Volume One, Chapter 9: He Would Not

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After speaking, she hurriedly backtracked, "Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you."

What he said was just too absurd.

She must be out of her mind to like Zhou Huaqing—that was courting death. Not only would she not be packed off back to Germany, but they’d have to team up and drown her at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to feed the sharks.

No need to waste time scattering ashes.

"It’s fine if it was intentional; I’m not petty and won’t hold a grudge against you."

Leaning back on the sofa, he squinted his eyes. Having stayed up all night without a wink of sleep, he was exhausted but still didn’t forget to warn her.

"Behave yourself, alright? Don’t get the urge to pull down my pants while I’m asleep."

The news about Wen Li fainting yesterday had, unsurprisingly, spread.

But it came with a scandalous and bizarre twist.

They said the second young lady of the Wen family and the eldest son of the Zhou family were having sex in the bathroom of Butterfly Manor. Things got too wild during the act, a misfire occurred, and she was knocked unconscious.

Blood-stained tissues were even found in the trash can.

Some people had captured several photos of the scene and posted them in chat groups, sparking heated discussion. They even dredged up her past relationship history with Jiang Chen.

Group member A: "What’s so surprising? Five years ago, her affair with the young master of the Jiang family was a real spectacle. I heard it almost ended in tragedy."

Group member B: "You don’t get it. High-level relationships require climbing higher branches. There’s always someone better, and things get deeper and more intense. Private ward play is high-end entertainment; ordinary folks don’t get to enjoy that luxury."

Ling Dan: "Is your mouth for shoveling filth?"

Group member C: "No one said it was you. Why are you working so hard? Afraid no one knows you two are cut from the same cloth?"

What followed was a barrage of indecent insults and verbal battles that don’t need further description here.

Wen Li read the messages from Ling Dan with a calm heart; she simply didn’t care. Yet, she felt a chilling sensation, as though surrounded by a cold, piercing gaze.

Suddenly looking up, she saw Jiang Chen, also wearing a hospital gown, standing brightly before her bed, having appeared in her room without her noticing.

His gaze was sharp.

Just then, Zhou Huaqing, who had been asleep, woke up and let out a muffled grunt, "Hmm~"

He was still wearing the same suit from yesterday, his hair tousled from head to toe, the disarray of post-chaos evident.

Now, there was no way to explain things clearly.

He asked, "What time is it?"

No one answered.

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Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Zhou Huaqing sat up and saw Jiang Chen nodding at him. "Hey, little cousin, good afternoon."

Jiang Chen replied, "Cousin," then said, "I need to talk to her alone. Would you please leave first?"

"Go ahead, I’m hard of hearing," Zhou Huaqing retorted, not buying it, covering his ears and lounging arrogantly on the sofa.

Maybe it was Wen Li’s imagination, but he seemed to be wearing a look of provocation. She cleared her throat twice and said to him, "It’s almost noon. You should go eat."

She answered his earlier question while urging him to leave quickly.

"I’m not a prisoner. I can eat whenever I want," Zhou Huaqing said.

"Who was it just now, standing in front of me, proclaiming they didn’t like him anymore? Why are you feeling guilty now?"

"I’m not guilty."

Their back-and-forth resembled lovers teasing each other. Jiang Chen couldn’t stand it and turned to leave.

"Jiang Chen, listen to me..."

The word "explain" barely left her mouth before the door closed behind him with a clear, icy sound.

Zhou Huaqing saw Wen Li lingering longingly at the door, as if desperate to follow him out. A pang of bitterness blossomed deep in his heart.

Sneering, he murmured, "Afraid he’ll misunderstand we’re having an affair and want to hear what you have to say?"

"Say you still have feelings for him, say you can’t forget him. If you loved him so much, why break up in the first place? Marry him then. No need to waste five years. Maybe you’d even have a kid by now, and I could still chip in for the wedding."

Was it her desire to break up? Was it her unwillingness to marry?

"Finished talking?" Wen Li looked up at him, her tone cold and aloof but tinged with stubbornness. "If you’re done, please leave."

She said, "I’m grateful you brought me to the hospital. The things you worry about won’t happen. If necessary, I can leave tonight. No need for you to arrange anything."

She added, "Right now, I want to be alone for a while. May I have your permission?"

Beneath the soft, pleading tone was a firm attitude.

Zhou Huaqing had indeed been a big help at the time, but he helped the Wen family, not Wen Li.

She wasn’t part of the Wen family; there was no need to support his faction.

It was he who had advised Zhou Minzhi to have the Wen family send her abroad, saying it was to avoid trouble, that distance would mean no contact and all would be well.

No one knew that after being struck twice, she had broken down and cried alone on the plane.

Of course, no one cared.

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She was a mistake from the start, fortunate to have survived. She should be grateful to everyone and not ask for more.

But she wasn’t a robot. She had thoughts and her own way of dealing with things, not needing others to dictate her path.

Zhou Huaqing was speechless, knowing he had crossed a line but too proud to apologize. He picked up the suit jacket lying beside him. "Let’s go."

After Zhou Huaqing left, Wen Li covered her face and wept.

Ling Dan came over, concerned. "Wen Li, are you okay?"

She later learned Wen Li had caught her period, feeling both guilty and frustrated.

"It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you out for drinks, especially at Butterfly Manor, a place so prone to gossip. I got you caught up in all this nonsense."

Lately, she’d been really unlucky. Anyone who got involved with her would suffer bad luck. She thought she should take time to visit a temple and pray properly someday.

Wen Li smiled and said, "If everything bad that happened could be blamed on you, then everyone around me would be implicated."

No one was to blame for this. She didn’t know her period would come all of a sudden. Even without Zhou Huaqing, someone would have found her fainted in the bathroom.

The outcome would have been the same.

Ling Dan said, "You still have the mood to joke?"

Wen Li forced a smile. "It’s nothing new. At worst, I’ll be sent away again."

She had already endured the worst and had become immune to it. It didn’t matter.

It was just adding a splash of color to an already pitch-black canvas.

In short, black on top of black.

"People’s mouths are too vicious. They jump to conclusions. Zhou Huaqing, the person involved, doesn’t even come forward to clarify. Let others slander you. Isn’t he close to your brother?"

"He wouldn’t."

Rather than expect him to do so, she might as well expect pigs to climb trees, roosters to lay eggs, iron trees to bloom, the Buddha to appear, and while we’re at it, her to top the college entrance exam and get her house demolished.

Ling Dan couldn’t understand; it wasn’t that big a deal, just a few words. Besides, it would be good for him to maintain his own good reputation.

"Why? Isn’t he close to your brother?"