her belly to be used as a bargaining chip to force him to marry her.

Song Xiangsi let out a long sigh and realized that she had subconsciously drove to the entrance of Xu Enterprise.

She slowly let the car come to a stop. Through the window, she stared at the tall office block, and hesitated for a long time, before finally parking her car in the underground parking lot. Then, she shoved the check up report into her bag, picked it up, and got out of the car. She took the elevator up to the top floor.

Song Xiangsi had went to Xu Enterprise with Xu Jiamu a few times, so she knew where his office was.

Perhaps there was an event going on in the afternoon because the secretary’s office was completely empty, so she simply walked straight up to Xu Jiamu’s office.

The office doors were shut. Song Xiangsi pushed the doors open to find a desolate office with no one in sight.

She was just about to sit on the sofa inside to wait for Xu Jiamu when she heard the faint sound of a voice behind the office.

Song Xiangsi furrowed her brows.

Was there someone in the break room?

She picked her bag up again from the sofa, walked across the shaggy rug, and headed towards the break room. As she drew closer, she could clearly hear a female voice coming from inside. “Jiamu gege 1 , you promised me that you’d take me to the cinema today after work. How could you suddenly change your mind?”

Song Xiangsi stopped abruptly on the spot. The hand she used to carry her bag involuntarily tensed up.

The door to the break room was left half open. Even though she was quite a distance from it, she could still clearly see that there was a young and pretty girl lying spread out on the bed. She clutched Xu Jiamu’s arm, rocking it constantly side-to-side.

Xu Jiamu looked tired. He shut his eyes and didn’t bother with her.

The young girl pouted at him. “Jiamu gege, I came all the way over here to see you, but you haven’t spoken to me up until now, ah ah ah ah…”

As the girl whined on, she shook Xu Jiamu’s arm more aggressively.

Xu Jiamu was hassled to the point where he couldn’t sleep. He opened his eyes. “Qian Qian, quit messing around. I’m really tired. Isn’t there a company event downstairs? How about you go over and have some fun there first?”

“No!” Without even a second thought, the girl called Qian Qian shook her head in refusal. Then she laid her body over Xu Jiamu and tightly hugged his neck, saying, “Jiamu gege, Lu Jinnian and Sis Qiao Qiao are already getting married. When will we get married?”

When Song Xiangsi heard this, she felt a coldness creep up from the bottom of her heart and eventually envelop her entire body. Her burning heart froze shut.

She couldn’t take her eyes off of the two of them, and she stayed like that in complete silence for about half a minute, until she heard Xu Jiamu’s low voice. “Let’s talk about it after you’ve graduated university. Be good now, let me sleep for a bit.”

“Jiamu gege, I want the ceremony to be held in a church. What’s more, I’ve seen Sis Qiao Qiao’s wedding ceremony, it was so pretty. When the time comes, you have to give me the same wedding…”

When Song Xiangsi heard this, she finally reacted. At first, she lowered her eyes, then swiftly turned around. With light steps, she flew out.

Song Xiangsi didn’t know how she managed to get downstairs, but when she snapped out of it, she was already sitting in the car.

The lights in the underground car park were dim. It was silent int he car. Her whole body was frozen. Her mind was filled with Xu Jiamu and that girl’s conversation just now.

So, Xu Jiamu had a new fiance…

So, when he first came to find her, he truly never had the slightest desire to marry her…

She was too softhearted. In his arms, she was overcome by the sincerity of the holy mother, as he hugged her and said pitifully ‘I’m so tired’. She let her better judgment go, she let him live in her own home, and stayed with him through trying times.

To him, it didn’t matter if it was now or seven years ago, she was always a product that could be bought with money.

She thought too highly of herself. She assumed her charm was unbound. She assumed that he would fall in love with her.

Song Xiangsi’s chest started to heave. The next second, she suddenly pulled out her phone, and dialed the number for the gynecologist she had a check up with in the afternoon. “Dr. Jiang? It’s Xiangsi, book me an appointment. I want an abortion!”

“As soon as possible. … Next Wednesday? I can’t make it that day. It’s my friend’s wedding, I have to be there. … Alright, next Friday. … Goodbye.”

The moment Song Xiangsi hung up, she could no longer hold back her tears. Like a broken thread of pearls, they came crashing down, one drop after the other.

Seven years. From her naivety back then, to her maturity now, she gave him her very best.

And yet, she never had a good ending.

In one’s lifetime, one can be foolish, one can be lowly, but they can’t be repeatedly foolish and lowly.

She came from a poor background, a small mountain village. Even if she did sell her body to save her father, she was, after all, a woman who had sold herself… So how could she possibly be worthy of young master Xu, who was brought up by a rich and powerful family?

She could only blame herself for such an ending. She indulged in her own wild fantasies. It was all wishful thinking.

Song Xiangsi’s complexion turned pale white, and her whole body shook furiously. All of sudden, she grabbed the pregnancy test report and tore it to pieces. In the end, she even pulled out the folic acid from her bag, pushed the car door open, got out and walked over to the bin. Without so much as a blink of an eye, she threw it in there and went back into her car. She fastened her seat belt, then started the car up and sped off.

–

Qiao Anxia had a business dinner with a customer at China World Hotel tonight, and she never imagined that she would actually bump into Chen Yang, who she hadn’t spoken to in a month.

The customer was a little hard to deal with, as he constantly urged her to drink. Qiao Anxia could hold her liquor quite well, but she couldn’t withstand drinking non-stop from the moment they sat down.

Mid-dinner, she really couldn’t take it anymore. She instructed her secretary to stay with the customer while she found an excuse to leave the private room.

When Qiao Anxia shut the doors, the door to the private room opposite coincidentally opened. She instinctively lifted her head and took a glance. She saw a dapper Chen Yang dressed in an electric blue shirt with a smile on his face as he said “I’ll be right back” into his private room and casually shut the door.

Chen Yang turned around to see Qiao Anxia in front of him in the corridors. His expression froze for a moment, and he stood there still, staring at her intently.

Qiao Anxia stood calm and composed at the door. She looked back at Chen Yang for about a minute and noticed that he had no intention whatsoever to speak. She nonchalantly turned around and headed right for the restrooms.

Chen Yang stood at the door staring at Qiao Anxia’s back with darkness in his eyes.

To her, he was nothing at all… It wasn’t like they hadn’t argued or butted heads in the past, but every time, he would lower his head to her. All but this time, he always restrained himself. After a month of doing so, she never called him or even sent him a text. Now that they saw each other, she treated him like a complete stranger just like that…

At that thought, Chen Yang couldn’t help but shake his head. He wore a bitter smile for a moment, then followed behind her to the restrooms.

Qiao Anxia didn’t know if it was because she had a lot to drink, or if it was because Chen Yang was following behind her, just as she almost reached the restroom doors, her foot accidentally slipped, almost making her fall to the ground. Luckily, Chen Yang, behind her was just a meter away, and his reflexes were fast. He reached his arm out and caught her.

He asked with a worried tone in his voice, “Did you sprain your ankle?”

Qiao Anxia couldn’t quite say why, but after hearing Chen Yang’s voice, the tension that had built up inside her miraculously relaxed.

She was just as arrogant as usual, but her eyes couldn’t help but linger on Chen Yang for a little longer.

Seeing as she didn’t say a word, Chen Yang furrowed his brows and crouched down without a second thought, wanting to check her ankle. When suddenly, just as he was about to touch her shoe laces, he heard her coldly say, “Mr. Chen, I remember that we’ve broken up, do you think what you’re about to do is appropriate?”

Chen Yang’s hand stopped where he was crouched by Qiao Anxia’s feet. After about five seconds of silence, he suddenly got up, and stared deeply at her. Eventually, he gave her a nod, then said politely, yet in a removed tone of voice, “Apologies, Miss Qiao, for disturbing you.”

With that, Chen Yang shot Qiao Anxia a perfectly polite smile, then walked into the male restroom, leaving her standing dumbstruck.

Chen Yang actually left just like that?

In the past, whenever they butted heads, he would apologize to her every time, talk to her sweetly, and try to cheer her up, while she would put on a cold front. He obviously cared about her just now, so why did he suddenly walk off with a cold expression on his face?

Qiao Anxia stood there without moving an inch until Chen Yang came out of the restroom. Only then did she blink and call his name. “Chen Yang?”

He halted his footsteps, then looked over at her with nothing but an icy expression. “Is something the matter, Miss Qiao?”

Chen Yang deliberately emphasized those two words “Miss Qiao”. His tone of voice was so cold, it was like they were two people who had nothing to do with one another. Qiao Anxia gaped in bewilderment, not quite knowing what to say next.

