The room was filled with the sound of heavy breathing, which gradually calmed down.
Qin Zhao felt happy yet apprehensive at the same time.
Out of the blue, Nan Yue appeared and got intimate with her when they hadn't seen each other for a long time.
It was like Tang Seng journeying to the West for Buddhist scriptures, and halfway through, he was suddenly blown off course to the Western Paradise.
Anyone would feel confused in such a situation.
Their bodies were very close. Any slight movement would cause a tingling sensation where their skin touched.
As a result, Qin Zhao didn't even dare to breathe too hard.
The long silence was broken by Nan Yue in a startling way!
"Qin Zhao, let's break up."
Nan Yue spoke in an indifferent tone, without any fluctuations in her emotions, as if she was just talking about something trivial.
But Qin Zhao was no fool. If Nan Yue really didn't care about her, why would she be so intimate?
Instead of responding, she asked, "What difficulties have you encountered? Tell me, and I'll share the burden with you."
Nan Yue didn't answer for a long time. Soon, Qin Zhao heard suppressed, anguished sobs.
Qin Zhao searched for Nan Yue's hand under the quilt and held it when she found it, hoping to give her some encouragement.
However, Nan Yue's words still disappointed her.
Nan Yue's sobs gradually subsided.
She spoke in an unusually cold tone, "We are too weak to stand up against Nan Chenghui.
I have no choice, but you don't need to get involved in this muddy water."
She didn't want to implicate Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao's heart was unmoved. Nan Chenghui's current state showed how formidable he was.
Nan Yue was just intimidated by her own imagination.
"Even if you don't tell me what happened, I will deal with him in my own way."
Nan Yue was stunned for a moment. "Why?"
Nan Yue was very worried that Qin Zhao would say it was for her.
Qin Zhao said, "For many reasons, but ultimately because I loathe this man."
Although this was a little sly, it was the truth.
Firstly, Nan Chenghui was the biggest obstacle, apart from Ye Chenxi, to completing her mission.
Secondly, she had made a promise to Chen Xiao and could not fail him after his sacrifice.
No matter how she looked at it, Nan Chenghui was detestable.
Nan Yue was relieved that she didn't hear the answer she feared, but at the same time, felt empty.
The two of them just looked at each other, lost in their own thoughts.
Half an hour later, Nan Yue got up, got dressed, and said, "I came today just to say we're breaking up. The next time we meet, we'll be strangers."
She picked up her bag and took out a bank card, placing it on the bedside table. "This money is enough for you to live a carefree, affluent life from now on."
Qin Zhao laughed and said, "Miss Nan, is this payment for my sexual services?"
"Sexual ser...services."
Nan Yue repeated the words with difficulty, as if reluctant to say them. Her cheeks flushed.
She heaved a long sigh. "If that's how you want to think of it, then so be it."
With that said, Nan Yue headed for the door.
Qin Zhao muttered a Chinese idiom under her breath, grabbed her bathrobe and put it on, then chased after her.
At the door, she caught Nan Yue's hand and said helplessly, "Don't go, or you'll regret it."
Nan Yue closed her eyes briefly, suppressed the surging emotions, and shook off Qin Zhao's restraint.
"There's no need for this. We should never have crossed paths in the first place."
This time she left decisively, and Qin Zhao didn't try to stop her again.
Qin Zhao went back to the bedroom and lay down, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The system couldn't help asking, "Host, are you very sad?"
Qin Zhao shook her head. "A little, but not much."
"Then what are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about how to make Nan Yue, that arrogant woman, regret this."
"Are you really going to deal with her?"
Considering that AI couldn't comprehend complex human emotions like love-hate relationships, Qin Zhao simply replied, "Yes, I want to show her how formidable I am and make her understand who should be on top!"
On top? What did that have to do with anything? The system was baffled.
-
After leaving Qin Zhao's place, Nan Yue went straight to the hospital.
A nurse led her to Nan Chenghui's luxurious private room.
Three bodyguards were standing guard outside. They were talking softly about something but quickly stood at attention and greeted respectfully, "Miss Nan."
