Chapter 675: Text Messages on the Phone (26)

After Lucy’s husband left, Qiao Anhao and Lucy sat on the sofa.

The coffee had already gone cold, so Qiao Anhao brewed a new pot and poured Lucy and herself a cup.

Lucy said “Thank you”, then pulled out a business card from her bag and handed it over.

Qiao Anhao accepted it with two hands. Even though it was printed in English, she understood it.

Lucy, 31 years old, Psychologist.

Qiao Anhao put the business card away, and gave a simple introduction to Lucy. Before she could finish, Lucy smiled, nodded, and said, “Regarding your text messages, I know all about them.”

After a pause, she added, “Nian told me.” She took a sip of coffee. “As for the misunderstanding I created, I offer you my apologies. However, rest assured, Nian only came to find me purely for business.”

“Uh huh…” Lucy tilted her head and thought about it for a moment. “Simply put, Nian is my patient.”

Lucy is a psychologist and Lu Jinnian is her patient, which is to say, Lu Jinnian’s mental health… Qiao Anhao instantly became stiff, unable to believe what she was hearing.

Lucy looked as though she understood exactly what Qiao Anhao was thinking, then curved her lips into a smile. “Actually, this is Nian’s private matter, and I promised to keep it a secret, but you have this saying in China, something like ‘Whoever hung the bell…'”

Mid-speech, Lucy didn’t quite know how to continue, so Qiao Anhao helped her in English. “Whoever hung the bell on the tiger’s neck must untie it?”

“Right!” Lucy nodded enthusiastically. “I believe, if you knew about it, then it would definitely be helpful for Nian.”

This time, Qiao Anhao didn’t say anything, but stared straight +at Lucy.

“I met Nian five months ago. At the time, my husband and I were driving home when we found him. He drank a lot, so he wasn’t very conscious at the time. He and my husband had known each other for many years and were very good friends, so we took him home with us.

“He wanted to leave when he sobered up, but my husband desperately tried to persuade him to stay. Finally, he agreed.

“He’s really handsome, and a gentleman. Though he doesn’t speak much, but my husband and I like him a lot. Our Nini also likes him too. Nini is our beautiful Labrador retriever.

“A week later, I realized that something was off with him. That night, I went out to a party. It was already three in the morning when I came home. The lights in his room were lit and his door wasn’t shut. I was curious, so I pushed it open to find that he wasn’t asleep and his room was filled with cigarette smoke.

“At the time, I just thought that he was really addicted to smoking, so I tried to persuade him to quit, but he didn’t care.” Lucy shrugged her shoulders, then looked a little helpless. “Though we lived together, we rarely interacted with him. My husband told me that was just the way he was, so I didn’t think much of it.

“Until one day, I came home from work. Nini saw me, immediately jumped onto me and grabbed my leg, dragging me to his bedroom while barking at the door. Nini’s personality is very docile. We rarely see her like this, so I realized that something was wrong. I knocked on the door, but there was no reply. Nini then started to scratch at the door, and that’s when I realized that something wrong, so I hurriedly went to find the keys, and when I opened the door…”

As Lucy said this, she paused for a moment, glanced at Qiao Anhao, then traced a line down her wrist and said, “He had committed suicide.”

Chapter 676: Text Messages on the Phone (27)

Qiao Anhao was stunned. She stared into Lucy’s bright eyes which gradually darkened, as though she wasn’t certain what she’d heard. After a long while had passed, she asked in return, “Suicide?”

With that last word, Qiao Anhao’s heart instantly panicked. So much so, she didn’t dare hear Lucy’s reply.

Lu Jinnian actually tried to commit suicide… Why did he try to kill himself…

She looked as though she was trying really hard to suppress her emotions, tightly clutching the coffee cup in her hands. Her lips had lost all color, like they were drained of blood.

“Yes, suicide.” As she said this, Lucy, who loved to smile, grew upset. “But luckily, I discovered him just in time. He was temporarily unconscious and was sent to the hospital for care. There weren’t any major issues, and it didn’t leave behind any repercussions.

“That day, my husband didn’t rush home from set, so I stayed with Nian in the hospital whilst he was unconscious. He cried two words…”

Because Lucy had heard the two words so many times, though she couldn’t speak Chinese and her pronunciation may have been shaky, she was able to say Qiao Anhao’s name.

“Qiao Qiao.

“After he woke, he became even more quiet. The longest time he went without saying a single word was a week. He loved to randomly stare at one spot in a daze. He, at that time, didn’t eat at all, so he was on an IV drip. However, because the nurse had to step away after taking the needle out, he didn’t know how to call someone for help, so he lost blood.”

Qiao Anhao didn’t know why, but when she heard this, she suddenly lowered her head, not daring to face Lucy.

“That’s when I realized he was severely depressed. His depression was so serious, little thoughts could trigger suicidal ones. That time, when he tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrists, perhaps the idea suddenly came to him whilst he was shaving with a razor.

“Of course, severe depression wouldn’t have come from a single event. This was something that had followed him from his living environment as a child. However, under normal situation it wouldn’t affect him, but perhaps it was some kind of thought that had triggered him.

“I tried so many ways to communicate with him, but they were all useless. Then, I thought about your name. At first, when I mentioned you, he said some wild things, and he practically trashed everything in the house.

“In the end, I could only control him with medicine to calm him down. Then I would spend time with him everyday and endlessly communicate with him. At the time, my husband stopped production to help me. We spent a lot of energy to finally see him improve.

“That period of time, was a challenge for me, but for him, it was a nightmare.

“Though his condition has improved, it doesn’t mean that he’s fine now. He looks normal during the day, but at night, he would never sleep at all. We’ve taken him to the hospital, and to see my psychology teacher. We’ve used many methods, but they haven’t worked. Even if he got a little sleep, it would be induced by medicine.

“It was during all those sleepless nights that I learned all about you from him.

“He used a lot of strength to force himself to forget about you, and yet he still loved you so so deeply.

“You turned him into a hopeless lunatic.

“I put off all the work in my office and spent every night with him for two whole months to help him accept the fact that he had already lost you.”

Chapter 677: Text Messages on the Phone (28)

“I encouraged him to go to work. Through my husband, he was able to take part in a Hollywood picture. In fact, he personally wanted to take the leading male role for the movie. Despite me having caught him staring at your photo in a daze or standing in bewilderment, not knowing what to do with himself, at times, he gradually was able to feel less hurt by you.

“However, forgetting someone isn’t something that happens overnight. Though he drank and smoked, didn’t speak much, and was a little bit of a loner, at the very least, he was able to live like a normal person again. So much so that he didn’t come to see me for as long as a month. At the time, I was really happy. I thought he’d finally stepped out of the darkness and pain. But then, you reappeared… yet, he didn’t have the courage to continue your story together… Eventually, he still wanted to work things out with you and re-immersed himself in that state of suffering and unease…”

A single tear rolled from Qiao Anhao’s right eye, falling down into her coffee cup.

“Actually… Qiao, I really don’t understand you. At first, you clearly rejected him by saying he was unworthy of you. You rejected him that heartlessly, so why did you come to find him after…”

Qiao Anhao raised her head in surprise. She stared at Lucy, then moved her lips. “I never rejected him.”

“How could that be? Nian wouldn’t lie to me. If you hadn’t rejected him,why would he had thought that death was better than life… How would’ve his heart turned to ashes?” Lucy’s expression looked as though she was accusing Qiao Anhao of lying. “All in all, Nian probably didn’t want to touch on the matter, but he told me everything in detail. From what he said, I understood that he waited a really long time for you, then confessed, but you rejected him…”

“I didn’t.” Qiao Anhao shook her head, her pitch-black pupils evidently lifeless. Her eyes quivered and she suddenly looked as though she was speculating something. She then abruptly stood up from the sofa. “Han Ruchu, it must’ve been her!”

Qiao Anhao was so impatient, she spoke Chinese. Lucy didn’t understand, able only to stare at Qiao Anhao’s look of rage in bewilderment. “Qiao? I don’t quite understand.”

Qiao Anhao remained lost in her own thoughts, whilst repeatedly mumbling to herself. Eventually she quietly grit her teeth and said with certainty, “She definitely did something, did something… I won’t let her off… definitely won’t let her off!”

“Qiao? Qiao?” Lucy couldn’t help but stand up and nudge her arm.

Qiao Anhao snapped back to her senses.

“Qiao, are you alright?”

Qiao Anhao suppressed her emotions in a hurry, and forced a smile at Lucy. She said in English, “I’m good. Thank you, Lucy.”

–

From there, Lucy told Qiao Anhao many things about Lu Jinnian’s time in America, but all Qiao Anhao could think about was what Han Ruchu could’ve done to force Lu Jinnian to leave his hometown and frequently be in a daze.

Having sent Lucy off with much difficulty, she shut the doors and angrily rushed up the stairs. She found her car keys and without even changing out of her lounge wear, she rushed out the house, wanting to go to the Xu family to question Han Ruchu.

The moment she sat down in her car and was ready to drive off, she suddenly remembered Xu Jiamu’s call on the night Lu Jinnian and she got married. He had mentioned that there would be a charity event in Beijing soon.

Chapter 678: Text Messages on the Phone (29)

Han Ruchu would be at the charity gala…

Qiao Anhao took out her phone and glanced at the time. The gala was tomorrow night.

She once said that she would make Han Ruchu pay for what she had done to her, bit by bit!

If she charged into the Xu estate on her own and made the situation big without any evidence, nobody would believe her words. Perhaps it would eventually even call uncle and auntie over. Because the relationship between the two families is so tight, they would blame her for not knowing better.