Chen Yang seemed to have started to lose his patience. After a while, seeing as she didn’t speak, he politely and flatly said, “Apologies, Miss Qiao, but I have business to attend to. Excuse me.”

This time, Chen Yang didn’t bother waiting for her to react. He brushed right past and strode off.

Qiao Anxia suddenly turned her head to stare at Chen Yang’s back and realized that she was now even more panic-stricken than the night he broke up with her and left.

This time, he was different from before. He seemed to really be mad. Speaking precisely, it was like they had absolutely no relationship between them.

How strange… So what if they had nothing to do with each other, why was she so sad? So much so her heart ached?

Qiao Anxia walked into the restroom, feeling a little flustered. She went to the toilet, then walked over towards the sink, all while thinking about Chen Yang.

–

In truth, sometimes, reality is far more mystical than fiction.

Tonight, not only was Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang at the China World Hotel, Lin Shiyi was also there. What’s more, she and Chen Yang were at the same dinner party.

Lin Shiyi got out from a cubicle and walked over to the sink. As she touched up her make up in front of the mirror, she noticed that the person next to her was running her hands under the tap in a daze. She didn’t move for an awfully long time.

Lin Shiyi couldn’t resist her curiosity and sneaked two glances. When she realized that the person next to her looked a little familiar, she furrowed her brows and thought for a moment until catching on. Wasn’t this Qiao Anhao’s older sister, Qiao Anxia? Back then, she was almost disfigured by this woman!

She never imagined that it was such a small world, that they’d actually bump into each other today!

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At that thought, Lin Shiyi curved her lips into a smirk, and shut her compact with a sweet and charming smile. Then said, “Oh, isn’t this Miss Qiao Anxia? Truly long time no see.”

Deep in thought, Qiao Anxia didn’t hear a thing the person said beside her. She didn’t react at all.

–

On the contrary, the moment Qiao Anhao, who was also at the China World Hotel tonight, heard the three words “Qiao Anxia”, she was stunned for a moment. Then, she put her phone away.

Was that Lin Shiyi’s voice? Which went to say, Sis and Lin Shiyi were outside?

Qiao Anhao instinctively pulled out some tissue by her side, then heard Lin Shiyi’s voice again. “Ah, Miss Qiao can’t be too high and mighty to forget who I am, right?”

–

Lin Shiyi had to speak out twice, before Qiao Anxia snapped back to her senses. She gently rolled her eyes, and swept the other woman a neutral glance. She squeezed some soap out, rubbed her hands, and ran her hands under the tap. She wiped her hands dry, and looked like she was ready to leave.

How would Lin Shiyi let Qiao Anxia leave. She didn’t even have to think twice before running in front of her to block her way. “Miss Qiao, why are you in such a hurry to leave? I still have things I want to say to you!”

Qiao Anxia crossed her arms. Her entire posture seemed far more arrogant than Lin Shiyi’s, as she wore a slight smirk on her face without any care for hiding the disdain on her face. “… say to me? Are you even worthy?”

In the cubicle, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but burst out into silent laughter at Qiao Anxia’s words.

One could probably beat Qiao Anxia at anything, but when it came to comparing arrogance… she was clearly kindhearted, but her mouth was as hard as a rock.

Those words instantly angered Lin Shiyi. “Don’t you think it’s about time you stop pretending to be all miss high and mighty? Others have no idea, but I know that the man you love is married to your own sister. That feeling must really suck, right?”

Qiao Anxia’s face instantly ran ice cold.

In the cubicle, Qiao Anhao, who wore a cheerful expression on her face from what Qiao Anxia had just said, instantly froze over.

“Oh, isn’t that right? I hear Chen Yang also broke up with you?” Lin Shiyi’s words were riddled with pure bliss. “Didn’t he just throw you aside? Wasn’t that why you looked like you were in a daze just now? Let me tell you, don’t indulge in your wild fantasies, you can’t get Mr. Lu and you can’t get Chen Yang, either. To think about it, Miss Qiao you’re really quite pitiful. But, I think that perhaps Miss Qiao, you just think too highly of yourself. Don’t go thinking that because you’re the eldest daughter of a wealthy family that you have people wrapped around your finger…”

When Qiao Anhao heard this, a flame ignited within her. Without even thinking about it, she shot up from the toilet and pushed open the cubicle door. Right then, she smacked Lin Shiyi’s head over with her phone. “Lin Shiyi, shut your damn mouth. If you don’t say a thing, nobody will know how dumb you are!”

When the phone hit Lin Shiyi’s head, she yelped in pain. At the same time, Qiao Anxia turned her head towards Qiao Anhao.

She met eyes with her for just a second, before she turned away with a guilty conscience. Then she walked up to Lin Shiyi.

“Lin Shiyi, why don’t you just grow up! Every time you do this, you never win a thing, and you still keep popping up in front of people! I’ve truly never seen someone as cheap as you!”

“Also, you deliberately plagiarized my idea to perform the Zhao Feiyan’s drum dance for the Hollywood leading actress casting competition!”

“Qiao Anhao, save your slander! What evidence do you have to prove that I plagiarized your idea!” Under Qiao Anhao’s fire, Lin Shiyi looked particularly bad and her voice sounded extremely angry.

“Because I don’t believe that there are so many coincidences in the world, for you to coincidentally have the same idea, and to even coincidentally have an identical dance costume! At the time, I really couldn’t figure out how, but now I know. I’m afraid the problem is with the costume shop!”

Back then, Qiao Anhao had racked her brain over it. After a long while, she still couldn’t figure out where the problem was, but as she spoke with Lu Jinnian about it, she thought back to the costume tailors. They knew she was performing something related to Zhao Feiyan for the show. Though they didn’t know it was the drum dance, once Lin Shiyi accidentally caught wind of it, she could easily guess it was the drum dance. After all, it was the classic dance of Zhao Feiyan’s life.

“But don’t worry, Lin Shiyi. You don’t have to admit it, because in any case, in the end you still couldn’t get first place.”

With that, Qiao Anhao paused for a moment. She then copied Lin Shiyi’s gloating tone of voice towards Qiao Anxia and calmly said, “Yet, it must’ve been so hard for someone like who has never been good at dancing to practice just to try and hinder me. I trust those few days of practice must’ve been like hell, am I right? If you think about it, you’re truly pitiful… But then again, Lin Shiyi, I guess your skills in bed must be slightly better than your dancing skills, considering that you have to make all your ass kissing boyfriends happy…”

Since Lin Shiyi dared to pick at Qiao Anxia’s scars, then she couldn’t blame others for not being polite about things and unveiling her true face!

Since Lin Shiyi had already felt stifled by being beaten by Qiao Anhao every time, the blood drained from her face, as she was mocked so directly. Then, it was like she’d completely forgotten that Qiao Anhao was pregnant, and she didn’t think twice to bring her arm back and push it directly towards her face. “Qiao Anhao, you bitch! Shut your damn mouth!”

Lin Shiyi’s single slap on the face would of definitely knocked her over to the sink.

That sink was just about level with her abdomen. If Lin Shiyi used too much force, Qiao Anhao would definitely lose her baby…

Qiao Anhao was startled, but she didn’t dare fight back in fear that she would lose out, so she instinctively raised her hand to protect her belly.

She saw as Lin Shiyi’s hand drew closer. She heard the sound of the wind, and subconsciously shut her eyes.

Then, she heard the smack of a hand by her ear.

Her whole body shuddered uncontrollably for a moment, and yet she didn’t feel any pain on her face. Instead, she heard two slaps by her ear, which prompted her to open her eyes in curiosity. That’s when she saw an unbelievable sight.

Qiao Anxia had tightly clasped onto Lin Shiyi’s hurling hand, and standing in front of Qiao Anhao, she had an angry expression on her face. Without so much as a blink of an eye, she thrust a ruthless and heavy hand at Lin Shiyi’s face, slapping her a few times!

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Lin Shiyi was gifted ten solid slaps before they finally stopped. She was practically slapped silly, able only to stare at Qiao Anxia in astonishment, without any reaction at all. Her face swelled up considerably with imprints of fingers. Her delicately white skin looked noticeably hideous.

It was not until she felt the scorching pain on her face that she finally realized what had happened. She instinctively covered her face with her hand and stared at Qiao Anxia with eyes filled with tears. Full of hatred, she said, “Is there anyone like you? Dumped by Chen Yang, you take your shit mood out on me?”

