Chapter 76

Shi Jianren and Su Tongqin's conversation buzzed like mosquitoes—audible but indistinct, and intensely irritating.

Shen Qiancheng's gaze seemed glued to her book, but five minutes passed without a single page turn. She was clearly lost in thought.

Su Zeye had come to interrogate her about Liao Xue's whereabouts, which meant he had no idea where Liao Xue was.

Without that madman Su Zeye lurking around, Liao Xue was physically safe.

Shen Qiancheng let out a faint sigh, the words on the page blurring before her eyes.

The more she tried to suppress certain memories, the more they flooded back like a tidal wave, overwhelming and consuming. In her muddled mind, even breathing became painful.

"When I get back, I'll wrap new ones for you. I'll take the old ones."

"That's more like it."

"You must eat breakfast in the morning, and remember to close the window when you sleep at night."

"Forget it—after you get married, who will it belong to?"

Liao Xue, since when did you decide to leave me?

It seemed like a long time ago—so long that she herself had never noticed.

"Shen Qiancheng, admit it. You love me."

"If you didn't love me, why go to all this trouble?"

Yes, why go to all this trouble?

Why precisely now? Why precisely Liao Xue, the true heiress? Why couldn't Liao Xue wait a little longer?

Why had some affections never been spoken aloud? Why couldn't the one involved see the love? Why was she still under someone else's control? Why was Liao Xue standing on the opposite side? Why... why...

Shen Qiancheng couldn't find the answers. She clutched her throbbing head, as if a massive hammer were pounding it again and again.

Blood burned like fire along her nerves. In a blank expanse, a voice rang out.

"I don't believe it. That wasn't you."

"No, it's not weakness. It's kindness."

Shen Qiancheng's eyes flew open. Her face was damp—she had been crying without realizing it.

She had overestimated herself, and underestimated herself as well.

Overestimated her own strength, underestimated her feelings for Liao Xue.

Were emotions truly uncontrollable? Shen Qiancheng sighed and shook her head.

So this was what it felt like to be too late and filled with regret.

In her memory, that little dog with the wet nose also had round, gentle eyes.

The things she couldn't protect as a child, she still couldn't protect now.

It was her fault—Shen Qiancheng's fault. If she had been just a bit more careful, would things have turned out differently?

---

The butler had taken a kick from Su Zeye, and his chest still throbbed with pain.

Whenever the eldest miss returned, the household was in an uproar. It had finally calmed down during the month she'd stayed elsewhere.

The butler sighed, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the third-floor study, afraid that Shen Qiancheng might cause another major commotion.

The morning passed in silence. The butler went to the kitchen to fetch a meal tray and was about to take it upstairs when the front door opened.

Shi Jianren, wearing a light gray overcoat and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses for show, came back—having been so flattered by his mistress in bed that he didn't know which way was up.

"President Shi," the butler greeted respectfully.

Shi Jianren glanced down at the tray: a bowl of rice with two home-style dishes.

Su Zeye had come to the Shen Corporation today demanding to know where Liao Xue had gone. How would Shi Jianren know where she'd run off to?

She was merely a minor backup piece; when the time came to use her, she'd be easy enough to find.

Shi Jianren didn't dare deceive that madman Su Zeye. Luckily, the lunatic was a fool, and he'd fobbed him off with a few words.

"Sending this much—can Chengcheng even finish it?" Shi Jianren adjusted his glasses. "From today, make it one dish."

The butler nodded. Even among the top-tier butlers in high society, he'd never seen a father and daughter as estranged as these two.

He was just a butler; he shouldn't ask what he shouldn't, or even think about it.

The butler was about to head up when Shi Jianren stopped him again.

"Chengcheng doesn't have her phone, does she?"

The butler was baffled—hadn't you given the order that the eldest miss wasn't to have any communication devices?

Shi Jianren tapped the tray, then pulled a neatly folded newspaper from his pocket and placed it on the tray, where it matched the vintage embossed dishware surprisingly well.

The butler was puzzled, but he complied.

His footsteps were silent on the stairs as he slowly pushed open the study door.

Like a figure in a painting, she lay on the bed, her hair soft and lustrous, her slanted eyes carrying a faint aloofness, her face pale to the point of translucence, utterly expressionless.

She was like a porcelain doll.

The sound of the door opening echoed like thunder in the silent, sealed space. Shen Qiancheng looked up at the noise, her eyes as cold as the pristine snow of Switzerland.

There were no communication devices in the study. The clock on the wall had been removed. Shen Qiancheng existed in a void where time slipped away, never knowing what hour it was.

She could only roughly gauge the time by the butler's meal deliveries.

The butler set the tray on the side table, pulled over the rolling bed table, and carefully arranged the food and chopsticks.

On the white table, in the white porcelain dish, were just two homely dishes. Shen Qiancheng's nose stung—they were the tomato scrambled eggs and braised pork ribs that Liao Xue often made.

A wave of nausea rose in her throat. Shen Qiancheng turned her face away, her brows knitting.

The butler, turning to grab the newspaper, missed this. When he looked back, he saw only the smooth, taut line of Shen Qiancheng's profile.

