Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Didn"t I say I will pick you up? It"s just a minor injury, don"t worry,” he said as he pressed a tissue against the wound. Blood seeped through the flimsy material.

“You can"t ignore your injury so that you can pick me up! I"m worried about you, and you are making me worry more by doing this.” Song Yu removed his hand from his head, checking the wound. It was not as bad as she thought it would be. She breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the fact that the bleeding did not stop worried her. “It"s still bleeding. You need to disinfect and stop the bleeding, not just mop it up with a tissue.”

The cut on Qi Chengzhi"s forehead was the size of a Nin Jiom Herbal Cough Syrup bottle top. The wound was small, but it did not stop Song Yu from worrying about it.

Qi Chengzhi masked his pain in hopes of belaying her worries, but she could not stop her emotions as she stared at his handsome face now marred.

It had to have hurt—it was an open wound after all.

Tears welled in her eyes. Qi Chengzhi"s nonchalance made her heart ache.

“Chang Lai, please make a stop at the hospital,” Song Yu"s voice trembled as she spoke.

“It"s fine. I don"t want to be late. It"s the first time your mom has sincerely invited me, and she even prepared my favorite dishes. I don"t want to give a bad impression,” Qi Chengzhi insisted. His face was pale, as he laid back.

“I"m sure my mom will understand,” a.s.sured Song Yu as she watched Cheng Lai take the turn that placed them on the path to the hospital.

Qi Chengzhi fell silent, spotting the tears that filled her eyes.

Chang Lai sneaked a glance at the rearview mirror, allowing his curiosity to prevail.

He noted the change in the director"s mannerisms. Before Song Yu had gotten in Qi Chengzhi had been quite energetic, dabbing at the wound with his tissue while a.s.sessing the damage through his phone. He even took a few work-related calls.

In the presence of Song Yu, however, all his vigor had evaporated, leaving behind a man weak with suffering who was still trying to brave the injury. It garnered plenty of sympathies.

Chan Lai knew a ruse when he saw one, and this was a rouse. Although, he did doubt its success.

The following conversation placed him in his place.

Song Yu gently slung an arm around his neck, allowing him to gently rest his head on her shoulder. “Does it hurt?”

“It"s bearable. Just a slight headache.” Qi Chengzhi"s baritone voice dipped lower into a pitiful, frail mumble. The weak murmurs against her neck tugged sharply at her heart.

Chang Lai pursed his lips together.

“How did you get into an accident? You"re usually so cautious when you drive.” Song Yu pulled out another tissue and pressed it to the wound.

Qi Chengzhi did not answer. Chang Lai understood his silence, and, thinking on his feet, quickly said, “It was Manager Jian.

“I don"t know what"s wrong with him. The director was making a turn when Manager Jian slammed into the car"s rear. The director"s car swerved and got into a second collision with another car. The injury came from the successive collisions.”

“Is he insane?” Song Yu exclaimed.

“I"m fine,” Qi Chengzhi smiled and pinched Song Yu"s hand.

This reaffirmed Chang Lai"s hypothesis—the director was putting on an act.

A moment later, Qi Chengzhi"s phone rang. It was Cheng Dongge.

“It"s probably the investigation,” Qi Chengzhi said.

“Let me.” Song Yu took the phone. “Special a.s.sistant Cheng, this is Song Yu.”

“Miss Song,” Cheng Dongge greeted audibly while side-eyeing Jian Yi. Jian Yi shot him a look of pure hatred.

“The cause of the accident has been determined to be tailgating,” Cheng Dongge spoke into the phone.

Jian Yi, despite being the cause of the accident, had walked away from the accident without even a scratch to his person or his car. Irrespective of intentions, the damage has been done.

Song Yu bit her lip, “Was it intentional?”

“This… The police have yet to decide. But, in my honest opinion, I think it is.”

Qi Chengzhi"s wound was promptly treated, upon their arrival at the hospital. After a few questions about the injury, the doctor called for a brain scan.