“Pa—”

Before Lin Shiyi could finish, Qiao Anxia raised her hand again and slapped her across the face. This time, the force she used was quite stronger than before, for Lin Shiyi slammed hard against the wall. With a muffled thud, her head knocked against it.

Qiao Anxia didn’t even wait for Lin Shiyi to respond, before she trotted over in her high heels and pushed her up against the wall by her neck. She then forced her head up high, and staring right into her eyes said oppressively, “I remember telling you last time that it’d be best if you turned the other way when you saw either me or Qiao Anhao.”

Qiao Anhao, who stood about a meter behind them, heard her own name and instantly came back to her senses after seeing Qiao Anxia’s aggressive and rude response. She stared at her with uncertainty.

Did Qiao Anxia step in to stop Lin Shiyi because she was afraid the baby inside her was in danger?

“Let me tell you, that was just a warning. If you dare do this next time…” With that, Qiao Anxia paused for a moment, and an extra layer of coldness filled her eyes. “Oh, that’s not right. Not that if you have a next time, but what I mean to say is that from now on, you’d better hide far away if you ever see me or Qiao Anhao. If you ever bump into me on a good day, then perhaps I’ll let you off, but if it happens to be that I’m in a terrible mood, then I’ll take it out on you. And what will you do about it?”

As Qiao Anxia said this, she shot Lin Shiyi a deadly look. “Don’t look at me like that. Let me tell you, I Qiao Anxia fear nothing. If I say it, I will go through with it. If you don’t believe me, you can test it out next time!”

When she finished speaking, Qiao Anxia wanted to let go of Lin Shiyi’s neck, turn around, and leave, but from the corner of her eyes she saw Qiao Anhao behind her staring wholeheartedly at her through the reflection on the mirror. Qiao Anxia’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. If she left, then Lin Shiyi might just go crazy on Qiao Anhao. She couldn’t say for sure what would happen to her baby then…

Anxia tightly pursed her lips, then turned her head. The hand she used to throttle Lin Shiyi suddenly clutched the woman’s hair, and she dragged her arrogantly over to one of the cubicles.

The entire restroom was filled with Lin Shiyi’s painful cries. Qiao Anxia pretended to not hear a thing as she walked past the cleaning area and casually pulled out a mop. With a swing, she opened the cubicle, hastily shoved Lin Shiyi in, and shut the door. She pressed the mop tightly against it and let out a cold snort, then turned around and walked right out of the restroom.

When Qiao Anxia was about to brush past, Qiao Anhao called out, “Sis?”

She paused. Without turning back to look at her, she waited for about three seconds, then continued on her way out.

Behind them, Lin Shiyi’s aggressive shouting could be heard as she violently smashed against the door.

“Sis!” Qiao Anhao called out once more. She hurriedly ran after her, grabbing onto her elbow. “Sis, thank you for just now, if it wasn’t for you, I might have…”

“Why are you thanking me?” Qiao Anxia interrupted angrily, her voice icy cold. “I only did that because that slut was being rude to me, it had nothing to do with you!”

Qiao Anxia tried to pry Qiao Anhao’s hands off her elbow but her cousin only tightened her grip. Worried that she might hurt Qiao Anhao, she used another hand to pry off her fingers one by one.

Qiao Anhao wasn’t that strong. When Qiao Anxia was about to free herself, she quickly asked, “Sis, are you angry because of Lu Jinnian?”

Qiao Anxia paled instantly, and even her breathing started to speed up. She took a deep calming breath before tossing Qiao Anhao’s hand away. Hurriedly, she escaped out of the restroom.

Qiao Anhao bent down to grab the phone before running out after her.

–

After waiting for a long while, Lu Jinnian decided to call Qiao Anhao, but the call wouldn’t go through. With a worried heart, he headed to the restroom to find her. Just then, Qiao Anxia came rushing out. Instinctively, Lu Jinnian stopped, letting her brush past him. Moments after, there came a familiar voice calling out, “Sis!”

Lu Jinnian reached out to hug Qiao Anhao’s waist, afraid that she would fall. “What’s wrong?”

Ignoring him, she continued to shout “Sis!” but Qiao Anxia entered the lift without acknowledging her.

Qiao Anhao chewed on her lip and lowered her eyes as sorrow seeped onto her face.

Even though Lu Jinnian didn’t know what happened, he knew that she was definitely upset because of Qiao Anxia. Silently, he held her in his arms, comforting her.

After everything that happened, Qiao Anhao no longer had any appetite, so Lu Jinnian called for the bill and brought her out. When they were alone in the lift, she quietly explained everything that had happened in the restroom.

Lu Jinnian listened patiently, processing the details. After she finished explaining everything, she quietly added, “Anxia hit Lin Shiyi because of me.”

He nodded, silently, and reached out to caress her long hair affectionately.

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Lu Jinnian lowered his eyes, heartache and displeasure apparent in them.

Ever since the beginning, he hadn’t commented on the issue with Qiao Anxia. When they were home and Qiao Anhao was bathing, he reached for his phone to send her sister a text.

He never liked Qiao Anxia and had even once hated her, but because Qiao Anhao was so fond of her, he was willing to look past her flaws to protect their relationship. It was just like back when she had accidentally come across his will, from there, she realized that he valued Xu Jiamu a lot and had spent a great deal of effort to repair their relationship.

Their wedding would be held in a week, and even though she didn’t mention anything, he knew that she wanted Qiao Anxia to be her bridesmaid, to be there to give her blessings.

Lu Jinnian was ready to use all of his abilities to fulfill every wish she had.

–

Only after exiting the lift did Qiao Anxia realize that she forgot to take her wallet, coat, and car keys.

She paused for a while before deciding not to go back up. She reached for her phone and texted her secretary to bring her things to the office tomorrow. Placing the phone back in her pocket, she left the hotel.

The night was chilly, leaving her trembling in only a thin dress.

Without any cash, she used a phone app to call for a private car. Just then, she caught sight of Cheng Yang’s car.

Her expression turned dazed, her gaze following it.

As the car approached, a hard to explain anxiousness crept into her heart. Through the window, their eyes collided. There was a complex emotion in his gaze, something she wasn’t able to decipher for the first time. When the car was about to reach her, she started to feel expectant, hoping that he would stop his car. Instead, he drove right past mercilessly, without a seconds hesitation.

Instinctively, she turned around – the car was already far ahead, only its boot in sight. Her heart throbbed with an unfamiliar tearing pain. It was as though someone had dug right into her chest, ripping it out.

Qiao Anxia stood stationary until the private car she had ordered came. After boarding it, she fell into a daze once more.

The apartment was pitch dark. Qiao Anxia turned up the lights and scanned the surroundings. When she saw Cheng Yang’s things, the unfamiliar tearing pain returned. Even though she hadn’t done much the entire day, she felt as though it was one of the most tiresome day of the past few years. Exhausted, she slouched onto the sofa, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Just then, her phone rang twice, indicating a text.

After a moment, she turned to glance at her screen, the words “My Love” obvious there.

My Love… Qiao Anxia froze, it took a while for her to process who it was… Even though she was the one who saved the name, why did she feel so uncomfortable about it?

Without looking at the contents, she first changed his name to “Lu Jinnian”, hesitated slightly, then after a moment changed it to “Brother-in-law”.

After Qiao Anxia confirmed the change, the phone rang another few times—all the texts were from Lu Jinnian. When she saw the name “Brother-in-law” pop up several times, she felt a strange sense of comfort.

The first text was a photo. It was a sky blue dress that was hanging in a closet, and below it were a pair of heels from the same collection.

Qiao Anxia stilled slightly before scanning the next message.

[ I am Lu Jinnian, even though you never agreed to attend my and Qiao Qiao’s wedding, and even though she knew that you didn’t want to be part of it, she still specifically ordered a gown for you. Qiao Qiao is not aware of the incident with the voice recorder and rest assured, she will never know about it.]

Even though the text was short, Lu Jinnian’s straight forward nature could clearly be felt.

She slouched back and stared at the photo intently.

After about three minutes, wetness started to collect in her eyes. Gradually, she could no longer hold it in, bursting into tears.

Three years ago, when she and Qiao Anhao were watching television, she had specifically commented on a particular bridesmaids dress. At that time, she had said that she was definitely going to be Qiao Anhao’s bridesmaid in that exact dress. And even added that she she was going to look so dazzling she would be able to suppress the bride.

A that time, she had treated it as a joke, never expecting that one day Qiao Anhao would actually order that specific dress to be made for her.

Back then, the TV scene was fleeting… She had watched a rerun the next day, was it to get a better picture of that dress?

And what did Lu Jinnian’s last sentence mean?