"Miss, here's today's Tang City newspaper."

The greasy smell of the food still lingered at her nose. Puzzled, Shen Qiancheng turned back, and on the table lay a paper newspaper.

She raised an eyebrow at the butler, her amber eyes seeming to ask, "Are you out of a job?"

The butler pressed his lips together tightly and pushed the newspaper a few centimeters closer to her.

Shen Qiancheng lowered her gaze. A bold headline blared across the front page—"Shen and Su Families Join Forces, Heirs Deep in Love!"

Below it was a photo from that day Su Zeye had insisted on coming to the Shen family residence to take "wedding photos" with her; both of them wore forced smiles.

Light footsteps approached. Without looking up, Shen Qiancheng knew Shi Jianren had entered.

An aged hand, covered in age spots, pressed down on the newspaper. Shen Qiancheng frowned, displeased, and raised her eyes.

Shi Jianren's schadenfreude was practically overflowing. Shen Qiancheng rolled her eyes and let go, letting the newspaper fall.

Ha, Shen Qiancheng sneered inwardly. Is that all you've got?

Wasn't he just trying to see her lose control?

Shen Qiancheng glanced at the paper with utter indifference, as if it were Shi Jianren getting married, and said to him, "The press release is well written."

Her eyes were as calm as a still pond, her expression unruffled. Shi Jianren had even gone to the bookstore specifically to buy that day's paper to make Shen Qiancheng blow her top.

After all that wasted effort, Shi Jianren was stubbornly defiant: "You acted poorly this time. Perform better at the wedding."

Shen Qiancheng gave him a monumental eye-roll.

Rolled at, Shi Jianren left, satisfied.

To say she wasn't angry would be a lie. Shen Qiancheng's chest heaved, her breathing quickening.

Trapped here, knowing nothing, with no way out.

Shi Jianren wanted to cage this bird.

But she refused to let him have his way.

---

It takes a hundred days to heal from a broken bone. Shen Qiancheng had a good constitution, so by April Fools' Day, her leg had mostly recovered.

On the day the family doctor came with his kit to remove the stitches, Su Zeye showed up too, and had the patience to wait for her to finish.

Shi Jianren strongly advocated for Su Zeye and Shen Qiancheng to spend time alone to foster feelings, so he told the butler not to disturb them and headed off to the company, cheerful.

Before leaving, Shi Jianren put on a show: "You two get along, alright? If anything comes up, just call the butler."

The butler, who'd been singled out, froze for a moment—could you please not drag me into everything? I really do want to quit.

"Yes, Mr. Su, Miss," he said.

Shen Qiancheng's face was cold as she said bluntly, "You get out first."

The butler couldn't have been happier to get away from the two lunatics, and left with a smile. "Very well."

Su Zeye looked Shen Qiancheng up and down as she stood—pale, with lashes casting butterfly-wing shadows beneath her dark eyes.

"Come to see me make a fool of myself again today?" Shen Qiancheng raised an eyebrow, her tone anything but polite.

Su Zeye clicked his tongue and reached for Shen Qiancheng's hand. "Besides wedding photos, a marriage needs a ring. The rings are waiting downstairs. Come down with me, my fiancée."

Shen Qiancheng dodged his outstretched hand, stepping back in disgust.

Su Zeye took the opportunity to press closer. "I know where she went. Somewhere you'd never guess."

A smile was both politeness and mockery. Shen Qiancheng raised two fingers to press against Su Zeye's shoulder, tilting her head and rolling her eyes. "Bragging? Hope I'll beg you to tell me where she is? As if you could actually be with her."

For the first time in over two weeks, Shen Qiancheng left the study. If only Su Zeye weren't there, it would have been perfect.

The elevator descended to the first floor. Inside, Shen Qiancheng wished she could be eight hundred meters away from Su Zeye. As soon as the doors opened, she practically leapt out.

In the lobby, two people in black sales suits were waiting. When they saw Su Zeye come down, they broke into smiles. "Mr. Su."

Su Zeye, with his leisurely air, had some semblance of an aristocratic son. "Quick, show my fiancée the ring I picked out."

As if anyone wanted them. Shen Qiancheng crossed her arms in a keep-away stance and plopped herself on the sofa, long legs crossed casually, radiating an icy, untouchable aura. "Hurry it up. My time is precious. I don't have time to waste on this."

The salesperson immediately opened the dark brown case behind them, filled with small black ring boxes.

Shen Qiancheng raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Su, quite the grand gesture. But I'm not some thousand-armed Guanyin—can I even wear all these?"

Picking bones from an egg, Su Zeye laughed. "Did I say I'd buy them all for you? My mother made me bring these for you to choose from. What spell did you cast on her? She treats you better than her own son."

If it were really as Su Zeye said, Shen Qiancheng could say one word and Su Yuling would call off the engagement.

The style of the ring hardly mattered, since she wasn't marrying someone she loved.

Shen Qiancheng randomly pointed at the box closest to her, considering her ring chosen.

Su Zeye leaned in again. "Don't you really want to know where Liao Xue is?"