To defeat such a scheming woman, she mustn’t fight her head on…

Qiao Anhao wanted to think of a way to not lay a hand on her, otherwise she’d have smacked the woman till she didn’t know what to do with herself!

At that thought, Qiao Anhao’s anger slowly fizzled out. As she sat in the car, racking her brain over it for a while, a flicker of light suddenly flashed by. She remembered how she had ran out of the hotel to look for Lu Jinnian five months ago, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find him.

Instead, she had bumped into his assistant, who had explained a lot to her. He seemed to have mentioned that Lu Jinnian had a recording pen with evidence of Han Ruchu killing their child… Lu Jinnian had wanted to play it for her on Chinese Valentine’s day. What a shame…

Qiao Anhao suddenly pushed open the car’s door, got out in a hurry, and returned to the house.

When she came back from America with Lu Jinnian, he had only bought back a single suitcase. After they dragged it back to Mian Xiu Garden, they had never replaced it. Today, he was out on a business trip. Even if he had to pack his suitcase, he wouldn’t take the recording pen with him… so it was most likely that the recording pen was somewhere in the villa… She had to steal the recording pen and borrow it for a moment!

Qiao Anhao ran upstairs in one breath, and barged into the bedroom. She then started to rummage through all the boxes and cabinets.

It didn’t take long for her to turn the originally clean and tidy bedroom upside down. She randomly threw things around till there was practically nowhere to stand.

After she flipped through the bedroom’s cabinets, she ran into other rooms. She looked through them room by room before she barged into Lu Jinnian’s study.

Qiao Anhao randomly picked up all the documents that were piled on the desk. She sneaked a glance, then slammed them back onto the desk. A few of those documents crashed to the ground, whilst other unfastened sheets of paper spread across the floor.

She crouched on the floor, completely confused, and started to dig through the desk drawers. There she saw more documents and other things of the sort. She couldn’t help but furrow her brows, as she moved the chair. She stood on top of it and opened the bookcase.

She looked up and down the bookcase, before eventually finding a locked drawer in the lower right corner of the cabinet.

She tugged on the lock, and thought about the keys in the desk drawer she’d seen during her search. Then, she hurriedly turned around, grabbed the keys and turned one of them in the keyhole. When she tried the third key, the lock made a “Kacha” sound and opened up.

Qiao Anhao pulled the drawer to find it full of “NanJin95 Supreme” cigarettes.

She creased her brows. Without a second thought, she dug them all out and threw them into a rubbish bin beside her. Beneath the cigarettes she saw a phone, a recording pen, a bright red marriage certificate, and a folder.

She grabbed the recording pen and pressed the play button. A rustling sound came from the pen.

Chapter 679: Text Messages on the Phone (30)

“Why did you do it? You…”

After about ten seconds, Qiao Anhao recognized that the female voice belonged to Han Ruchu, but before she could finish, Lu Jinnian interrupted her. “‘Will you even be able to look at Jiamu, who once saved your life? In all these years, he has treated you so well, have you forgotten? Do you even have a heart!’ Mrs. Han, was this all you wanted to say?”

There was a pause in the conversation, then Lu Jinnian’s voice was heard again. “I can tell Xu Jiamu everything I did with a clear conscience! What about you? Mrs. Han, could you do the same? As a mother, could you honestly say that you’ve done things with a clear conscience?”

“What a joke! You stole what belongs to Jiamu. You’re here talking to me about having a clear conscience, but don’t you forget you’re an illegitimate child that should have never been born onto this earth! You mother was a shameful mistress. As Jiamu’s birth mother, how could I have a guilty conscience? Let me tell you, even if Xu Enterprise becomes yours, you still won’t be able to change the fact that you’re an illegitimate child. Nor can you change the fact that your mother was a prostitute!”

“Yes. That’s right. My mother was a prostitute. My mother was a mistress who gave birth to me, but she received her just rewards. I’ve also received mine, but even if my mother was lackluster, in my eyes, as her son, she was still a good mother, a great mother. Better than a murderer like yourself!”

“What do you mean by that?” There were hints of astonishment in Han Ruchu’s voice.

“I wonder, if Jiamu knew that his own mother’s hands were so stained with blood they didn’t even show mercy to a two month old baby… Just with what kind of eyes do you think he would look at this kind of mother?”

“So you knew.”

“Yes, of course I knew. Qiao Anhao’s miscarriage was all thanks to your sleeping pills in her swallow’s nest. Mrs. Han, you made such careful preparations, but what a shame, you slipped up and revealed a flaw in your plan.”

“”When did you find out?

“So, the only reason why my several dozen billion investment got scrapped was because you were scheming behind it all? Was it also you who added fuel to the fire when Xu Enterprise stocks fell? Your purpose for all this was to devour the Xu Enterprise and leave Wanli and me with nothing! Am I right?”

At that moment, Han Ruchu’s voice had already clearly lost its imposing demeanor. Even though the speed of her speech was quite steady, she had obviously lost her confidence.

“That’s right.”

“Just what will make you stop? I did this single-handedly. You can come at me…”

“Mrs. Han, if you called hoping that I’ll let you off, let me tell you this… don’t even think about it!”

When Lu Jinnian’s enigmatic final words fell, the rustling sound from the recording pen also disappeared.

Qiao Anhao pinched the recording pen with tightly pursed lips. She then stuffed the recording pen into her pocket and lowered her eyes. She paused there in front of the drawer for a while, before raising her head. Her eyes fell on the phone inside it.

It was the phone Lu Jinnian had previously used… It was the one he’d gotten when she first got into that accident during the shoot of “Heavenly Sword”. Having been used for such a little time, it was no different from a new phone. Why didn’t he use it?

Chapter 680: Text Messages on the Phone (31)

What’s more, even if he didn’t use it, he could casually put it somewhere. Why did he hide it here?

Even though Qiao Anhao knew it was wrong to touch Lu Jinnian’s things without getting his permission, but she had already stolen his recording pen. It wouldn’t make it any worse if she sneaked a look into his phone then, right?

She bit the corner of her lips as she stared at the phone, observing it for a while. In the end, she stretched her arm out and grabbed it.

After she switched on the phone and unlocked it, the start up screen appeared. Half a minute went by, and she was taken to the home screen. There was about thirty percent of the battery left and a reminder to insert the SIM card.

Lu Jinnian’s phone barely had any applications, those few present were basically apps about financing. Qiao Anhao swiped over them in disinterest, before eventually opening WeChat. Perhaps it was because it had been a long time since he had last logged in, she had to enter the password.

Qiao Anhao’s lips twitched with a little regret. She then exited WeChat and tapped onto other apps. She first clicked onto the call logs and realized that the dates stopped at October of last year. Among the series of numbers, there was a call to his assistant. Besides this, there were two other numbers, and the rest of the calls were all to her.

After Qiao Anhao had parted ways with the assistant, she had fainted on the street and was taken to the hospital. When she woke up, she saw that Xu Jiamu had watched over by her bedside, and had even brought her her phone.

After the phone was switched on, it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen Lu Jinnian’s missed calls, but they never amounted to the many calls he’d dialed to her.

Back then, when she fell unconscious from the fall, Xu Jiamu had returned the phone to her, which meant that her phone was at the Xu family estate for several days.

Now that she saw the call log on her phone, and the numerous calls in it, the numbers obviously didn’t match, which went to say… Someone had messed with her phone, or someone had taken out her SIM card and put it into another phone, erasing the messages from her own phone.

Just then, she thought about when exactly she had rejected Lu Jinnian’s confession. In her heart, she kind of understood it now.

Her reaction was incredibly fast. She returned to the home page and clicked open the text messages.

In comparison to the series of numbers in the chat logs, the text messages appeared a lot cleaner and concise. Only her name appeared on the page.

She didn’t even need to click on her own name before she saw the standalone phrase on the page: [I will never accept you for hurting Brother Jiamu.]

Qiao Anhao couldn’t quite explain why she was so nervous, but her heart started to race with disappointment, making her chest heave. Her fingers trembled when she hovered over her name a few times, but she never tapped it. In the end, she shut her eyes, and took a deep breath, as though she was summoning her courage, then finally gritted her teeth and tapped it.

She saw a number of simple sentences.

The first message was sent by her.

[Don’t wait for me. I won’t come to see you.]

He quickly had replied to her with two consecutive ones.

[Qiao Qiao, I love you.] [I’ve loved you for thirteen years.]

After about two hours, she had responded with two messages.

[Are you worthy enough?] [I will never accept you for hurting Brother Jiamu.]

Qiao Anhao stared at the five sentences, under a hundred characters, like she was hit by thunder.

Chapter 681: Text Messages on the Phone (32)

Those words were never sent by her, yet Qiao Anhao felt her heart stop in panic.

She spaced out for about ten whole minutes, before she snapped back to her senses and the emotions inside her instantly grew violent.

There was a gentle warm breeze in the room, yet she felt a cold run through her body. She shifted for a moment to shake off the stiff posture that she’d held for so long, and felt the pain in a certain part of her heart. The pain felt as uncontrollable as the rolling waves of a river.

No wonder he treated her like that when they met again after four months apart.

No wonder he acted as though it had nothing to do with him when she told him that she was in the hospital, rather than ignoring him.

No wonder he sent her on her way when she thought they had reconciled after drugging him and crawling into his bed.

No wonder he was so distant at the airport when she hugged him and confessed her love.

No wonder she felt like there was an invisible divide between the two of them even after they got married.