Qiao Anhao had been in love with him for thirteen years and he too had been in love with her for thirteen years, but because of her selfishness, she had caused a willing couple to be entangled in misunderstandings and hardships for such a long time.

Han Ruchu was wrong, but if she hadn’t misled her into believing that Xu Jiamu liked Qiao Anhao, the tragedy wouldn’t have happened…

Qiao Anhao hadn’t done Qiao Anxia any wrong, it was Qiao Anxia who had wronged her so why did they buy so many of her favorite things when they came over to the Qiao house? Why did Qiao Anhao continuously offer up her goodness? Why did she disregard her own pregnancy to save her when Lin Shiyi bad mouthed her? Why did she prepare a gown for her even though she knew that she wasn’t going to attend?

She would have felt much better if Qiao Anhao had gotten angry and questioned her.

In the end, she started to cry out loud. Subconsciously, she wanted to seek out Cheng Yang but the moment she held onto her phone, she remembered that they were no longer a couple.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, but when they met earlier, she realized how much she had missed him. Deep inside, she felt the same heart wrenching pain again.

==========================================================================

In Qiao Anxia’s entire life, Lu Jinnian was the only man who had truly moved her, but Cheng Yang was able to give her an entirely different feeling.

When she was rejected by Lu Jinnian, she had been deeply unaffected, her pride stopping her from lowering herself to accept it.

But earlier on, when she saw Cheng Yang’s coldness and disregard, she felt anxious and slightly vulnerable.

For an instance, this pampered princess had actually wanted to run after him to apologize and ask for forgiveness.

The thought startled her, distracting her from her tears. She shut her eyes and started replaying the emotions and impulses she had felt.

The room was silent, the atmosphere suitable for her to look through her inner thoughts.

When they first met, he had pursued her. At that time, she had agreed since he was a ravishing star and she felt competitive after Lu Jinnian’s rejection.

He treated her really well, forever coaxing her and giving into her tantrums.

There was one night when she had intense period cramps from drinking too much alcohol. That night, he had anxiously sent her to the hospital, and it was only after she received medicine that he realized that he had forgotten to wear his shoes out.

When she watched videos of couples, she was drowned by envy, forgetting that she already had someone that treated her similarly… Didn’t she?

At this moment she concluded that she wasn’t able to leave Cheng Yang. She had no clue when she had first fallen for him but she knew that she really loved him and it was entirely different from the love for Lu Jinnian.

One was a desire to overcome and the other was the decision to stand by someone.

–

The next day, both the bridesmaids and groomsmen were due for fitting.

Lu Jinnian had ordered the clothes from a high end private wedding club, a famous designer was specifically sent over from overseas.

Both the bride’s wedding gown and the bridemaids’ gowns were unique and specially made.

The wedding club had a traditional name, “Bliss for a Hundred Years”. That day, they had a meeting at 11pm.

When Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao arrived, Zhao Meng, Song Xiangsi, Xu Jiamu, and Cheng Yang were already there.

Lu Jinnian’s assistant was already married hence he was arranged to be the emcee but he was still around to join in the fun and try out the suit that Lu Jinnian had ordered for him.

Before he came, he predicted that some of them would have skipped breakfast so he took a turn to grab some takeaways before going over.

The designer and his assistants were already arranging the clothes when the assistant came over with takeaways. He called out for everyone before setting the food on the table.

Aware of Song Xiangsi’s preferences, Xu Jiamu pushed a bowl of century egg with lean meat porridge over to her. He stirred the bowl several times and took a sip. When he was assured of the taste, he sent a spoonful over to her mouth.

Song Xiangsi looked at him sideways, then just as she was about to accept the porridge, she suddenly felt repulsed. Turning her head to the side, she stood up and headed to the restroom, disregarding Xu Jiamu.

==========================================================================

Xu Jiamu frowned, his gaze following Song Xiangsi’s back.

Ever since yesterday night, there seemed to be something amiss… First, she came home soaked in the smell of alcohol. When he had asked her what happened, she remained silent. After she took her shower, she fell asleep right away, and when he tried to touch her, she kicked him off the bed. Before he could get angry at her, she left the room with her pillow in hand, entering the guest room beside, and even locking the door.

This morning, he thought that they were going to “Bliss for a Hundred Years” together, but after he took his shower and was about to call for her, she had grabbed her bag and headed to the entrance, disregarding his presence. She had left her car outside so he grabbed her car keys before leaving the apartment. He hurriedly rushed down thinking that she would wait for him but his car was no longer in sight. That aside, when he reached “Bliss for a Hundred Years”, he saw his car parked outside with a police ticket…

Song Xiangsi had parked illegally!

There was so much empty space in the underground car park but she had deliberately parked in the middle of a busy road!

After entering “Bliss for a Hundred Years”, he sat down beside her and tried to engage her in conversation, but yet again she ignored him.

He had never been so accommodating towards her so why was she still ignoring him!

When he had brought a spoonful of porridge to her, his mood took a change, thinking that she was going to accept it, but the next moment she left with a crestfallen expression.

This woman was too much!

Xu Jiamu laughed once, placing the spoonful of porridge into his own mouth, but before he could taste it, he hesitated, then tossed it away. Slouching back on the sofa, he fell into a daze for a short while before heading to the restroom worriedly.

There was a huge hall filled neat rows of cabinets with every kind of ring in existence between the changing room and the restroom.

When he passed by, one of the cabinets caught his attention. He bent down and stared at one of the rings with a pink diamond.

“Sir, would you prefer a proposal ring or a wedding ring?” the staff asked when he saw Xu Jiamu staring.

Xu Jiamu snapped out of his daze, and seeing Song Xiangsi heading back to the changing room, he shook his head and took large strides to the restroom. Leaning against the wall beside it, he lit a cigarette.

A moment ago, he had actually felt an impulse to buy a ring for Song Xiangsi….

Ever since he was young, the meaning of marriage had been engraved into him—he was going to marry a woman of equal status.

When he had broken off the marriage with Qiao Anhao and Xu Enterprise had ended up with Lu Jinnian, he wasn’t aware of his mother’s evil doings. Hence, he had accepted when Lin Qianqian had requested for marriage since she was of a good background which his mother was so fond of. At that time, he wasn’t in contact with Song Xiangsi, and even though he didn’t really like Lin Qianqian’s needy behavior, he had accepted her.

But that wasn’t an official marriage, it was just a promise, they hadn’t even held the engagement ceremony yet. Besides, there were times when he would go a month without seeing her as well…

==========================================================================

Thinking back, he had stopped talking to Lin Qianqian ever since he got back with Song Xiangsi. Yesterday, after he had overworked himself the night before and had a long meeting, he decided to take a nap in his lounge area at work. At that moment, Lin Qianqian had come over, pouncing onto him and demanding to know when they were going to hold a wedding.

The moment he had heard the question, Song Xiangsi’s image popped into his mind. He hesitated for a long while before randomly throwing out an excuse – after she graduated.

Lin Qianqian continued to ramble on afterwards about the wedding details, and weirdly, he felt strangely pressured. After enduring it for a short while, he pushed her off violently, heading to the restroom.

After that incident, his heart started to waver.

Was marriage between companies really that beneficial?

Didn’t his parents end up in a tragedy?

What about Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao? They didn’t quarrel and lived their lives in happiness, even if they bickered, it was overflowing with joy and love.

Their love seemed to be infectious, causing him to desire more…

“Xu Jiamu? What are you doing here?” Lu Jinnian asked when he saw him outside the restroom.

Xu Jiamu extinguished the cigarette silently, washed his hands and headed out. Just when he was about to enter the changing room, the female changing room opened and Song Xiangsi walked out in a white lace gown, her hair done up into a tight bun.

He stopped in his tracks, staring at her as Zhao Meng continuously sang praises to her beauty.

Even though it was just a bridesmaid’s gown, it was still beautiful enough to shake him, leaving him mesmerized and in awe.

The image of Song Xiangsi as a bride flowed into his mind uncontrollably, how pretty would that be?

Song Xiangsi as a bride… Who would the groom be?

Xu Jiamu’s heart fell.

He honestly had no idea why he had helped Song Xiangsi seven years ago, and even maliciously kept her by his side for so many years.

He had always thought that he would end up in a corporate wedding during those seven years, and so he had disregarded the happy memories. Not once had he thought of marrying her and never once thought that she could marry someone else.

But now, the moment he imagined her being someone else’s ravishing bride, he couldn’t help feeling empty and cold. It felt as though someone had dug out his heart.