Song Yu dialed home as she waited.

“Why aren"t you guys back? The dishes are ready,” fussed Yu Qianyin once Song Yu identified herself.

“Qi Chengzhi got into an accident. We"re at the hospital for a check-up. If everything is alright, we should be back soon,” Song Yu explained.

“What happened? Is it serious?” The alarm in Yu Qianyin"s voice was evident.

“It"s not a serious injury, just some bleeding on his forehead. The doctor is conduction a brain scan now to ensure that there are no internal injuries.”

“How did he get into an accident? Tell him to be careful when he drives. Don"t drive recklessly. If someone wants to merge, just let them. His safety is the most important,” lectured Yu Qianyin. This concern was born from her change of perspective. She had finally begun viewing him as her son-in-law.

“He is a cautious driver. Today, whilst he drove to my office, Jian Yi had intentionally rear-ended him,” Song Yu tensed as she spoke of the accident—her anger bubbling beneath the surface.

She heard Yu Qianyin sigh on the other end, “As long as he is safe. We"ll be waiting at home. No rush.”

“Okay. He initially wanted to hide the accident from me because he didn"t want to make you guys wait.” Song Yu plucked at the bunched up fabric of her pants.

“He… That"s nice of him.” Yu Qianyin was touched by the gesture.

Qi Chengzhi came out of the hospital sporting a bandage on his head. The brain scan showed no signs of any internal injuries.

Song Yu let out a breath of relief and allowed for Chang Lai to send them back to the Song family house.

When they arrived, it was already past dinnertime.

The air was still tonight so some of the children were playing badminton.

Song Yu watched a boy, maybe eight or nine years old, flick his racquet. All the children looked up as the shuttlec.o.c.k soared into the air.

“Aiya,” a child cried out. Two of the boys ran to the stone plaque. They angled their heads to look up into the branches of the tree growing next to it.

One of the boys tried to haul himself up to the plaque, but it was too tall for a child their height. It reached as high as Qi Chengzhi"s waist.

They tried multiple times, all in vain.

While walking back to her house, Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi pa.s.sed the two boys. Seeing their unhappy faces, Song Yu asked, “What"s wrong?”

“Sister Song Yu!” A boy cried, recognizing her, “We hit the shuttlec.o.c.k too hard and it got stuck in the tree.”

He raised his dusty hands and pointed at the shuttlec.o.c.k lodged between the branches of the looming tree.

Song Yu hesitated. Under normal circ.u.mstances, she would have asked Qi Chengzhi to retrieve it.

However, with his recent accident and resultant headache, she did not want to bother him.

Song Yu was the only other adult present, and she could not bring herself to leave without seeing their shuttlec.o.c.k returned.

She stared at her high heels, then said to Qi Chengzhi, “Can you lift me up onto the plaque? I"ll get the shuttlec.o.c.k.”

“I"m right here.” Qi Chengzhi locked eyes with her and proceeded to unb.u.t.ton his jacket.

“You hurt your head. You shouldn"t be climbing up high places,” Song Yu argued, trying to dissuade him.

“It"s not a big deal.” Qi Chengzhi pa.s.sed Song Yu his coat, unb.u.t.toning the cuffs of his sleeves so he could roll them up before approaching the tablet.

His arm muscles contracted as he pushed his body up onto the stone, the veins beneath them protruding from the effort.

He landed gingerly on the plaque and plucked the shuttlec.o.c.k from the branches without much difficulty.

The boy jumped in glee and waved his outstretched arms. He thanked Qi Chengzhi with a loud, “Thank you, uncle!”

The shuttlec.o.c.k, which was about to be pa.s.sed along, was sharply pulled back. Qi Chengzhi deposited it back into the tree and leaped down.

“Don"t you have any manners? You called her sister but you call me uncle? You may be young, but that doesn"t excuse your lack of politeness.” Qi Chengzhi"s face was stormy when he grabbed Song Yu"s hand and marched away with her, leaving the two boys staring after them with their mouths agape.