No wonder… No wonder there are so many ‘no wonder’s…

There was always a little doubt hidden in her heart. At this very moment, she completely understood. She completely understood it all.

If he hadn’t loved her… If she hadn’t accidentally broken the porcelain doll… If the assistant hadn’t told her so much… If it weren’t for his deep, thirteen-year-long love, which gave her infinite courage and perseverance, she imagined that he and her would have probably miss their chance to reunite again.

Only people who are deeply in love understand just how hurtful the three words “Are you worthy?” are.

Lu Jinnian, when the razor cut your wrist, did you feel hopeless in your heart?

It was hopelessness, right?

The woman you loved so much was so cruel to you.

But… how could you have known it was a missed opportunity schemed by someone.

A missed opportunity, a missed opportunity… They say that missed opportunities are the saddest form of lovers destined to meet but not fated to be together.

In actual fact, when has someone ever known the story behind missed opportunities. However, they are opportunities missed one after the other!

Han Ruchu, you’re really something!

Han Ruchu knew that she was Lu Jinnian’s weakness long before she did, so that woman had used the one thing he adored most to take down his whole world!

So as it turned out, the man she loved didn’t leave in regret, but left with a heart reduced to ashes.

So as it turned out, whilst she was searching for him for four months, his heart was actually torn and death looked better to him than life.

Han Ruchu, I definitely won’t let you off!

Heartache, rage, hatred…

Complicated emotions interwove in Qiao Anhao’s chest, and she felt as though her slim body had just received a blow.

She started to shiver. At that moment, she didn’t hold the phone steadily enough, and so it fell to the floorboards.

Her fingertips started to tremble, and then she saw a draft message in a dialogue box – another message he wrote but didn’t send.

[Qiao Qiao, I’m giving Xu Enterprise back to Xu Jiamu. Let’s go back to how we were before. Please?]

Suddenly, Qiao Anhao’s tears fell like rain.

He had received those messages of hers, and yet he still wrote this…

Lu Jinnian, do you even know, how you can so easily make me feel ashamed.

Her fingers hovered across the phone screen, and slowly swiped up. Each and every one of the messages he’d sent, whilst she was unconscious for four days, took form beneath her eyes.

There were hundreds of text messages in total… When she woke up and grabbed her phone, she had only seen a tenth of this amount.

Han Ruchu had taken her sim card, and when she saw Lu Jinnian in pain and brought low after sending him those text messages, just how proud did she feel?

Chapter 682: Text Messages on the Phone (33)

In this world, there wasn’t anything that could hurt Lu Jinnian.

She had never intended to hurt him.

However, in the end, she had hurt him the most.

Qiao Anhao felt like she was stabbed in the chest by a knife. The twinge of pain swept in wave by wave, forcing her to finally not be able to hold it any longer. She pinched Lu Jinnian’s phone whilst crouched on the ground, and started to sob.

After a moment passed, she stopped crying and climbed up from the floor in a panic. She ran back to the bedroom, and found her phone among the mess. She called and waited, but no one picked up. Then, the memory of going through Lu Jinnian’s calls subconsciously reminded her that the phone she was calling could be switched off. She then suddenly remembered that, at that moment, Lu Jinnian was on a plane.

Qiao Anhao dropped her arm, disheartened, standing in the bedroom for a while with the phone in her hand. She then went to the study room and crouched again in front of the drawers. Seeing that there was only a marriage certificate and a folder, she hesitated for a moment, then picked up the folder.

She opened it to find an inheritance allocation document. Huan Ying Entertainment and shares of other companies would go to her, and the beneficiary to the Xu Enterprise was to go to Xu Jiamu.

This inheritance allocation document was signed before New Year’s eve, and the lawyer used was Lu Jinnian’s usual lawyer.

Which went to say that he had returned to the country before New Year’s eve… Qiao Anhao counted the days in her mind, and realized that he had signed the document around the time she was shooting the final scenes for “Heavenly Sword”.

In that case, when she was in trouble on the set of “Heavenly Sword”, that was really him!

Xu Jiamu fell out with him over his acquisition of Xu Enterprise… She and him had parted ways because of Han Ruchu’s meddling, yet he saw it as her abandoning him.

He clearly knew that she and Xu Jiamu had given up on him, but he still left them with something beautiful.

The rims of Qiao Anhao’s eyes reddened again as she placed down the inheritance allocation document.

Lu Jinnian… in your heart, besides me, you actually really care about your little brother, Xu Jiamu, don’t you?

Even though you never said it, you really want that ‘blood is thicker than water’ kind of family-love, don’t you?

Since you want it, then we want it.

You’ve done so much for me, now it’s time for me to do something for you.

Because of you, I was able to feel the warmth and happiness of someone silently taking care of me. I want you to feel that for once as well.

At that thought, Qiao Anhao stared at the inheritance allocation document, and a pang of determination suddenly flashed across her eyes.

–

Xu Jiamu had called to invite Qiao Anhao to the gala. He said it was a charity gala, but it was actually a pleasant sounding excuse to hold a party for the rich and noble families.

Since the age of sixteen, Qiao Anhao had attended these types of parties with Qiao Anxia, uncle Qiao, and aunt Qiao.

This party looked like a charity event to gain donations, but in actual fact, it was an event to show off – for men to show off their wealth while women their looks.

Back then, Qiao Anhao only attended these type of parties a few times. She had stopped going after being tortured by young wealthy women comparing their looks.

On the contrary, Qiao Anxia’s personality was naturally cheerful and belligerent. She would dress up gorgeously every time to attend these events, and every time, she would be the belle of the ball. So much so, in earlier years, Qiao Anxia was rated the most exceptional lady for several years.

The gala was called “The Beijing Gala” and was organized by a club. When Qiao Anhao arrived, the entrance was filled with various types of luxury cars.

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Qiao Anhao stepped into the clubhouse and handed her invitation to the service attendant, before they escorted her into The Crystal Palace themed hall. The gala was filled with glistening lights and gentle piano music in the background. All the prominent families of Beijing were in attendance, dressed in luxury, as they mingled cheerfully with familiar acquaintances.

Qiao Anhao wore a peach-colored strapped long dress under a jacket, which she handed to the attendant. Clutching her handbag, she stood at the entrance, scanning the room from left to right. Eventually, her line of sight fell on a group of wealthy ladies. She walked elegantly in her high heels towards Mother Qiao, who was chatting and laughing away.

“Auntie.”

When Mother Qiao heard her voice, she immediately turned around. Seeing that it was Qiao Anhao, she affectionately held her hand. “Qiao Qiao, you’re here?”

“En.”

Qiao Anhao picked up a wine glass from a tray carried by an attendant next to her. She then obediently stood by Mother Qiao’s side, and after each and every one of the ladies finished introducing themselves, she immediately greeted them with a raised glass.

Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang were in Japan, so they couldn’t attend tonight’s gala. Despite this, Qiao Anhao was in attendance, and though she wasn’t as flamboyant as her sister, she was sweet-tempered. In addition to this, Qiao Anhao released two dramas with high ratings, and so Mother Qiao received never-ending compliments from the wealthy ladies.

Even though Qiao Anhao wasn’t Mother Qiao’s biological daughter, but after taking her in for over ten years, her mouth hung open in delight from other people’s compliments.

Qiao Anhao wore a smile on her face as she stayed with Mother Qiao for a while, surveying the area around her. Finally, she found Han Ruchu in the midst of a casual conversation. She whispered in Mother Qiao’s ear, “Auntie, I’ll go say hi to Aunt Xu.”

Mother Qiao gave a kind laugh and quick nod.

Qiao Anhao gave a friendly smile and nod at the wealthy ladies beside her and said “Excuse me”. Then she turned around and rushed towards where Han Ruchu stood.

Though Lu Jinnian had the largest amount of shares in Xu Enterprise, the beneficiary was actually Xu Jiamu. In the past five months, Xu Jiamu had slowly accumulated more shares in the company, so he had been gaining increasingly more authority. Presumably so, to console Han Ruchu, who had ran the company to the ground.

It had been almost over a month since Qiao Anhao and she had last seen each other. Her complexion looked a lot better than when she had seen her last on her birthday.

Qiao Anhao speculated that by now, Han Ruchu had probably already used her scheming ways to clear the conflict she’d created in their mother-son relationship back then.

… Which was normal.

Qiao Anhao never really hoped that what had happened that night could break their mother-son relationship. After all, blood is thicker than water. Even if Han Ruchu committed the worst of mistakes, Xu Jiamu would still be softhearted.

However, misunderstandings can be remedied, but the divide can never be wiped away.

Yet, tonight, she was going to drive an even deeper wedge in their mother-son relationship!

At that thought, a cold flash of light crossed Qiao Anhao’s eyes. It was only for a split-second, and she instantly regained her usually soft and warm glow. She took a few steps towards Han Ruchu, and opened her mouth to call her as intimately as possible, “Aunt Xu.”

When Han Ruchu heard Qiao Anhao’s voice, her smiling expression whilst chatting with other guests clearly froze. After about ten seconds, she looked over at Qiao Anhao, and smiled with the least bit of warmth, “Qiao Qiao.”

After last year’s birthday fiasco, surely she must think she’s wretched!

Chapter 684: Text Messages on the Phone (35)

After last year’s birthday fiasco, surely she must think she’s wretched!

She was certainly someone who had experienced turbulent winds and waves. Having bumped into her again, she pretended like nothing has happened at all!

But, that was fine. Even if she pretended, she had ways to make her so angry she’ll cough up blood!