“Brother Jiamu, why are you in a daze?” Qiao Anhao’s clear voice sounded, snapping him out of his daze.

Xu Jiamu struggled to move his gaze away from Song Xiangsi. “What’s up?”

Lu Jinnian pointed to the designer who had pushed a few male suits into the room. “Try the clothes.”

“Oh.” Acknowledging his tasks, he entered the changing room.

–

Qiao Anxia knew that Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao were having a fitting at “Bliss for a Hundred Years” tonight. Her mother had informed her two days ago, reminding her to try the clothes that she had ordered for her.

After crying for half the night, Qiao Anxia’s eyes were terribly swollen the next day. Even though she had never intended to attend the fitting, she hesitated, finally deciding to drive over.

While Qiao Anxia was looking for a space in the underground car park of “Bliss for a Hundred Years”, she caught sight of Cheng Yang’s car. At that instant, she became terrified, not daring to go up.

After parking her car, she sat and stared at Cheng Yang’s car for a long while, and in the end, she still wasn’t brave enough to go up.

She sat alone in the car for a long while, until she saw someone alight from a black sedan.

Judging from the physique, the person seemed to be female and was not young. The person had on a cap and mask, shielding almost half of her face. Even though Qiao Anxia couldn’t tell who she was, the figure was oddly familiar.

Just as she was trying to decipher who that woman was, she saw the person pull out an object from her bag, stuffing it into her pocket.

Even though the person had moved swiftly, Qiao Anxia was still able to catch sight of a dagger.

She frowned. Why would someone dress like that and have a dagger early in the morning?

The person waited in front of the elevator. When she lifted her hand to press for the elevator, a jade bangle was exposed. Qiao Anxia straightened, focusing on it.

That jade bangle seemed familiar… she had definitely seen it several times.

But where exactly did she see it?

The more she tried to remember, the more anxious she got, but nothing seemed to match. Annoyed and frustrated, she hit the steering wheel violently. Just then, the elevator doors closed, and Qiao Anxia’s eyes widened in shock as she took a good look at the person.

Han Ruchu!

She knew, that person was Han Ruchu!

That’s why her physique and jade bangle seemed so familiar!

Ever since she was young, Han Ruchu wore the bangle every time she saw her!

But why would she be here?

Qiao Anhao and the others were all upstairs, so she probably wouldn’t be able to make a big fuss with so many people around…

But she brought a dagger…

The more Qiao Anxia thought about it, the more worried she got, and in the end she could no longer keep it in, jumping out of the car and into the elevator.

When she entered the restroom, Han Ruchu had just entered a cubicle. Afraid to be found out, Qiao Anxia followed behind stealthy, hurriedly entering another cubicle. She peeked through a tiny opening in the door and saw Han Ruchu locking the door.

Why was Han Ruchu hiding here?

Qiao Anxia’s mind was filled with questions, but since Xu Jiamu’s mother didn’t come out, she decided to kneel on the toilet bowl, peeking through the opening once in a while.

When she alighted the car, she was in a rush, forgetting to grab her phone. Out of boredom, she started to tear the toilet paper.

Just when she was about to finish tearing all the toilet paper in her cubicle, the restroom door was pushed open once again. Qiao Anhao’s voice reached her. “Zhao Meng, pass me the wet tissue.”

The moment she said that, a cubicle door closed.

Zhao Meng seemed to have followed Qiao Anhao in, but she didn’t enter a cubicle. After passing over a wet tissue, she went to wait outside.

==========================================================================

In less than two minutes, Qiao Anhao flushed the toilet.

“Kiak!”

There was the sound of the door unlocking and Qiao Anxia peeked through the small door opening. She could see Qiao Anhao’s flats heading towards her direction. They stopped in front of a basin, and there was the sound of water gushing out. Just then, Qiao Anxia heard the faint unlocking of a cubicle door.

Was Han Ruchu finally coming out?

Qiao Anxia tensed, an ominous premonition creeping up her spine. Slowly, she unlocked her cubicle, observing Han Ruchu stealthily.

After about ten seconds, the woman opened her door, stepping out.

Qiao Anxia could clearly see her reach for the dagger, moving cautiously, afraid to alarm Qiao Anhao.

At that instant, Qiao Anxia clearly understood her intentions, she had been waiting in the toilet for Qiao Anhao this entire time!

The fitting was a few hours long so Qiao Anhao would definitely visit the restroom. The moment she came in, Han Ruchu was prepared to stab her while she was occupied.

The sound of running water from the tap drowned out Han Ruchu’s footsteps perfectly.

If Qiao Anhao didn’t turn her head, she would never learn of her predicament. If Han Ruchu were to succeed, even if Qiao Anhao was fine, her child probably wouldn’t be able to make it…

Qiao Anxia abruptly pushed open the cubicle door. Running towards Qiao Anhao, she shouted, “Qiao Qiao, be careful!”

Han Ruchu never expected someone else to be in the restroom. When she realized that she was exposed, a murderous glint flashed in her eyes.

Today, she never expected to leave scot-free.

She wasn’t on good terms with her son, her husband no longer bothered with her, and the pride and glory she had spent her entire life struggling for was ruined.

Now, she was a scorned women.

How would she be able to live that down?

How is the son of a mistress able to get married and have kids, even obtaining her son’s protection?

That bastard was never supposed to be born, how did he manage to be successful?

What about her? Her life was filled with treason. Her whole soul was screaming in fury at how unjust it all was, and even her dreams were filled with the image of her killing them.

Wasn’t Qiao Anhao the most important existence in his world?

Today, she won’t just kill his most important presence, she would also get rid of his child!

She wanted all of them dead! Now that she didn’t have anything, she wanted to drag him with her!

They would perish together!

Han Ruchu’s lips curled into an evil smirk, and a shrieking laugh escaped her lips. It was as though she had gone crazy. Five seconds after Qiao Anxia spoke, Han Ruchu tightened her grip on the dagger and ran towards Qiao Anhao, the dagger directed at her belly.

–

Qiao Anhao froze when she heard someone calling her name. When she realized it was Qiao Anxia, she instinctively turned and saw, just a short two meters away, a masked women heading towards her with a dagger.

==========================================================================

Everything happened too fast. Before Qiao Anhao had time to process the situation, someone flew in from the side, shielding her. Due to the force, she stumbled backwards, her waist bumping into the basin. She frowned as a sharp pain spread through her. Just then, she heard the piercing of flesh and the drop of blood on the floor.

At that instant, the world stopped.

Qiao Anhao didn’t turn to look at the person in front of her, but she could recognize the familiar scent.

She looked past Qiao Anxia’s shoulder to stare at Han Ruchu.

Fresh blood splattered everywhere, staining the white mask she wore with big blotches of blood.

It was a frightening sight.

Qiao Anhao’s eyes widened, and her lips trembled. Slowly, she turned to look at Qiao Anxia, her face pale, breathing unstable.

She opened her mouth several times, before forcing out a single word, “Sis…”

In the silent environment, Qiao Anhao could distinctively hear blood dropping onto the ground.

She lowered her head, realizing that there was a puddle of blood by her feet. The next moment, she seemed to have gone crazy, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Lu Jinnian, Lu Jinnian, Lu Jinnian…”

The more she shouted, the hoarser her voice became, breaking slightly towards the end.

Zhao Meng who was outside hurried in first. “What’s wrong, Qiao…”

The sight in the restroom startled her, her face paled and she swallowed her question, “Big, big Qiao… What happ…..”

” Qiao Anxia, Qiao Anxia…. Don’t scare me like that, don’t do this…”

Qiao Anhao hurriedly reached over to cover her wound, stopping the blood from oozing out, but still, the blood continued to flow relentlessly. Anxious tears started to stream down Qiao Anhao’s face, and even though she knew that she shouldn’t vent her frustration elsewhere, she shouted at Zhao Meng, “Zhao Meng, are you dumb? Stop dreaming, why are you still in a daze? Hurry call for the ambulance and get Lu Jinnian…”

Her harsh tone seemed to have startled Zhao Meng out of her daze. Without thinking, she ran out shouting loudly, “Murder murder!

The dagger was already in Qiao Anxia’s abdomen. When it was piercing through, Qiao Anxia had tried to struggle, holding onto it while Han Ruchu tried to pry it off her hands but gave up in the end.

When she heard Qiao Anhao’s scream, she came back to her senses, laughing loudly as she stumbled backwards. Even though she had stabbed Qiao Anxia, she didn’t seem to have realized it, mumbling continuously, “She’s dead, she’s dead! I finally killed that little slut, hahahaha…”

Han Ruchu threw her head backwards, laughing maniacally.