When the boys turned and spotted the shuttlec.o.c.k, they almost cried. Qi Chengzhi had placed it much higher than it originally was.

“They"re just kids. Why are you being so mean?” Song Yu looked back at the children under the tree. She felt terribly sorry for what had just occurred.

“That shuttlec.o.c.k is their punishment. That way, they will remember their mistake,” Qi Chengzhi said with a stern expression. “A small misdemeanor left unchecked can lead to dire consequences.”

Song Yu had nothing left to say.

Dinner ended without incident. Yu Qianyin escorted Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu out as they left.

Yu Qianyin waited for them to get into the car and drive off before walking back to her house. On the way, she ran into a neighbor from the next apartment block.

“Madam Yu, was that Song Yu"s boyfriend just now?” The neighbor"s eyes glanced at the car that had exited the driveway.

“Haha, yes it is,” Yu Qianyin replied in a merry tone. She was in a good mood—she no longer had to give a disappointing answer whenever people asked about her daughter"s eligibility. There would be no annoying follow-up whys and hows.

“My son was playing badminton around there just now. He told me that their shuttlec.o.c.k got stuck on the tree and the man helped them get it down. But just because my son called the man uncle, he placed the shuttlec.o.c.k back up on the tree. The boy is still young and is learning. Why would he upset a child over such a minor issue? My son had to run back home and get his dad to help retrieve the shuttlec.o.c.k.” The neighbor shook her head in disapproval.

Yu Qianyin stayed silent.

“You can tell from this small incident that this man is calculative. To me…” the neighbor trailed off after realizing that she had spoken out of turn. She laughed awkwardly, “Please don"t mind my words. See you around.”

Yu Qianyin"s face was hot with shame after hearing the neighbor"s story. The only saving grace was the fact that it was dark so no one could see her bright red face.

She thought of the incident and the behavior which she had come to expect of Qi Chengzhi. She muttered under her breath, “Why don"t you just accept that you are old?”

Friday rolled around and Qi Chengzhi"s head wound was now a scab. The bandages were no longer required.

The flight was in the afternoon so Qi Chengzhi still had to step in the office that morning.

Song Yu had taken the day off and was dragged to the company by Qi Chengzhi.

She did not want to come to Qilin. While he was working, she had nothing to do but laze around in his office. Furthermore, it would be very awkward when subordinates came to speak to him.

“I would have to make another trip just to fetch you.” Qi Chengzhi shot her a look that hinted at her childishness.

In the end, the two of them stood before Qilin"s main entrance.

When they entered the building, they saw Jian Yi and Qi Chengyue.

The front end of Jian Yi"s car had been damaged, so it had been sent to 4S workshop for repairs. Today, he rode in Qi Chengyue"s Audi TTS.

Qi Chengyue immediately snaked her hand around Jian Yi"s arm. She was worried that he would get into trouble.

Jian Yi frowned but caught Qi Chengyue"s warning look.

“Brother, why is Song Yu here? Is she going to work here? When did you start blurring the lines between work and personal affairs? If the family knew…”

Qi Chengzhi interjected coldly, “If the family knew that Jian Yi drove into my car on purpose…”

Seeing that he had won the argument, Qi Chengzhi turned to leave with Song Yu. Song Yu grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.

Qi Chengzhi stared at Song Yu who was shooting daggers at Jian Yi. “Jian Yi, please stop all this nonsense. You"re lucky that it was just a minor injury. If you hurt him again, I will hate you forever!”

“You didn"t tell me that it was intentional,” said Qi Chengyue as she accompanied him to his office. Getting inside, she informed the a.s.sistant that there was to be no disturbances and locked the door.

“You believe Qi Chengzhi"s words? He"s just framing me in front of Song Yu.” Jian Yi took out a cigarette and started smoking, after tossing the packet onto the table.

“Jian Yi, just because I didn"t ask you doesn"t mean I didn"t know. I asked Cheng Dongge. There was no way the accident was due to tailgating, not at that stretch of road and at that time. You just rammed straight into his car!” yelled Qi Chengyue. “Did you not hear what Song Yu said? She will hate you forever. You will no longer be a part of her life!”