Qiao Anhao wore a bright and gentle smile on her face when she walked up to Han Ruchu, as though she’d met an elder she trusted. She reached her hand and linked arms with her as she sweetly said, “Aunt Xu, so here you are. I’ve looked for a good half a day for you. I have something to tell you…”

Qiao Anhao drew closer to Han Ruchu’s ear and said in a low voice, which only the two of them could hear, “After wishing you a happy birthday, l haven’t even wished you a happy New Year yet!”

It’ll be fine if Qiao Anhao hadn’t mentioned the birthday, but as soon as she did so, she could feel Han Ruchu’s body stiffen up. To keep the smile on her face, she became a little tense. Qiao Anhao shot a beaming smile then drew away from her ear, as though she had just whispered the sweetest thing. She waved her arms and said, “Aunt Xu, are you happy!”

“Madam Xu, this is?” asked a smiling middle-aged woman, who had been chatting with Han Ruchu.

Han Ruchu secretly tugged her own arm, wanting to pull away from Qiao Anhao’s hold, however, it only made Qiao Anhao hug tighter. A burning flame rose endlessly in Han Ruchu’s heart, and she used all her strength to suppress herself. After using an enormous amount of energy, she finally forced out a composed smile. She looked at the middle-aged woman, and retaining her calm tone of voice said, “This is the Qiao family’s daughter.”

“Hello, I’m Qiao Anhao.” In comparison to the nestling fire in Han Ruchu’s heart, Qiao Anhao felt extremely carefree. She reached her arm out and touched her glass against the middle-aged woman’s in front of her, then elegantly took a sip of red wine.

“Qiao Anhao, I know. The supporting actress on Alluring Times.”

“So you’ve watched my drama…”

Hearing Qiao Anhao and the woman, who Han Ruchu was originally having a casual conversation with, start to chat enthusiastically, somehow randomly agitated Han Ruchu. She raised her glass and downed her drink. Then she shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to shoot a warm smile at Qiao Anhao. “Qiao Qiao, your auntie is over there, have you said ‘hello’ to her yet?”

How could Qiao Anhao not know Han Ruchu wanted to send her on her way, but what a shame… she would never let her get what she wants!

Not only did she not leave, she was ready to stifle her even more!

“I’ve only just said ‘hello’ to Auntie.” Qiao Anhao blinked as though she’d just thought of something. Then she suddenly said, “Oh, that’s right. Aunt Xu, I forgot I have something else to tell you…”

With that, Qiao Anhao drew closer to Han Ruchu’s ear, then said in a low voice only the two of them could hear, “Last year’s Chinese Valentine’s day, does Aunt Xu know why I could of possibly fallen down the stairs at the Xu family estate?”

“Has Jiamu told you?” asked Han Ruchu as if from a conditioned reflex as soon as she heard Qiao Anhao’s words.

In truth, Qiao Anhao hadn’t known why she had fallen down the stairs back then: was it an accident or someone’s scheme.

The reason she mentioned it was because of the thoughts that rose in her mind after scouring through Lu Jinnian’s drawer.

Chapter 685: Text Messages on the Phone (36)

Qiao Anhao had only casually asked to disturb Han Ruchu for no reason, never imagining that the wily, old woman in love with scheming that she was, she would actually slip up!

From her words, she had really been deliberately set up to fall down the stairs… On Han Ruchu’s birthday, Qiao Anhao hadn’t planed on Xu Jiamu overhearing this… Which went to say, Xu Jiamu knew his mother had tried to harm her…

“Madam Xu, Miss Qiao, what are you both talking about?” Since the middle-aged woman saw Han Ruchu’s expression become full of obvious agitation, she couldn’t help but ask in curiosity.

Han Ruchu quickly calmed down, suddenly remembering that she was at a gala. Just as she was going to find an excuse to mask how she forgot her manners, Qiao Anhao deliberately spoke first, suppressing her.

“Why would Brother Jiamu tell me these things? I was just casually trying my luck. I never imagined that you’d actually let slip the truth. Aunt Xu, you have to be careful now… Don’t go accidentally shooting your mouth off about killing other people’s children like that too…”

When Qiao Anhao said those words, the sweet smile on her face never wavered. To people around them, she looked like a girl whispering secrets to her mother.

When Han Ruchu heard those words, “killing other people’s child”, she tried her hardest to stay calm. Yet Qiao Anhao could clearly feel her pulling her arm away in reflex.

In truth, Han Ruchu’s swing back wasn’t wide at all. It wasn’t something people could detect, but Qiao Anhao deliberately slid along with her movement Then she ripped her arm away from hers, silently gritted her teeth, and fell to the ground with a scream.

The series of events that just unfolded looked as though Han Ruchu had pushed Qiao Anhao to the ground.

It instantly drew the attention of quite a few people around them.

“What’s going on?”

“Yeah, why did you all of a sudden push someone over?”

“Yeah…”

The kindhearted people nearby stepped forward to help Qiao Anhao up, and thoughtfully asked, “Are you all right?”

Xu Jiamu, who wasn’t too far away, noticed that something was strange, and looked over at his mother in confusion as to what was happening. He turned to the people he was having casual conversations with and said “Apologies”, then quickly sped over there. He furrowed his brow when he saw someone supporting Qiao Anhao up, then passed through the crowd to reach her.

Qiao Anhao shook her head at the people who helped her up and said “Thank you”. She then saw Xu Jiamu thread through the crowd of spectating people. She lowered her eyelids and pretended to be totally oblivious. Turning her head, she looked over at Han Ruchu with an innocent expression on her face. “Aunt Xu, did I say something wrong? Why did you suddenly push me?”

In her entire life, Han Ruchu had never suffered such anger, for Qiao Anhao had turned her usual elegant and generous self into a joke.

Just then, the aggrieved look on Qiao Anhao’s face undoubtedly made Han Ruchu so incredibly agitated that her face turned red, and the words ruthlessly jumped out from her mouth. “You’re talking nonsense! When did I push you…”

It’s a shame that before Han Ruchu could finish lashing out, Xu Jiamu abruptly grabbed her wrist.

She was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked over at her own son. Her mouth gaped in panic, as though she had to explain something to him.

Chapter 686: Text Messages on the Phone (37)

Before Han Ruchu could even make a sound, she was dragged out of the gala under everyone’s eyes.

When she and Xu Jiamu returned, the charity auction was just about to start.

The host stood on the stage, holding the mic, and gave an official introduction.

Qiao Anhao took her seat beside mother Qiao Anhao, while she saw Xu Jiamu and Han Ruchu sit down together. The mother and son duo looked like they had been in an argument, as the expressions on their faces looked awful.

Since the people were participating in this charity auction, they naturally looked like they were going to bid for a good cause.

In truth, it wasn’t that there were no good items in these charity galas, but people would go for the final item. Of course, only the noblest of families would bid for it.

The earlier items up for bid weren’t considered particularly expensive. They were mostly jewelry, gems, and decorative items.

The process of an auction was always the same. Qiao Anhao didn’t know just how many times she’d seen it. With her eyes shut, she knew what would happen next.

About over an hour later, it was time for the most important event of the charity gala. The audience, who was half asleep, finally livened up. Even the host went wild, raising his microphone and introducing he next item for bid with witty and charming words.

“Up next, we have a wardrobe named Miracle. Thirty carpenters spent six years to make this rare and valuable product. The starting bid is one billion, two thousand million RMB. Now, let us take a look at the wardrobe, Miracle…”

After the host’s words, the black curtains were unveiled to reveal a dark green wardrobe filled with embedded multicolored gems. Under the lights, the wardrobe was dazzling to the eye.

“It’s really miraculous, right? Now, let’s proceed with the item up for auction. Let’s start the bidding—”

Thirty seconds after the host said his final word someone made the first bid. “One billion, two thousand, three hundred million RMB.”

“One billion, two thousand eight hundred million RMB.”

“One billion, three thousand million RMB.

—

In the span of twenty minutes, this Miracle wardrobe rose to two billion RMB. As the guests continuously made bids, it didn’t look like they were planning on stopping any time soon. It was not until after the price shot up to three billion RMB that there were only two or three families left. The price then rose to two thousand million and there was only the Qiao family at the top.

“Three billion two thousand million, going once.”

“Three billion two thousand million, going twice.”

Just as the host was ready to cry ‘sold!’, Han Ruchu, who had remained silent, suddenly cried, “Three billion four thousand million.”

The entire audience roared.

Who present didn’t know that the Xu family was far from what it once was after the acquisition of the Xu Enterprise.

Han Ruchu calling out ‘Three billion four thousand million’, it suddenly attracted everyone’s attention.

Qiao Anhao had been waiting all night for this very moment.

This bid was actually something that had inadvertently come up in conversation with Qiao Anxia.

She told Qiao Anhao that since the Xu family was far from what it once was, the Qiao family had to help them this year to get the final part of the auction. It was all to tell everyone that though the biggest shareholder of Xu Enterprise was replaced, the Xu family still had money. They could still invest, and although it looked like a large sum of money was spent, the Xu family would still have gained a lot of benefits.

Chapter 687: Text Messages on the Phone (38)

The reason why it was the Qiao family and not the Xu family who made bids at first was because the Qiao family were flourishing for the past two years.

If the Qiao family appeared as though they were determined to win, then many people would give up their fight. On the other hand, since the Xu family asked for such a favor, they would save a large sum of money.

If Han Ruchu wanted Qiao family’s help even after the way she treated Qiao Anhao… Don’t count on it!