The restroom door flew open, and Lu Jinnian stood there. He first shouted out “Qiao Qiao” before taking in the frightening scene.

==========================================================================

“What happe….” Cheng Yang had followed behind. But before he could finish his sentence, he saw Qiao Anxia’s blood soaked body. He swayed slightly, then rushed over. “Xiaxia, Xiaxia?”

Xu Jiamu stopped in his tracks. Before he could even begin to say anything, his gaze fell on the person with an audacious smirk.

Song Xiangsi glanced over when she sensed him stopping. Following his gaze, she instantly recognized the person he was looking at. A deep sense of worry flowed into her eyes.

After less than a minute, he rushed towards Han Ruchu, slapping her face violently without hesitation. “Shut up!”

Han Ruchu stilled, bursting into laughter the next moment while pointing at Xu Jiamu. “You’re my son but you hit me… My son just hit me, hahaha… My son actually hit me for someone else…”

Gradually, tears started to stream down her face. She stared at Xu Jiamu, feeling aggrieved and wronged. “You’re my son, how can you not side with me?”

Xu Jiamu shut his eyes, then took a deep breath before grabbing onto her arm. “We’re going to the police station now.”

“Police station? You’re sending your mother to jail?” Han Ruchu shook her head, confused between laughter and crying. “Xu Jiamu, you silly boy, you actually want to send your mother to jail!”

Xu Jiamu had no intention to continue the conversation. He tightened his grip on her wrist and dragged her out of the washroom.

“I’m not going, I’m not going!” Han Ruchu screamed at the top of her lungs.

He ignored her screams, dragging her all the way out.

When they were out of the restroom, Song Xiangsi came forward. “I’ll go with you.”

Xu Jiamu hesitated slightly before nodding lightly.

Song Xiangsi turned towards the crowd in the restroom. “We’ll go to the police station first, the ambulance should be here soon. After we give our statements at the station, we’ll head over to the hospital for evidence.”

Cheng Yang and Qiao Anhao didn’t react, it was as though they hadn’t heard her speak.

Lu Jinnian had focused all his attention on Qiao Anhao and didn’t react either. In the end, his assistant and Zhao Meng nodded, acknowledging her words.

Song Xiangsi left.

Without Han Ruchu, the restroom was much quieter.

Qiao Anxia was so pale she was almost transparent. She could feel Qiao Anhao’s tears falling onto her face. Her lashes trembled, and, struggling, she lifted her eyes to glance at her sister and curled her lips into a smile.

That smile just made Qiao Anhao’s tears flow even more rapidly. “Sis, sis…”

Qiao Anxia struggled to wipe off the tears. After pausing slightly, she said, “Why are you crying? You’re going to be a mother soon, don’t scare the baby like that. He might become a crybaby!”

Qiao Anxia has been pampered since young, and her pride was tougher than of anyone else. That why’s her words were often merciless, and even if she regretted them afterwards, her pride never allowed her to admit her mistake.

But at this moment, she felt as though there wasn’t any time left, and the pride she had fought to protect no longer seemed important.

She blurted the question she had been dying to find out. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“We don’t know yet.” Qiao Anhao shook her head, two drops of tears falling onto her sister’s hair.

“Is the baby healthy?”

Qiao Anhao nodded furiously, her throat tightening.

Qiao Anxia smiled, and after a moment, she spoke again. “Qiao Qiao, I’m sorry.”

The apology was late by five years.

Many times she had been awaken by a nightmare, leaving her with insomnia, but she had never garnered enough courage.

Many times she wanted to apologize, but the words never seemed to come out. Now though, after she said them, she felt much calmer and at ease.

“If it wasn’t for me, you would have been with Lu Jinnian much earlier…” Qiao Anxia started coughing, her breathing turning weak.

At this moment, Qiao Anhao was willing to forgive whatever wrong her sister had done, her safety was of utmost priority. She shook her head, silencing Qiao Anxia’s words. “Stop, I don’t blame you, just stop, the ambulance will be here soon…”

Qiao Anxia had a coughing fit once more, blood gushing out of her wound violently. Cheng Yang applied pressure right away, preventing too much blood loss.

Qiao Anxia inhaled sharply from the pain and slowly opened her eyes. As she endured the pain, her teeth trembled when she continued. “Qiao Qiao, listen to me, you don’t know anything. At that time, when I was using the bathroom in your room, I accidentally heard the contents of your conversation with Xu Jiamu. I recorded it and gave it to Han Ruchu….”

Qiao Anxia summarized the story due to lack of time, but Qiao Anhao understood it clearly.

“Qiao Qiao, I didn’t mean to harm you, I just didn’t want to marry Xu Jiamu. At that time, my parents were forcing me to marry him…” Her voice turned softer. “I didn’t know you were in love with Lu Jinnian, if I knew, I would have never done that. I thought that you fell for Xu Jiamu after marrying him, I had even approached Lu Jinnian, warning him to stay away from you…

“Qiao Qiao, I’m sorry. I really am sorry, I never knew that my selfish act would bring you so much trouble.”

Qiao Anxia inhaled once more. She gripped onto Qiao Anhao’s wrist and continued, “I always thought that I really loved him, but now I realized that it wasn’t love, it was because I couldn’t accept his rejection. I’m such a perfect women, why would he do that to me…

” I didn’t mean to throw a tantrum at you, I just didn’t know how to face you. There were multiple times I had wanted to apologize but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, I was afraid that you would hate me… As time passed, I started to realize the damage of my behavior, but by then, I didn’t have any courage left to apologize…”

==========================================================================

There were too many coincidences in between. At the start, she had misled Han Ruchu purely because she didn’t want to marry Xu Jiamu.

She had never expected so many consequences though.

Subsequently, she thought that Qiao Anhao had fallen for Xu Jiamu and had desperately tried to keep Lu Jinnian away.

At that time, she thought that she was doing Qiao Anhao a favor, but in reality, she wasn’t.

At the start it was just a simple mistake, but it escalated to a hideous crime.

Even she wasn’t able to forgive herself, so how could she be able to garner enough courage to ask for forgiveness?

“Qiao Qiao, you don’t have to be sad, even if something were to happen today, it’s an accident…and I owe it to you.”

“No…” Qiao Anhao forced back her tears. “Nothing will happen to you, even if you really did me wrong, I know that you definitely feel guilty about it. Ever since we were young, you have been there to protect me, every time someone bullied me in school, you would stand up for me… So you must be well again, you need to continue to protect me…”

Some mistakes were not done on purpose.

Some mistakes weren’t.

Even though Qiao Anxia had indeed done bad things, Qiao Anhao was certain that deep inside, her cousin had always treated her as her own sister.

Or she would never have shielded her from the dagger.

Protecting someone from a dagger can potentially require one’s life… Only when someone believes you to be kin would they go to such an extent.

Qiao Anhao burst into tears. She couldn’t help lifting her head to glance at Lu Jinnian and asking helplessly, “Where’s the ambulance? Why isn’t it here yet? Where’s the ambulance?”

Lu Jinnian knelt down, bringing Qiao Anhao into his arms , comforting her. Using his eyes, he signaled his assistant. The man hurriedly took his phone to rush the ambulance.

Before Qiao Anxia had apologized, there was a huge burden on her chest, but now, she was finally able to relax, energy seeping away from her body bit by bit, her senses starting to fade.

Her other hand was embraced by a familiar touch, a steady stream of warmth.

When she had seen his car in the underground car park, she didn’t even dare to come up, and now, she still didn’t have enough courage to look at him.

Qiao Anxia’s breathing weakened. She felt the warmth leaving her body, and she was no longer able to think clearly. Very slowly, she shifted her gaze towards Cheng Yang without a conscious thought. His eyes were red and swollen.

He was crying for her… Did that mean that he still couldn’t let go of her?

Qiao Anxia couldn’t help squinting at him. She opened her mouth slightly and struggled to force out “Cheng Yang…”

Even though it was soft, he was still able to decipher what she was saying.

Cheng Yang lowered his head, leaning his ear over to her mouth. “I’m sorry, I know where I was wrong.

“I have already changed the name in my phone….

“And… even though we’ve known each other for such a long time, I’ve never seriously told you before but I like you.”

Qiao Anxia hesitated before continuing. “I don’t just like you, I love you.”

==========================================================================

How many people in their youths haven’t been impulsive at least once?

Real true love isn’t capable of being selfish, it’s accepting.

In the beginning, Qiao Anxia could only see the good in Lu Jinnian. It wasn’t because she loved him though, or because she was jealous of Qiao Anhao, but rather she felt competitive and couldn’t take the rejection lying down.