“This has nothing to do with her. Can you stop bringing her up in every discussion?” Jian Yi sucked in a sharp breath, filling his lungs with smoke.

“Do you think I"m stupid? I know that you still hold her in your heart– that you like her. I also know that you"re only with me for my status, yet I keep telling myself that I can win you over. I"m beautiful, and my love for you is true. Since you picked me, I thought you would be at least a little bit interested in me, and that I could slowly win you over.

“I"ve been telling myself this version of the truth. I know that everyone says I"m irrational and that I"m tyrannizing Song Yu. Did you think me unaware of all your unwanted advances toward her? I didn"t want to acknowledge it; it was much easier to convince myself that she was coming onto you.

“But this has been going on for far too long. Do you even like me?” Qi Chengyue"s tone was icy now, and her gaze was colder still. “Now, since you"ve married me for my status, don"t you think you should be treating me more respectfully? My happiness determines your future, after all.

“Let me put it in a way you"ll understand: your future, in the company, rests in my hands. One word from me and my brother will gladly terminate you. Even if you wanted to start your own business, you"d need my money.

“When you"re with me, and Song Yu appears, please don"t gawk at her. Your attempts to hide our intimacy from her is pointless. Do you think her that naive? We"re married. Do you think she thinks we just lie next to each other in bed and sleep?”

A bitter, sardonic laugh resounded from Qi Chengyue"s throat. “She knew you weren"t completely innocent since the day we began our dalliance. In her eyes, you"re tainted, so who are you acting for really? You keep painting yourself as her knight in s.h.i.+ning armor, but now she knows the truth, and she wants nothing to do with you.”

The cigarette burned between Jian Yi"s long fingers. He seemed paralyzed; his eyes downcast, unable to meet hers.

Qi Chengyue approached him. She gently covered the hand that held the cigarette. “Jian Yi, you know that I love you. I never want to use my status against you. All I want is for you to pay more attention to me and let me into your heart. And I"ll give you whatever you want.”

“Yes, I did intentionally bang into Qi Chengzhi"s car. It"s f*cking unfair that he gets whatever he wants by virtue of being born into the right family, while I have to fight for everything. What gives him the right to domineer me? One word from him, and I have to migrate to France. Even if we were to become family, I would still have to watch myself around him.” Jian Yi hissed through gritted teeth.

Qi Chengyue plucked the cigarette from his hand and threw it into the ashtray. She took his hands and released a slow, soft sigh. “Cut down on the smoking, Jian Yi. We want a child. I know you don"t love me, but at least give me some sense of security. Let me know that you are still mine and that you will father my child.”

Jian Yi"s eyebrows fell into a downward slant, and he pulled his hands away. “I told you before that I want to focus on my career. There"s no need to rush into this. We"re still young. Let"s wait until my career is stable.”

“I don"t think having children and a career is mutually exclusive. With my family"s support, it won"t burden you. I"m just worried that you"re using your career as an excuse to not have children. Or…” Qi Chengyue took a shaky breath. “Is it more so that you do not want to have my children?

“Just because you don"t have kids with me doesn"t mean Song Yu will forgive you or love you. Jian Yi, you"re nothing but filth in her eyes. She can"t even stand to look at you now. Stop acting like you"re so faithful; it"s not like you haven"t slept with me.”

She laughed in open derision. “Quit smoking. I don"t know when you began, but it must be recent, so there"s still hope. Once you"re clean, we"ll try for a child. If not, we"ll head to France. It"s the company"s orders. There"s no way out of it unless you resign.

“Remember what I said. Think before you make your decision.” With that final remark, Qi Chengyue turned heel and calmly walked out, away from the office and away from Jian Yi.

Jian Yu clenched his shaking fingers. Slowly, his face bloomed a bright red.

The ashtray sailed through the air and shattered against the office wall.