To make the Qiao family’s aid seem less conspicuous, Father Qiao deliberately made two counter bids after Han Ruchu’s bids.

“Three billion, six thousand million going once!” big numbers in Chinese aren’t the same as English. For example, 10,000 = 1 million (Written in Chinese characters but actually 10 thousand in English) and 1,000,000,000 = 10 billion (Written in Chinese characters but actually 1 billion in English). I didn’t convert the Chinese numeral system into English, considering it’s in Renminbi. I figured ah… foreign currency = foreign concept of numbers, so perhaps I should keep it’s cultural significance there. To my knowledge, no other culture counts numbers the way Chinese people do, so I thought that I should keep it true to the culture…

“Three billion, six thousand million going twice!”

“… and sold!! At three billion, six thousand million RMB!”

With a slam of his hammer, the host said, “Congratulations Mrs. Han Ruchu of Xu Enterprise for winning the final item up for bid this year.”

The audience erupted in applause when Han Ruchu stood up with a smile on her face and walked over to the stage.

Qiao Anhao pulled her phone out, wrote a simple text with the two English letters ‘ok’, and sent it to Zhao Meng.

The host first shook Han Ruchu’s hand, then handed her the microphone with which she calmly and generously gave a few simple words to the crowd. The presenter smiled, retrieved his microphone, and said, “Now let’s welcome our master of ceremonies with the contract up on stage for Mrs. Han Ruchu to sign in front of everyone. Then Miracle wardrobe will officially belong to her.”

After the presenter’s speech, music broke out.

The master of ceremonies, who was dressed in a pink qipao, carried a tray to the stage, where the presenter personally handed Han Ruchu the pen. As she was just about ready to sign, the music in the background suddenly stopped playing.

The host looked down backstage in confusion and held the microphone up. It looked as though he was asking “Why”, but since the microphone wires were cut off, the audience below couldn’t hear a word she said.

The entire hall erupted in whispers.

The host said something to the people backstage, then turned around to the audience and gave an apologetic bow. Han Ruchu stood with a straight posture when, suddenly, the words “Why did you do it? You…” filled the auction hall.

“Will you even be able to look at Jiamu, who once saved your life? In all these years, he has treated you so well, have you forgotten? Do you even have a heart!”

The first sentence was from a woman, and the second was a man’s.

Everyone thought that the voice sounded quite familiar, but they couldn’t quite make out who it was. With stunned expressions overtaking the people’s faces, the whispers eventually died down.

Even the host up on stage was a little astonished.

But because the voices mentioned the name “Jiamu”, one-by-one, everyone turned their heads towards Xu Jiamu.

He furrowed his brows in bewilderment, without a clue of what was going on.

But before everybody could snap back to their senses, the sound of the same man’s voice from earlier, drifted in. “Mrs. Han, was this all you wanted to say?”

Mrs. Han… Jiamu… At that instant, everyone’s gazes moved from Xu Jiamu to Han Ruchu.

So the woman’s voice belonged to her.

“I can tell Xu Jiamu everything I did with a clear conscience! What about you? Mrs. Han, could you do the same? As a mother, could you honestly say that you’ve done things with a clear conscience?” said the male voice. Although you could only hear the voice, the man sounded elegant, yet with a hidden forcefulness present as well.

Chapter 688: Text Messages on the Phone (39)

Though everyone watched TV, most of the time, Lu Jinnian’s voice was dubbed, so very few people recognized that it was his voice.

Yet Xu Jiamu could still make out that it was him. The stunned expression on his face turned intense.

The recording being broadcasted seemed to have been meddled with for there was a long moment of rustling noises, followed by the clear words from the man’s voice, “You murderer!”

When Han Ruchu heard those words on stage, she finally remembered when the audio was recorded. Her complexion instantly turned paper-white, and her usually calm and graceful self, who was rather good at containing anger, came to reveal a look of shock and panic.

Qiao Anhao sat calm and composed in her seat with her lips curled into a neutral smirk. She was admiring Han Ruchu’s expression at that very moment.

The people below the stage had already lost the mood to pay attention to the auction long ago. Everything stopped there for a long while, before the sudden uproar of conversations born from those few words.

“Murderer? What is the meaning of this?”

“Who is a murderer? Did he mean Madam Xu?”

“Oh my god… what on earth happened?”

Soon after that though, the sound of Han Ruchu’s quiet, evidently lacking confidence voice rang through the hall. “What do you mean by that?”

The sound of the man’s voice followed closely behind her’s. “I wonder, if Jiamu knew that his own mother’s hands were so stained with blood they didn’t even show mercy to a two month old baby… Just with what kind of eyes do you think he would look at this kind of mother?”

“Ah…” The entire audience repeatedly cried in shock for as long as half a minute.

Even Qiao Anhao, who sat beside mother Qiao, let out a low gasp.

Then Han Ruchu’s voice was heard again. “So you knew.”

“What happened?”

“Those words are clear proof that Madam Xu admit to it.”

“She actually killed an unborn child?”

The sounds of astonished gasps turned to increasingly louder discussions.

Han Ruchu stood on stage with a face turned white from distress.

The host who stood next to her glared at Han Ruchu with a look filled with uncomprehending disbelief.

Xu Jiamu’s face looked calm, but his hands had already quietly balled into fists. Because of sheer force, the knuckles were protruding.

Everyone heard the sound of the man’s voice again. “Yes, of course I knew. Qiao Anhao’s miscarriage was all thanks to your sleeping pills in her swallow’s nest. Mrs. Han, you made such careful preparations, but what a shame, you slipped up and revealed a flaw in your plan.”

This time the entire hall was dead silent.

And it was a type of silence that lasted for a good long minute and caused the atmosphere to get out of control.

“Qiao Anhao? Isn’t that the Qiao family’s daughter?”

“Yeah… She was married to Xu Jiamu, then later got divorced. It seemed like it was an amicable divorce, which didn’t affect their two family’s relationship.”

“Isn’t this far too shocking? Qiao Anhao married Xu Jiamu, was pregnant with his child, and then Han Ruchu aborted the baby?”

“What the hell? That is one heartless bitch. She even laid hands on her own flesh and blood?”

Mother Qiao, who sat by Qiao Anhao’s side, was speechless when she heard the news. After a while, she turned her head in shock.

Chapter 689: Text Messages on the Phone (40)

Mother Qiao, who sat by Qiao Anhao’s side, was speechless when she heard the news. After a while, she turned her head in shock. She stared at Qiao Anhao, then asked, “Qiao Qiao? Is this true? You had a baby?”

Qiao Anhao had waited all night for this very moment.

Not only did she want Han Ruchu’s reputation ruined in front of the entire circle of Beijing’s wealthiest, she wanted for the Qiao family to side with her and become enemies!

Even if she wasn’t uncle and auntie’s biological daughter, they were still a family and the same blood ran in their bodies. What’s more, she was raised by them for almost twenty years.

If they knew about just how cruelly Han Ruchu had treated her…

Qiao Anhao let out a cold chuckle, then she put on a shocked expression on her face and the bottom of her eyes began to fog up. “I don’t know what’s going on… I did have a baby, but the baby died in the womb. I was definitely pregnant around the time Aunt Xu gave me the swallow’s nest…”

With those words, two lines of tears rolled down Qiao Anhao’s face. “Auntie, Aunt Xu put sleeping pills in my swallow’s nest and killed my baby…”

On stage, having to face everyone’s finger pointing, Han Ruchu couldn’t take it any longer!

Before the auction even started, she had already gotten into an argument with Qiao Anhao, and now because of the baby, her reputation was ruined…

The image she had worked so hard to uphold all these years, gone! Just like that! Gone!

Han Ruchu instantly looked like she was going to crumble. As though she had nothing to lose, she suddenly stomped down from the stage and headed straight towards Qiao Anhao, then smacked her with the bag in her hand. “You little bitch, did you do this?!”

Qiao Anhao knew that as soon as the recording was broadcasted, Han Ruchu would definitely flip out, but she never imagined that she would actually lose control like this. She actually was going to hit her in front of so many people!

But… Qiao Anhao liked that, because only then could she act delicate and pitiful. It would make people sympathize with her, and at the same time unveil the truth due to Han Ruchu’s anger and shame!

Without any intention of dodging, Qiao Anhao looked at the handbag flying at her, allowing it to smack her on the head.

To endure one moment’s pain for Han Ruchu’s irrevocable situation. It was well worth it!

As the pain struck Qiao Anhao, she discreetly clenched her teeth and cried streams of tears. She stared pitifully at Mother and Father Qiao. With a little shock and panic, she cried, “Uncle, Auntie.”

Mother Qiao’s personality was quite similar to Qiao Anxia’s – incredibly protective.

When Han Ruchu first gave Qiao Anhao those two boxes of swallow’s nest, Mother Qiao had seen Qiao Anhao run to the toilets to vomit a few times when she came over in the afternoon that same day to watch TV together at the Qiao family estate. At the time, she told her that she must’ve eaten something bad on set, so she didn’t think much of it.

Now, after mingling in the business industry for so many years and hearing the broadcasted recording released by an anonymous person, she instantly understood. Already angered beyond restraint, she now saw Han Ruchu actually physically hit Qiao Anhao, and her temper was set alight.

She unexpectedly stood up and addressed the woman by her full name. “Han Ruchu, just what the hell do you want? What evidence do you have to be so sure it was our Qiao Qiao who did this!”