In the end, it wasn’t love.

If she really loved him, how could she allow him to be conflicted for even a bit?

Because his sadness would make her feel much worse…

It was a pity that she only understood this right now.

Tears formed at the edges of her eyes but she forced a slight smile for Cheng Yang. It wasn’t her usual bright stunning smile, it was softer, warmer, and more pure, just like that of a harmless child.

“Cheng Yang, if I knew that… in this life time I would meet you… I would have never allowed myself… to date to many…”

Qiao Anxia coughed abruptly, blood oozing out of her mouth, and her eyes grew visibly more clouded. She struggled to keep her eyes open, to look at him for a while longer, but she was never able to force out the last word “boyfriends” before they fell shut.

All her words now were the truth… She had once thought that Lu Jinnian was her one true love and since she wasn’t able to obtain him, it didn’t matter who she was with. She just wanted to use this method to tell him she could have anyone she wanted.

The ignorance of her youth… In the end, she regretted it only after finally finding the person she wanted to spend her life with.

If she could relive her life… If they could turn back time… If she knew that she’ll find her one true love, she would have definitely, definitely been a good girl.

But sometimes, one can only truly understand the meaning of something once they experience it themselves.

Qiao Anxia wanted to look at Cheng Yang once more but her eyelids were too heavy, regardless of how hard she tried, she wasn’t able to lift them.

At that instant, she started to feel afraid.

Would she die just like that?

Will she never be able to see Cheng Yang and Qiao Qiao again?

She… was already regretting it and feeling guilty. Today, she had come to “Bliss for a Hundred Years” to apologize, but how did it turn out like that?

Qiao Anxia struggled to open her eyes once more. It wasn’t working, so she gave up and moved her lips, wanting to call his name. Yet before the words could be formed, her entire world sunk into darkness.

A teardrop streamed down her face, falling onto Cheng Yang’s arm.

He trembled, tightening his arms around her limp form, and his forehead pressed onto hers. Even though he didn’t cry out, his shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.

Yes… This was the women he loved. Her name was Qiao Anxia. She wasn’t the best and didn’t have a good reputation.

The woman he loved had had numerous boyfriends, and she had given them her most beautiful youth.

==========================================================================

But so what?

Cheng Yang was never bothered by her past, he only wanted to think of their future.

Recently, even though he hadn’t contacted her, he would still think of her and care for her. He just wanted to find out if he existed in her heart…

But who knew that this was going to happen?

“Xiaxia…” Cheng Yang murmured, his voice choked up.

Qiao Anhao knelt beside him, sobbing on Lu Jinnian’s chest. Her hands clenched onto his shirt, scrunching it into a crumpled mess.

After a long while, her stomach started to hurt, the pain causing her to shiver uncontrollably in Lu Jinnian’s arms.

Outside “Bliss for a Hundred Years”, the ambulance could be heard.

–

When Xu Jiamu and Song Xiangsi left the police station, it was already 5 pm. The sun had set and the streets were basked in a warm shade of red.

In the police station they were preoccupied, but now that they were out, they saw the text from Lu Jinnian informing them that Qiao Anxia was out of danger but was still asleep. Cheng Yang was there guarding her but the dagger had slashed deep into her ovaries, hence, she might never be able to get pregnant.

There were still remnants of bloodstains on Xu Jiamu’s face which stood out when his face paled. Han Ruchu had gone crazy in the interrogation room, slashing him maniacally.

Xu Jiamu drove the car with the parking ticket to the police station.

When they were close to it, Song Xiangsi glanced over at him, noticing that he didn’t seem alright. “I’ll drive.”

Xu Jiamu hesitated, turning to look at her, then pulled over and went to the passenger seat.

Song Xiangsi started the car and headed into the road, glancing at Xu Jiamu at the turn. He was lying against the seat, his eyes shut, a calm expression on his face.

She never once disrupted his rest. When they reached Su Yuan apartment’s underground car park, he had already opened his eyes. Calmly, he asked, “Have we reached?”

Song Xiangsi nodded her head and he pushed open the door and alighted.

When they were back in the apartment, Xu Jiamu collapsed straight onto the sofa and shielded his eyes with a hand.

Silently, Song Xiangsi looked at him for a while before pouring him a cup of water. She set it on the coffee table gently before getting a first aid kid. Just when she was about to reach for his arm to treat it, she saw tears flowing down his face.

Song Xiangsi stilled.

Silence engulfed the room, and after about half a minute, Xu Jiamu started to cry softly.

Each sob he took pierced deep into Song Xiangsi’s heart, sending a deep pulse of heartache. Lifting her hands, she lightly held onto his arm, reassuring him. “It’s alright, I’ll be here for you.”

She had wanted to say that she would always be there for him.

But she knew that she couldn’t, she could only be there at his most vulnerable. Once it was fine, she had to leave.

Because, by then, she would no longer be needed.

For over seven years now, even though Xu Jiamu and Song Xiangsi had physically been with each other countless times, neither of them had ever said anything flirtatious.

At that very moment, Song Xiangsi’s words “I’ll be here for you” touched the deepest part of Xu Jiamu’s heart, and left him frozen for good five minutes. Without so much as moving an inch, he suddenly got up and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Song Xiangsi was left dumbfounded for a few seconds by Xu Jiamu’s sudden deep embrace. She lifted her arms and hugged him back.

As far as she could recall, this was the first time he had hugged her like this.

The room was silent. The two of them quietly hugged like that for a long long time, so long in fact, that Xu Jiamu felt his heaving heart finally become peaceful. He shut his eyes, his breath permeated with the light aroma of Song Xiangsi’s body. For a moment there, he suddenly remembered the impulse to buy her a ring earlier this afternoon at “Bliss for a Hundred Years”. He wanted to marry her and spend an ordinary lifetime of simplicity… He didn’t want to shop for good prospects any longer, nor did he want to be a strong shopper…

–

The ambulance came just in time. Qiao Anxia lost quite a lot of blood, but they were able to save her life.

It was just how Lu Jinnian had described it in his text to Xu Jiamu: the knife had happened to stab Qiao Anxia in the uterus, tearing a big wound. Even though it was stitched up, her chances of getting pregnant were practically non-existent.

When news came out, the person most devastated wasn’t actually Chen Yang, nor Mother and Father Qiao, but Qiao Anhao. Because the incident upset her pregnancy, she laid in the hospital bed with her eyes swollen to peaches from crying and a heart as guilty as it could be.

Naturally, Lu Jinnian couldn’t bare to see just how hurt she was, and so he especially called Lucy to track down the best overseas gynecologist to see if there was any way of turning Qiao Anxia’s diagnosis around.

Eventually, the overseas doctors had a video call with Qiao Anhao to say that they would try their very best to think of a plan. They even told her that they had a similar case in the past, where the patient was later on able to be a mother, and that she should believe that miracles exist in this world.

When Qiao Anhao heard this, she finally calmed down and fell asleep with a peaceful mind.

Lu Jinnian waited for her to fall deep asleep before pulling the covers over her and tip-toeing out of the patient’s room. He stopped in the corridor and gave Lucy a call. “Thank you for helping me with the act today.”

It was in fact all an act. When the overseas doctors heard Lu Jinnian’s story, they all shook their heads. With a damaged uterus, how could she ever get pregnant?

Actually, before he had even contacted Lucy, he knew in his heart that Qiao Anxia would never become a mother in this lifetime.

But he still wanted everyone to play along with this act.

All Qiao Anhao wanted was a single ray of hope, so he was going to give it to her.

Not only her, but also the unconscious Qiao Anxia.

Time is the world’s most effective medicine. One day, their hearts would heal.

–

Qiao Anxia had the world’s best medical team, took the best medicine, and after passing the first three days in critical conditional, her rehabilitation was exceedingly fast.

She stayed in bed to heal her wounds. Even though Mother Qiao and Chen Yang were by her side twenty-four hours, Qiao Anhao would still come to visit her everyday.

==========================================================================

The two sisters knew well not to bring up anything sad. Just like how it was before, they chatted and joked around like they were the old loving sisters again. So much so that despite having only seen them once, the nurse secretly complimented Mother Qiao that their sisterhood was great.

Actually, most of the time, there’s no way of judging what is right or wrong.

In this world, there’s no such thing as absolute kindness, nor absolute evil. Most of the time, the only reason one is willing to forgive is because they care.

–

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, the day of Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian’s wedding came.