Nan Yue nodded at them. "Open the door."
The dark-browed man looked hesitant. "Miss Nan, your father said he wanted peace and quiet and no one was allowed to go in and disturb him."
"Open it. I'll take responsibility if anything happens."
After hesitating for a while, the dark-browed man opened the door for her.
The room reeked of medicine, and Nan Yue's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She walked to Nan Chenghui's bedside and looked at him silently.
Nan Chenghui was plugged into various devices, some to keep him alive, some to help him eat and excrete.
The doctor said that as long as he stayed like this, he could live three to five more years, but it would be too agonizing.
The best way to restore basic health was skin graft surgery.
But that carried greater risks, and the patient could die on the operating table.
For now, the choice was Nan Chenghui's. But if he lost consciousness, whether to operate would be decided by his family.
Naturally, Nan Yue hoped Nan Chenghui would die sooner.
Every minute Nan Chenghui lived was torment for her.
Suddenly, Nan Chenghui's eyes flew open and met Nan Yue's!
Nan Yue's heart skipped a beat and she struggled to maintain her composure.
Even in this state, the oppressive aura Nan Chenghui exuded was undiminished.
And Nan Chenghui keenly caught the fleeting coldness on Nan Yue's face.
Looking at his daughter, he felt his life was tragic beyond words.
But this feeling quickly faded, leaving only abyssal hatred.
He hated all the healthy people who could move freely!
And the person before him was someone he once firmly controlled, who tried to break free halfway, and finally obediently returned to his side - the only one who could sink down with him!
Nan Yue was so frightened by Nan Chenghui's eyes hidden under the bandages that chills ran down her spine.
She thought of the spider demon in Inuyasha and involuntarily wanted to step back.
But realizing that if she retreated now, she would completely surrender to Nan Chenghui's domination through fear, she stopped herself from moving back.
Nan Chenghui's fingers twitched as he asked, "Who left those marks on your neck?"
His mouth and chin were wrapped in gauze so his voice was muffled, like it was coming out of an old radio running out of power.
Nan Chenghui cared deeply about her chastity, so it was inevitable he would ask this when seeing the hickeys on her neck.
Nan Yue answered truthfully, "Qin Zhao."
"You filthy woman!"
Nan Yue mocked, "Who's filthier than you? You have a wife yet fool around outside.
Do you think I don't know what you've been doing?
Mrs. Li knows too.
She doesn't expose you only because she doesn't care."
Nan Chenghui's eyes turned bloodshot, as if he couldn't believe Nan Yue's words.
"You're talking nonsense!"
When the two women closest to him didn't care about him, how should he choose?
Nan Yue's purpose in visiting Nan Chenghui was precisely to bring out this dilemma!
Li Shuyun was now the decision maker in the company, so she must have Nan Chenghui's support.
To seize power, she had to undermine the relationship between husband and wife.
To that end, she had made use of Qin Zhao too.
Although it also involved genuine feelings, her motives were impure, which was a sin in itself.
That was why she had resolutely left in the end, refusing Qin Zhao's help.
Someone like her didn't deserve to be with Qin Zhao.
"It doesn't matter what I say. Look at what Mrs. Li has done. She's been in France all these years not for art, but to get away from you.
When you were injured, she was so delighted she cheered in her room.
Believe it or not?"
"Enough!!" Nan Chenghui yelled furiously, "Get out!!"
If she could enrage Nan Chenghui, she had succeeded halfway.
The other half depended on whether Nan Chenghui chose his wife or his daughter who could continue his bloodline.
Nan Yue didn't care about continuing the family line, but men were extremely concerned with passing on their genes.
And this was exactly the feudal mentality she was exploiting!
When she left the ward, she happened to see Li Shuyun walking over from the opposite direction.
The two women nodded at each other, not even exchanging basic pleasantries before brushing past one another.
A faint smile surfaced on Nan Yue's cold face.
Mrs. Li, between you and me, who will be the final winner in this power struggle?