Chapter 690: Text Messages on the Phone (41)

When Mother Qiao finished speaking, she turned her head and stroked Qiao Anhao’s shoulder to comfort her. “Don’t be afraid, Qiao Qiao. Uncle and auntie are here. I’d like to see what she does!”

“If it’s not that little bitch, then who could it be!” Han Ruchu, at this moment, had already lost her mind.

Mother Qiao grew increasingly angry with Han Ruchu’s repeated words “little bitch”. “Han Ruchu, could you watch that mouth of yours. Just who are you calling a little bitch?

“Let me tell you, even if it was Qiao Qiao who broadcasted the recording, what are you really going to do? You’ve done such outrageous things, and yet afraid to let people know about it? You think the Qiao family is easy to bully, don’t you?”

Mother Qiao and Han Ruchu’s argument raised a lot of eyebrows nearby and drew a lot of people’s attention.

Xu Wanli had already stood up from his seat and walked over to Father Qiao. He then said, “Look, there are so many people watching. Can we talk about this when we get home?”

People shouldn’t underestimate Mother Qiao for her usual warm and gentle personality, agreeing to anything Father Qiao said. When the occasion arose, if she didn’t want to fallback, even Father Qiao didn’t dare to mess with her.

What’s more, Qiao Anhao was related to Father Qiao by blood, not Mother Qiao. Since his own wife was protecting his niece like this, who was he to stand out and shut it down. Naturally, he stared at Mother Qiao without making a sound.

Mother Qiao let out a “Hmpf”.

“F*ck talking about this when we get home! I’m telling you all, from this moment forth, the Qiao family and Xu family no longer have any ties. We will never be in contact again! How could you pick on our daughter out of nowhere?! Do you think that we, the Qiao family are weak sauce?! You’ve hit someone in the face, and you want them to kneel over for you? You wish!”

Mid-way through the aunt’s speech, a teary-eyed Qiao Anhao almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.

She had never imagined that her aunt, who only went to work or played mahjong, would actually know how to use internet slang.

“Do you really think that your daughter is good? Do you really think that little bitch is a match for our Jiamu?” Suddenly, Han Ruchu raised her hand and pointed a finger at Qiao Anhao. “Her baby deserved to die, because it was…”

“Enough!” roared Xu Jiamu, who had remained quiet all this time. He had suddenly screamed for he knew exactly what his mother was going to say. He abruptly got up and tugged on Han Ruchu’s arm. “Have you had enough? Or is this not embarrassing enough for you?”

As he said that, he dragged his mother and walked right out the door with a hostile look on his face.

When he passed Qiao Anhao, his feet slightly halted. He really wanted to look at Qiao Anhao and tell her he was sorry, but he never raised his head. He just stopped for half a second, then dragged his mother straight out.

–

Xu Jiamu dragged Han Ruchu all the way out of the Beijing Club without bothering for her cries of “Jiamu, let go of mama”. He didn’t stop until he reached the Xu family’s car.

After seeing them, the housekeeper, who was sitting in the car, hurriedly got out. “Madam, young master, what’s going on?”

Xu Jiamu didn’t even bother with her, directly pulling the car door open and shoving Han Ruchu inside. “Go home!”

He then suddenly slammed the car door shut.

Han Ruchu hastily pushed the door open. “Jiamu, where are you going? Are you not coming home with mama?”

Chapter 691: Text Messages on the Phone (42)

Last time, on Han Ruchu’s birthday, Xu Jiamu was angry for such a long time after learning that she was behind Qiao Anhao falling down the stairs, and he never stepped foot in the Xu family estate again. Not even to spend the New Years together.

Eventually, Han Ruchu ended up in a hospital for refusing to eat or drink. Only then did he come back. The housekeeper took the full blame for everything and told him that it was all her idea, which finally made Xu Jiamu feel more at ease. That hadn’t been all that long ago… And now, all this happened… Except this was far more serious than the last time…

Han Ruchu was frightened to death. This time, with Xu Jiamu’s departure, she didn’t know what she should do to call him back…

She thought about it, and hurriedly got out of the car. She chased after him and grabbed tightly onto his arm. “Jiamu, you’re mad at mama again, am I right? Don’t be mad at mama, okay?

“Listen to mama, that baby wasn’t yours. You were in a coma at the time, so it was that bastard Lu Jinnian’s baby. Mama couldn’t let him keep it… Mama can’t have you raise another person’s child out of nowhere… Mama was doing this for you, you have to believe mama…”

“Is Lu Jinnian an outsider? He’s my brother! He’s also a child of the Xu family. His child is my child. How could the child not be able to stay!” Xu Jiamu didn’t know if it was the anger or the pain, or even perhaps the panic, but with a trembling voice, he said, “Ma, it was a life. It was Qiao Qiao and my brother’s child. A living, breathing life. How could you do it?!”

“That bastard is not your brother! He stole your company!” shrieked Han Ruchu.

“Why did he steal my company? It was all because you killed his child! What’s more, he was meant to have half of that company. It wasn’t all mine!”

As Xu Jiamu said this, he viciously swung Han Ruchu’s arm away, which made her stumble. In the end though, she still managed to quickly grab hold of Xu Jiamu’s again. “Mama was wrong. Mama promises you, mama will never do that again, okay?”

Xu Jiamu was truly a little defeated by the truth. He always knew that his mother didn’t like Lu Jinnian, and he could understand why she never liked him, but never could he have imagined that she would actually do something like this!

HE raised his head and looked up at the sky. With a deep breath, he turned his head around to look at Han Ruchu, suddenly asking in a calm voice, “Just how many more cruel things have you done to them? Tell me all in one go. I beg you, let me mentally prepare for it.”

“No more, no more,” answered Han Ruchu without even thinking twice. She shook her head and then said, “Really, no more.”

“Really, there’s nothing more?” asked Xu Jiamu.

Han Ruchu nodded. “Mama swears on it.”

Xu Jiamu didn’t say anything but stared at Han Ruchu.

She felt a little weak under Xu Jiamu’s gaze. “Jiamu, believe mama. There’s really nothing more. Come home with mama, okay? Please don’t do it like before, not return home…”

Xu Jiamu still didn’t say anything, a tinge of disappointment surfacing in his eyes. It left Han Ruchu a little speechless.

After a long while, she spoke again. “Jiamu, what’s wrong with you? Don’t stop talking. Don’t scare mama, alright?”

Xu Jiamu lowered his eyes and raised his hands, then pulled out a stack of papers from his bag and handed it to Han Ruchu.

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

Chapter 692: Explanation (1)

Xu Jiamu lowered his eyes and raised his hands, then pulled out a stack of papers from his bag and handed it to Han Ruchu.

She looked at him, and hesitated for a moment before taking the papers and flipping through them to find that they were printed text messages of logs from China Mobile.

Han Ruchu used the lights from the roadside to take a closer look for a while. Then, she understood that these were text messages sent between Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian on Chinese Valentine’s day.

After staying quiet for a long time, Xu Jiamu finally said, “During those four days when Qiao Qiao was in the hospital, the phone was at our house. Can you tell me who sent these texts under Qiao Qiao’s name?”

Han Ruchu didn’t say a thing, her fingers lightly trembling with the printed texts in her hand. After a while, she raised her head and asked, “Jiamu, where did you get this?”

Xu Jiamu closed his eyes. “We’ve already reached this point now. Are you honestly concerned about who is setting you up behind your back? The problem is, this isn’t a set up, it’s the truth!

“You knew my brother liked Qiao Qiao, am I right? You used Qiao Anhao as bait to draw him in, so he agreed to impersonate me, am I right? Then you couldn’t bare to see him happy when you found out that Qiao Qiao had a date with him on Valentine’s day, so you ruthlessly pushed her down the stairs. After that you took her phone and sent those messages to my brother, didn’t you!”

As Xu Jiamu roared, his eyes suddenly turned red. “My dad is the one who wronged you, not my brother’s mother, nor my brother. Wake up! This was all Xu Wanli’s fault! Why haven’t you dealt with him? Why do you have to deal with them? What have they done wrong?!”

“It was that shameless Qiao Anhao, am I right? It was Qiao Anhao who did this, am I right?” cried Han Ruchu suddenly while holding the papers.

At that moment, Xu Jiamu didn’t quite know what to do. He raised a hand to rub his forehead and let out a deep sigh. He said, “You really disappoint me.”

With those simple words, he yanked his hand from Han Ruchu’s grasp.

“Jiamu, don’t go…” she said, then as though she had just thought of something, she turned her head and shot a glance at the housekeeper.

The housekeeper instantly understood what Han Ruchu meant and immediately said, “Young master, I took Miss Qiao’s phone and sent those messages. Madam didn’t know about them. It was all me, don’t blame madam…”

“Enough!” Even though Xu Jiamu didn’t turn his head to look at the two of them behind him, he clearly understood something in his heart. “Stop acting. Do the two of you really think I’m stupid? I know whose idea it was to push Qiao Qiao down the stairs. I believed that because you’re my mother… the mother who raised me to be this big, I thought that, after having argued with you for so long in this cold war, you would have reviewed yourself… you would of known where you went wrong… you would of understood what your son cares about, and then you would have respect for your son.

“But in reality, I was wrong.

“Honestly speaking, I have no idea who gave me these text logs. I received them earlier today by anonymous express delivery, and yet you are so certain it was Qiao Qiao who did it.

“From the beginning, you never thought about the fact that you were in the wrong. You always stood at the best place from which you could make other people’s lives miserable.”