Originally, Qiao Anhao wanted to delay the date until Qiao Anxia was officially discharged, but at the time, she was already over two months pregnant. Her belly was starting to show, and if they pushed the date back, then she was afraid that her belly would grow even more. Not only would she not be able to fit into her dress, she was afraid that she’d have to wait till after the baby was born and another full month after the birth to be able to hold the wedding. What’s more, the wedding invitations were already sent out. If they changed the date at the last minute, they’d have to notify each and every guest.

And so, after much deliberation, they decided to keep the original date.

Qiao Anxia couldn’t leave the bed or walk, so she definitely couldn’t be a bridesmaid, but she still wanted to attend the wedding. In the end, Chen Yang thought of a plan to find a doctor that would come with them to the wedding. If something were to really happen, they could find a solution in time.

–

There were staff on shift at the police station. Xu Jiamu handed them a pack of cigarettes, and one of the people escorted him to the interrogation room.

Inside, there was just one lamp on. Its light was obscured and there was an unspeakably rancid smell in the room.

The person who sat behind the metal bars was Han Ruchu. When she heard a muffled thud, she slightly raised her head. It had been just a few days since Xu Jiamu had last seen her, but she looked like she had aged a lot. Many strands of dark hair had turned white.

Han Ruchu shot Xu Jiamu a glance, then turned her head around. Her eyes were as cold as ice, like she had seen an enemy.

He lowered his eyes and said to the person behind him, “Can I get a few moments alone with her?”

That person nodded, then shut the door behind him.

The interrogation room was silent. Xu Jiamu stood on the spot for a while before walking over to the metal bars. Without any warning, he crouched down in front of Han Ruchu with a “badonk”.

When she heard this, she slightly turned her head to stared at him crouched on the ground with a cold expression.

“Ma, I know that you really don’t want to see me right now, but I still came to visit.

“Xia Xia will probably never be able to have children because of that stab you took.

“You asked Aunt Yun to find you a lawyer, but I’ve stopped her. I’ve also sent Aunt Yun back to her hometown. Father is out of the country. He can’t come home at such short notice. I’ve put the Xu family estate up for sale. I predict that in the next two days, the authorities will raise an appeal in court and request a verdict for your case.”

When Xu Jiamu said this, his voice trembled slightly. “Time in prison must of been difficult. At your old age, you’re not very healthy, so you must take care of yourself in there.

“Every so often, I will come to visit you… Even though you aren’t willing to see me.

“I hope that you can really think about what you did in there. If… If twenty years from now you step out having left all hatred of the past behind, then you will still be a good mother to me.”

==========================================================================

Han Ruchu’s lips moved, as thought she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn’t.

Disappointment rose beneath Xu Jiamu’s eyes. Heavily, he bowed his head to the ground. “Sorry, Ma.”

Those words, he said them simply from the standpoint of a son.

After all is said and done, to Han Ruchu, he was a disobedient son.

The interrogation room was silent. Xu Jiamu stayed like that in a daze, his head braced against the cold wooden floors for a long time, before he slowly got up. He glanced deeply at Han Ruchu and whispered, “Take care”.

After waiting for a long period of time, he still didn’t get a response from her. In the end, he turned around and left feeling dejected.

Han Ruchu starred at his back with a complex look in her eye.

The very moment he pulled open the door, she finally couldn’t hold back anymore, and said, “Jiamu, take good care of yourself.”

Though it was just a simple sentence, the rims of Xu Jiamu’s eyes abruptly became red. He turned his head and looked at Han Ruchu with a slight smile on his face. “Ma, I’ll wait for you to get out.”

When he said this, he sincerely hoped that after twenty years, Han Ruchu would come out of prison. By then, she would have white hair, and he would take care of her till the end of her life.

But in the end, he never imagined that she would not give him the opportunity to wait for her to get out.

–

Whilst making wedding arrangements, everyone participated and put in their own ideas, but on the day of the actual wedding, they realized that the venue was decorated far more dreamily and breathtakingly than they had ever imagined. It was practically a scene from a fairy tale.

There were glistening crystal lights, special effects of infinite falling petals, glass flooring, glossy, beautiful tables, a nine-tiered cake as tall as a person… and a big screen that endlessly played wedding photos of Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian. There was also a constant background of music.

At 12 pm, all the guests arrived.

At 12.15 pm, Lu Jinnian’s assistant entered the stage and started his speech. The entire audience fell silent.

At 12.25 pm, the assistant welcomed the groom to the stage. There was a wave of applause.

The astrologically lucky time for them to get married was 12.33 pm, and so there were still eight minutes before the bride would enter. Because the master of ceremonies job was given to the assistant, he casually interviewed Lu Jinnian for eight minutes. By the end, there were two questions left, which touched on the rumors he was curious about.

“I heard that, at first, when the bride and groom were fake married, it was the bride who didn’t want their relationship to be exposed. May I ask, how was the bride able to achieve that?”

The assistant was obviously using this opportunity to satisfy his own curiosity… Lu Jinnian secretly cursed the assistant inside. However, since it was his wedding day today, he allowed him to be rebellious just this one time. Lu Jinnian raised his microphone and without holding back, he said, “The night of our fake marriage, she gave me three rules.”

The assistant became more interested. “What three rules? Does the the groom happen to remember what they were?”

Remember? How could he forget? Every word she said, be it good or bad, he remembered them all.

Yet, those words were once obviously very hard to hear, but now, he felt quite fond of them.

Clearly and coherently, Lu Jinnian said into the microphone, “You are not allowed to touch me in public.

“You are not allowed to tell anyone that I’m your wife.

“You are not allowed to tell anyone that we stay together.”

==========================================================================

After many years of knowing Lu Jinnian, the assistant had never heard anyone speak to him like that. He couldn’t help but admire Qiao Anhao deep down. “The bride sure is domineering…”

Before the assistant could finish, he saw the way Lu Jinnian was looking at him. To people around them, his eyes looked normal, but to him… they were undoubtedly menacing. The assistant hastily let out a laugh and cheerfully changed the topic. “However, I’m rather curious. If the bride gave the groom those three rules now, how would the groom deal with it? Would he still choose to hide their marriage?”

If it were now… Lu Jinnian thought about it for a moment, then calmly said, “If I’m not allowed to touch in public, then I can grope.”

The entire audience erupted in laughter.

The assistant secretly scolded him, evil, then raised his mic and proceeded to ask, “Then what about the second rule?”

Lu Jinnian’s expression didn’t change. “If I’m not allowed to tell anyone that she’s my wife, then I can say that I’m her husband.”

With such a witty answer, the entire audience gave him a round of applause.

‘He’s basically an evil pervert…’ said the assistant secretly inside. Then, he loudly asked, “And the third rule?”

The third? To not let anyone know that they live together?

Lu Jinnian contemplated it for about five seconds. When the assistant happily thought that he’d finally caught him, Lu Jinnian all of a sudden replied calmly, “I can say that every night, Qiao Anhao and I sleep in the same bed.”

The audience below the stage started to cheer in unison.

The assistant applauded with them too, but deep down inside he added another adjective. ‘More than a evil? An evil pervert? Practically… a shameless evil pervert!’

At 12.28 pm, the wedding ceremony officially started.

The entire audience fell silent, and the wedding march song started to play from every corner of the venue.

Tall wooden doors opened at the very end of a long crystal corridor connected to the stage, and the bright and beautiful lights shone in. Dressed in a white wedding dress, the bride held Father Qiao’s arm, and slowly walked against the lights and into the wedding ceremony.

Lu Jinnian was already waiting in the center of the long corridor.

There were ten meters from the door to his position and Qiao Anhao’s footsteps were not fast.

The guests around them all wore joyous smiles on their faces.

She stared straight at the majestic Lu Jinnian, as she drew closer to him one step at a time. His eyes gazed deeply into hers.

As Father Qiao handed Qiao Anhao over to Lu Jinnian, she turned to glance at her uncle. She saw that beneath his smiling eyes, there was a tinge of tears, which made the rims of Qiao Anhao’s eyes turn a little red as well.

She held onto Lu Jinnian’s arms, and he pressed her hand. As everyone gazed and wished well to the couple, the people following behind them also slowly walked to the center of the stage.

The groom was stunningly handsome and the bride was strikingly beautiful.

Up on that magnificent stage, it gave people the illusion that they had burst from palace.

For a a full minute, the assistant stood beside them and read the ceremonial speech with all seriousness and deep adoration. He then closed the red book in his hands and said, “Mr. Lu Jinnian, do you take Miss Qiao Anhao to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to be faithful to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and to honor her in all the days of your life?”

Lu Jinnian turned his head and stared at Qiao Anhao with serious eyes. “I do.”