Shen Qiancheng closed her eyes. Are you just going to keep provoking me!

When she opened them again, they were full of mischief, and Su Zeye felt a flicker of unease.

"Want me to take you somewhere fun?" Shen Qiancheng smiled. "If you come play with me, I'll kneel down, cry, and beg you to tell me where Liao Xue is."

Shen Qiancheng kneeling to beg him...

Su Zeye's lips curled high, though he tried to look nonchalant. "Sure."

---

Sky clear, clouds blue, grass green.

The Shen Family villa sat on the outskirts of Tang City, close to the golf course.

Afraid Shen Qiancheng might run off, the butler had the driver take the two of them, plus two more cars of bodyguards and himself.

Shen Qiancheng sat in the backseat, feeling the squeeze of the cars front and back, so annoyed she wanted to lean up and yank Su Zeye's hair out from the passenger seat.

This club was one Shen Qiancheng frequented, with clothes and clubs stored for her.

The club she used was custom-made from the year she'd been into golf, with her initials engraved on it.

The staff brought out the club. When Shen Qiancheng took it, she found it heavier than she remembered.

Su Zeye came out after changing, catching Shen Qiancheng swinging her club.

Shen Qiancheng gave a contemptuous smile. "This fine club of mine has racked up quite a record in my hands."

Su Zeye was baffled, but the butler behind him broke out in a cold sweat.

Shen Qiancheng had cracked quite a few troublemakers' skulls with that club.

Shen Qiancheng raised an eyebrow at Su Zeye. "Mr. Su, you're so clever. Why don't you just head to the tee?"

Su Zeye was always taken in by that ploy. "Fine."

At the tee.

The lush green grass stretched from their feet to the distance, where a clear little lake gleamed like a blue gem.

Shen Qiancheng hadn't come to play golf. Su Zeye was eager to watch the staff set up the ball.

Shen Qiancheng sidled up to Su Zeye quietly and, turning his own trick against him, said, "Liao Xue's been to Jile Paradise. You think she'd ever accept you?"

Su Zeye, about to swing, froze. His eyes went wide as he glared at the madwoman Shen Qiancheng and yelled, "Shen Qiancheng! What did you say! You took her to my place!"

That panicked expression was absolutely thrilling.

Shen Qiancheng beamed. "Upset, are we? Ha! Su Zeye, with her, it's just about your bruised pride over not getting what you want. From that trial three years ago, I've still got some evidence here, plus the Jile Paradise matter. That could keep you locked up well past our wedding day."

Shen Qiancheng bent and swung—her form flawless, beautiful.

Hole in one.

She turned to face Su Zeye, her expression unfazed but now triumphant. "I'm not the one bowing to you. You're the one under my thumb."

Shen Qiancheng, in a fitted polo shirt and golf slacks, looked lean yet somehow ruthless. But at this moment, she stood smiling before him, with the confidence to throw down such threats.

Shi Jianren had kept her locked up since that beating, but Shen Qiancheng hadn't lost her innate control or her madcap edge.

Su Zeye suddenly remembered—the one who could match him in infamy; three years wouldn't change her nature.

Su Zeye didn't dare meet Shen Qiancheng's eyes. His voice dropped a notch. "Shen Qiancheng, I've already been in. My parents won't let me go back in again."

Shen Qiancheng snorted. "Really? A useless thing who leans on his parents."

Su Zeye hung his head, then—wham—a blow to the head.

Shen Qiancheng drew her arm back fully and cracked the club across Su Zeye's forehead.

Blood flowed down like fruit pulp, blurring his vision.

Then another swing. Shen Qiancheng was aiming to kill.

Su Zeye was knocked to the ground, curling up and shielding his head, groaning in agony.

Shen Qiancheng stepped back, gathered force, and struck again at the small of his back, snarling, "You don't need to tell me where Liao Xue is. Just stay far away from her. Otherwise, next time this club might land somewhere else."

The butler, who'd gone for drinks, saw this and rushed over, pale-faced, to grab Shen Qiancheng. The bodyguards immediately hoisted Su Zeye up.

Shen Qiancheng let herself be held by the guards, her loose hair hanging over her face, a wicked smile curling at her lips.

Ha! That felt damn good!

Su Zeye was carried all the way to the hospital, while Shen Qiancheng was escorted back to the study.

Shi Jianren's face had turned the color of pig liver.

He jabbed a finger at Shen Qiancheng and cursed, "You damned curse! Can't you just give me some peace? Zeye said he fell and hurt his forehead—you think I believe that?"

Shen Qiancheng's lips twitched, barely suppressing a smile as she shook her head. "I don't believe it either."

Seeing Shen Qiancheng so incorrigible, Shi Jianren's blood pressure was about to spike.

A few more looks at her would take years off his life.

"Kneel there! Until you're ready to behave, don't come out." Shi Jianren stamped his foot and left, slamming the door with great force.

The grand study was empty once again, only Shen Qiancheng left.

But this time, Shen Qiancheng was truly, genuinely happy.

After Shi Jianren left, she lay down on the floor.