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Chapter 693: Explanation (2)

Having said that, Xu Jiamu suddenly turned his head with a calm expression on his face and stared at Han Ruchu, who had no idea when she had started crying. “I’ve given you opportunities. And not once. Just now, when I asked you what else have you done, you spoke so candidly to me… All the wrongs you’ve committed, I could’ve redeem them for you, but you didn’t tell me. You still tried to treat me like an idiot and lie to me again.

“Look after yourself. I will never go back to the Xu family estate.”

“Jiamu, don’t! Mama was really wrong… Mama can’t do this, Jiamu…” When Han Ruchu said the last word, she finally broke into a pained cry.

Xu Jiamu lowered his eyes. She was his real mother after all. Seeing her cry like this, his heart still hurt. “I really want to believe you, but I’m sorry, I can’t.”

When Xu Jiamu finished speaking, he took two steps back.

Han Ruchu cried even more erratically, like her heart was torn. “Jiamu, mama has nothing left. Tonight, mama’s reputation has been ruined, everyone will say that mama is a horrible person and your papa will definitely blame me for this mess. If mama was to lose you, mama really would be left with nothing… Jiamu… Mama begs you not to leave…”

In the end, Xu Jiamu turned around.

The housekeeper also started to plead. “Young master, don’t leave.”

“Jiamu…”

Xu Jiamu pulled his own car’s door open and sat inside.

“Jiamu, mama was really wrong, Jiamu…”

Xu Jiamu shut his eyes and closed the door, isolating himself from the cries outside.

He sat in the driver’s seat in a daze for a while, without even looking at Han Ruchu on the side. Then, he started up the car and drove off.

As he drove, Xu Jiamu finally stopped holding back, and a single tear rolled out.

He was really heartbroken.

He couldn’t say what he was so heartbroken about.

He felt like in a single night, everything he knew was overthrown.

His mother, who always loved him, did such a cruel thing to his brother and his friend.

That brother of his, who he had hated and blamed, clearly acquired Xu Enterprise but also secretly left it to him. Even in his will, Lu Jinnian wrote his name as that of a beneficiary. Uncaring that his mother treated him like that.

The tears flowed endlessly from Xu Jiamu’s eyes. Every now and then, he would raise his hand and wipe them away. He then pulled out a print out of a document. It was a copy of Lu Jinnian’s personally signed will.

So his brother, who never liked to respond to anyone since he was young and always worked hard to adapt, actually… from his very bones, really cared about his little brother.

Xu Jiamu’s fingers, which were tightly clutching onto the photocopy, started to tremble. In the end, he couldn’t hold his emotions down anymore. He stopped the car by the side of the road and laid down on the steering wheel, his shoulders starting to tremble.

–

Because Han Ruchu was dragged away by Xu Jiamu, the auction was forced to stop. Without the main lead, naturally the explosive news suddenly died down and everyone left one after the other.

Father and Mother Qiao were really angry, but also really worried, as they endlessly tried to comfort Qiao Anhao. So much so, they insisted to take her back to the Qiao family estate with them.

Only when Qiao Anhao told them three times over that she was fine, and that she just wanted to be alone for a while, did they reluctantly let her be.

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Chapter 694: Explanation (3)

When Qiao Anhao parted ways with Father and Mother Qiao, she went back to her car and left Beijing Club. She drove straight to the New Haven shopping mall, then found a place to park the car. After pulling out a few coins, she walked up to the public phone box and dialed Han Ruchu’s number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.

Through the phone, Han Ruchu sounded weak and dispirited, as though she had recently received a big shock. “Hello, who is this?”

Qiao Anhao silently held the public phone for ten seconds before speaking. “Me.”

Although it was just one word, Han Ruchu could tell who it was. “Why are you calling me? I don’t have anything to say to you!”

She sounded as though she was going to hang up the phone.

Qiao Anhao was very certain that Han Ruchu wouldn’t actually hang up the phone and chose to continue to listen. She said in a calm and composed voice, at a neutral speed, “I was the one who sent Brother Jiamu the copies of the text messages, so that even if I clearly fell by myself at the gala, he wouldn’t believe you. In his heart, he would already subconsciously believe that his mother wanted to harm me.”

Just as Qiao Anhao imagined, not only did Han Ruchu not cut the call, she cursed her. The woman was fuming with rage. “Bitch!”

Qiao Anhao ignored it and continued to speak at leisure. “Of course I was the one who organized the recording at the charity gala. And naturally, the recording wasn’t only to embarrass you. The main objective was to put it out for Brother Jiamu to hear… Aunt Xu, Brother Jiamu must be really mad right now, isn’t he?”

“You little bitch!” Through the phone, Han Ruchu was so angry that her breathing started to become unstable.

“Bitch? Don’t you worry. Even if I were a bitch, I wouldn’t go as far as to kill your child!” Qiao Anhao let out a chuckle. With a little curiosity in her voice, she said, “I really want to ask, if I’m a bitch for doing this, then just how would you describe what you did?”

As Qiao Anhao spoke those words, her face instantly became cold. Her voice turned as fierce as a whip. “Don’t assume that other people are stupid and you’re the smartest. You just used the fact that Lu Jinnian liked me and I liked him, that’s the only reason you were able to stir up trouble. I called you to tell you that now you have to start paying back what you owe. Last year on your birthday, I told you… I will make everyone betray you and your family leave you! I won’t let you die easy! That, I can promise you!”

“Make everyone betray me and my family leave me? Jiamu is my son. As mother and son, our hearts are aligned. Even if he’s mad right now, he won’t be able to not care about me!” said Han Ruchu.

If things were like before, Qiao Anhao wouldn’t be completely sure, but now they were different. Xu Jiamu had the copy of Lu Jinnian’s will that she had sent him.

She and Xu Jiamu were friends since they were young. Even though he is Han Ruchu’s son, his temper is really different. He’s a very sentimental person. On top of that, with a copy of the text messages, the recording pen, and the will, these three explosive pieces before Xu Jiamu’s eyes were enough to shake his belief in Han Ruchu.

Then, if anything were to happen to her and Lu Jinnian… The first person Xu Jiamu would assume behind it, would be his mother!

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Chapter 695: Explanation?4?

Qiao Anhao asked leisurely, “Really? Auntie Xu, let’s see who’s the final one standing!”

Qiao Anhao removed her ear piece, but when she was about to hang up, she suddenly thought of something – she placed the ear piece back to her ear and spoke sweetly. “Oh right, one more thing, I forgot to mention that I’ve already married Lu Jinnian. Your efforts to ruin him have all gone down the drain, I really want to know how you’re going to continue your battle with him now that you lost his only Achilles heel.”

“You bitch…” Han Ruchu spat out through clenched teeth, but before she could finish her sentence, she started to cough violently.

Housekeeper Xu’s voice came through the phone, “Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Xu, are you alright?

“Mrs. Xu, you vomited blood!

“Call the ambulance, hurry…”

Qiao Anhao took in the entire exchange without feeling a hint of guilt, instead, the arrogance and forcefulness she had on when she confronted Han Ruchu remained etched on her face.

Han Ruchu, you were finally defeated for the very first time on the night of your birthday!

Today, you remain beneath me!

But no worries, from now on, everything has changed. From now on, you will never be able to rise again!

–

On the way to her car from the public phone, Qiao Anhao received a call from Lu Jinnian.

It was currently 11pm in Beijing and 10 am in America.

Before his plane took off, he informed her about the emergency meeting he was going to have the moment he reached America, hence he didn’t have time to call her. The flight was about fifteen hours and if she were to calculate, he should be done with his meeting by now or be having a break in the midst of it.

Not entering the car, she found a bench beside the mall. Above her was a street lamp spilling a warm glow over her.

Due to the late hour, there weren’t many people in the mall, other than the occasional car driving past, the surroundings seemed too quiet.

Lu Jinnian sent a video call request, and after she agreed, the screen went into darkness for about ten seconds before his face popped up.

From his back view, he was probably in a hotel room. He had a bathrobe on and his hair was half wet from a shower.

“Qiao Qiao?”

“Yea,” Qiao Anhao replied, before she could say another word, she saw the image of him on the screen frown deeply. “You’re outside?”

Lifting his head to look into his wrist watch, he said, “It’s 11 pm in Beijing, why aren’t you home? Are you alone outside? It’s not safe.”

When he glanced at the time, the black strapped watch appeared in the corner of the screen. Qiao Anhao tightened her grip on the phone, her gaze fixed on the watch.

Behind it, was there an ugly yet heartbreaking scar?

After talking for a long while, Lu Jinnian realized that Qiao Anhao hadn’t moved. Through the screen, he could see her gaze fixed on a corner. “Qiao Qiao? What’s wrong? What happened?”

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

Chapter 696: Explanation?5?

Qiao Anhao shook her head, getting back to her senses. Staring into the camera, she smiled tenderly before replying with a soft voice, “Nope.”

She then changed the topic swiftly. “You’re done with work?”

“Err… After about twelve hours of meeting, I just reached the hotel. I have another meeting at 3 pm this afternoon.” Lu Jinnian gave a detailed report of his schedule after her single question.

Lu Jinnian had been working for such a long time and hadn’t even had time to rest… He was even due for a meeting at 3 pm… “Oh…” Qiao Anhao started to worry. “Why aren’t you resting?”

“In a while,” Lu Jinnian replied warmly. He looked at the empty streets behind her before and asked, “Are you upset? Why are you alone out on the streets?”

“No.” Qiao Anhao shook her head, she tilted her phone downwards to show her evening gown. “I just attended a ball.”

Qiao Anhao wore an evening gown with a low neckline and had a coat over her shoulders. When she tilted the phone down, a large portion of her while flawless skin came into sight before half her chest was shown.

Lu Jinnian turned his head away, but his voice was still laced with a faint hoarseness when he spoke. “It’s cold outside, hurry into the car, you’re going to get a cold.”

“A while more…”

Lu Jinnian turned back to the screen and saw the phone still directed at her chest. His throat tightened, taking a difficult gulp, he struggled to force out his word. “Be good.”

Why did he seem like he was coaxing a child… She wasn’t a child…

Qiao Anhao pouted, but deep inside, her heart melted. Even though she had wanted to stay a little longer, her body stood up instinctively and headed for the car obediently.

While she drove, Lu Jinnian changed the call into a voice call. Even though the safety in Beijing was good, he was still afraid that a video call might get her into an accident.

He didn’t want to cause a distraction so he remained silent for the entire journey back.

Through the phone, he could hear her car moving, and she had stuffed a wireless ear piece into her ear and could pick up on the sound of television from his room. Even though no one spoke, Qiao Anhao felt safe and at ease on her way back home.

After entering Mian Xiu Garden, she pulled out the ear piece and hung up on the call before sending him a video call. When the call went through, she said, “I’m back home.”

“Yea,” Lu Jinnian replied. She could hear a buzzing on the other side, but just then, Lu Jinnian muted the sound. “There’s milk in the fridge, remember to heat it up, it’ll help you sleep.”

When he was home, it was always done by him. Now that he was overseas for work, he would still remember his duties.

“Hmm…” Qiao Anhao changed her shoes before entering the kitchen. As she waited for the milk to heat up, she glanced at the screen. Lu Jinnian was staring at the muted television as it showed the latest financial news. “Aren’t you tired?”

Lu Jinnian turned to look at her. “A little more, I’m not sleepy yet.”

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Chapter 697: Explanation?6?

Qiao Anhao removed the heated milk and placed a straw into the cup. After taking a sip, she blurted, “Are you getting insomnia from missing me too much?”

The moment the question left her mouth, she realized how shameless she was…

Qiao Anhao lowered her head, not able to face Lu Jinnian through the screen. Her eyes rotated nervously before finally lifting slowly to sneak a peek. Lu Jinnian’s dashing face was staring at her through the screen.

Qiao Anhao could feel her heart race and her face flush, and she couldn’t help lowering her head once more to gulp down more milk. Before she could swallow the milk, she heard his reply. “Yea.”

She couldn’t understand his single word. “Uh?”

Lu Jinnian glanced at her adorable and confused expression, his lips curling upwards slightly. He slouched back on his pillow lazily and added, “I said, yea, I miss you.”

After being married for so many days, he hadn’t said anything sweet to her.

This was the first time.

Qiao Anhao’s heart tightened, warmth engulfing her as she bit down the straw. After a while, she replied with a soft “Oh” to acknowledge his words.

Lu Jinnian remained silent as he continued to stare at her, his long lashes seemingly motionless.

Qiao Anhao lowered her lids, not looking at him. They were surrounded by silence. After taking a gulp, she released the straw she was chewing. “I miss you too.”

After her confession, her heart raced instantly.

After loving him for such a long time, even after causing a scene in America when she confessed, she had never said anything so seriously before.

This was the first time.

Time seemed to stop as the world froze around them.

In the end, it was Lu Jinnian who changed the topic. He lifted his finger, waving it in front of the camera. “Look, it’s bruised.”

Qiao Anhao glanced up to look at the finger he was waving—there were several tooth imprints on it and it had turned a deep shade of purple.

Yesterday at daybreak when she had dug for the marriage certificate, she had bit him… At that time, she was upset and afraid… and had bit down with all her strength, but she didn’t know it was that bad…

Qiao Anhao pouted in embarrassment.

Lu Jinnian shifted on the bed to find a more comfortable position before he continued warmly, “During the meeting, everyone saw it, they even asked how I got it.”

“Ah?” Qiao Anhao’s eyes went wide. “What did you say? Did you say it was me?”

“No,” Lu Jinnian assured her, and Qiao Anhao heaved a sigh, but just then, he continued, “I told them the puppy at home had gone crazy yesterday and bit me. They even advised me to get a rabies vaccine.”

Qiao Anhao burst out laughing, but then her face darkened. “Lu Jinnian, did you just call me a puppy?”

Amusement tainted his face. “I guess you aren’t that dumb.”

Qiao Anhao growled. “Lu Jinnian, are you calling me a dumb puppy?”

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Chapter 698: Explanation?7?

Lu Jinnian chuckled lightly as he gazed at the tiny woman across the screen. Leisurely, he added, “Mmh, a dumb puppy I love.”

A dumb puppy I love… Qiao Anhao felt as though a feather had brushed across the most sensitive part of her heart, and she floated on a cloud. Her gaze flickered around continuously.

Even though he had called her a puppy, oh wait, a dumb puppy… But deep inside, she still felt warm and cuddly… Is she becoming a masochist?

Qiao Anhao had wanted to keep a straight face and act mad, but she couldn’t help her lips from tilting upwards. “Lu Jinnian, are you confessing to me right now?”

Lu Jinnian chuckled once more, without answering her question, he asked, “What do you think?”

I think that you are.

Qiao Anhao replied silently before placing the empty milk bottle on the table beside her. She glanced up at the time, it was already midnight.

It should be 11 am where he was and he had a meeting at 3pm… Ever since he left yesterday, he had been working relentlessly…

Qiao Anhao lifted her lids, and through the screen, she glanced at Lu Jinnian. “Aren’t you sleeping?”

“Hmm… A while more…”

After a long flight and a meeting that lasted the whole night, he was worn out, but talking to her peacefully like that allowed him to unwind and relax, which was far more nourishing than sleeping alone.

“It’s a long distance video call, it’s going to be expensive. Besides, I was the one who called, the call might suddenly cut off due to insufficient funds,” Qiao Anhao nagged.

Lu Jinnian slouched against the pillow lazily, he held his phone and started to type away silently.

Qiao Anhao could only hear the tapping sound made when as he tapped his phone.

“What are you doing?” Qiao Anhao asked curiously. “Talking to someone?”

“Mmh.” Lu Jinnian was clearly distracted.

Just then, Qiao Anhao’s phone vibrated. Two messages popped up on her screen.

It was from Telco company, stating that her account had been charged twice, each of the sums going up to five digits. The other message was the new balance in her account which was up to six digits.

Qiao Anhao startled.

“Has it reached?”

That’s when it dawned on her. “You were charging my account just now?”

Lu Jinnian lifted a brow. He remained silent but his actions confirmed her guess.

So this was what it meant when happiness and bliss came by.

There were some things that she had wanted to tell him when he was back, but right now she could no longer keep it in.

“Er… Lu Jinnian, if you really can’t sleep, can I tell you a story?”

“Sure,” Lu Jinnian replied without hesitation. “I’m all ears.”

Qiao Anhao smiled, then added, “Give me a moment, I’ll tell you when I’m upstairs.”

“Mmh.”

Qiao Anhao ran up the stairs into the bedroom. Mimicking Lu Jinnian, she propped up a pillow and slouched back, hugging onto the blanket. “I’m going to start now.”

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Chapter 699: Explanation?8?

“I’m going to start now.”

“Mmh.”

Qiao Anhao raised the phone and stared at Lu Jinnian silently for about ten seconds, as though trying to organize her thoughts. Clearing her voice, she began, “Long ago, there was a man and a woman who had an ambiguous relationship. One day, they decided to have dinner together.”

As she started her story, her mind floated back to Valentine’s day the previous year.

“The woman tried on all the clothes in her closet before finally settling on a piece. She then headed to the mall nearby to get her makeup done. At that time, it was just 1 pm, there was about six hours before their dinner, so she walked around the mall to kill time. After walking aimlessly for a while, she suddenly thought of something, heading to the male department to choose a present.

“While the woman was queuing up to pay for the gift, something happened. She went to find the man and inadvertently said some hurtful words, infuriating him. They quarreled and he left.”

Qiao Anhao’s voice was soft and warm, calming to the ears.

Lu Jinnian remained silent, taking in everything seriously. He seemed to have guessed what she was saying, his expression turning solemn but he continued to listen silently without interruption.

“At that time, the woman had apologized but the man was too angry. The woman didn’t do it intentionally and couldn’t help feeling wronged. Just like that, they went into a cold war.

“Because of the man, an auntie that had always treated the woman well since she was young fell ill so she went over for a visit.”

As she continued, Lu Jinnian was brought back to the memories of that day. “That man wasn’t really angry, he was just upset that the woman was comparing him to someone else. That day, he went to the gym and ran for two whole hours before finally realizing that he had been impatient, so he sent her an apology message.”

Qiao Anhao took a steadying breath. “But the man didn’t know… When the woman went to the auntie’s house, she heard some things which caused her to be slightly affected. When she was in the bathroom and saw her exquisite makeup, she became reluctant to see their dinner date get ruined so she wanted to send the man an apology message.

“The woman didn’t just want to do it, she had even crafted the message to him.”

Lu Jinnian stared straight at Qiao Anhao without saying a word.

“The woman thought for a very long time before putting down her thoughts.”

Even though her tone was light, somehow Lu Jinnian could sense a hint of sorrow.

“The woman’s message went like this – I was too agitated this afternoon, I’m sorry. You wanted to meet for dinner, shall we have a talk then? I’ll wait for you at home…”

Lu Jinnian looked doubtful. On a corner of the phone that she couldn’t see, his fingers started to tremble.