Savage Kiss - Chapter 78

Shen Yanzhou also smiled.

“I’m dating you, so why should I care what your family is like? It’s you I want.”

Xu Qingyi somewhat regretted reasoning with him.

She had never received such a confession before, and of course, she had never rejected anyone so seriously.

He only wanted her, regardless of her family background, that was true. Having grown up in a poor family, she had once longed to meet a guy like this.

Xu Qingyi placed the flowers on the railing wall.

She looked at him and said, “You’re so easy to fool. I told you I don’t date. It might have seemed like I was letting you chase me before, but the truth is, I was just being a jerk, stringing you along and using you for your body.”

“I just like the thrill of ambiguity. I crave novelty. Today, I might flirt with you at a bar; tomorrow, I could seduce someone else at a hotel. I don’t want to commit to a relationship.”

“Do you understand now?”

Shen Yanzhou completely ignored her words.

He simply lowered his gaze and watched her lips move.

When she finished speaking, his throat felt dry and strained, his voice tinged with bitterness. “Is it because I wasn’t gentle enough last night?”

How could he remain so calm?

Xu Qingyi dug her fingernails into her palms, feeling as if a heavy stone were pressing on her chest, making it unbearably suffocating.

Unable to hold back any longer, she raised her voice. “Are you hard of hearing?”

“I don’t like you!” she enunciated each word clearly.

At this, Shen Yanzhou curled his lips into a smile.

“Then don’t move.” He reached for her hand, bent down, and tried to kiss her.

He knew all too well how quickly she reacted every time he kissed her.

The moment Xu Qingyi felt his breath drawing near, she lost control.

“Stay away from me!” She stepped back while pulling her hand free.

The angle of her fingertips struck Shen Yanzhou’s other hand, which was holding a ring in front of him, and her nails scraped his chin.

Shen Yanzhou slightly closed his eyes and tilted his chin, and at the same time, the ring in his hand was knocked away.

Xu Qingyi watched as the couple’s ring flew out.

It soared over the corridor wall and fell downward.

In that instant, her entire body froze.

Then she thought, maybe this was for the best.

When Shen Yanzhou looked at her again, the pain in his eyes was finally unmistakable, but he said nothing, just silently watched her.

Xu Qingyi couldn’t meet his gaze. “Please leave this place.”

She turned her face away, opened the door, went inside to get her documents, and saw him still standing at the doorway. A part of her heart felt as if it had been fried raw.

She really wasn’t cut out to be the villain.

Xu Qingyi walked back to the door, but Shen Yanzhou wouldn’t let her close it. “I’m not leaving.”

She sneered, “Then I’ll leave, is that okay?”

She hadn’t even taken off the backpack she had brought back with her. Slinging it over her shoulder, she quickly walked over and pressed the elevator button. She really left.

She didn’t plan to return for the rest of February, intending to avoid him completely.

Once things had cooled down, she would come back for her luggage.

…

February 18th arrived.

This winter was particularly cold, and the Lunar New Year was especially late, New Year’s Eve wouldn’t be until February 20th.

Xu Qingyi had already returned to Yun County.

After Xu Chen’s surgery, she planned to take him to live elsewhere, but she wanted to visit her grandmother first.

After the old lady broke her leg, she had been sliding around on the ground using plastic bags or scraps of cloth she’d picked up. Xu Qingyi bought a wheelchair for her.

But she waited until dark.

The sound of “swish, swish” came from outside, it was the old woman dragging her body along the ground. She had just returned from collecting trash to sell.

Those who love you will recognize you at a glance, no matter how long it’s been. The moment she saw her, the old woman’s cloudy eyes instantly welled up with tears.

“Don’t hug me, don’t… I’m dirty…” The old woman kept pushing her away.

Xu Qingyi knelt on the ground and asked her, “Where’s the money my mother brought back?”

Why did she still have to go out collecting trash to sell?

The old woman turned her face away. “She’s never had a good life. As long as I can still move, I won’t trouble her.”

Xu Qingyi finally couldn’t hold back, her eyes reddening.

She admitted that Huang Jiamei had suffered, but that was because of her husband. Over the years, Xu Qingyi had done her best to give her money.

Huang Jiamei spent her days eating, playing, and sleeping, how much more comfortable could she get? Why couldn’t she take proper care of Grandma?

“Come with me.”

Xu Qingyi had said this to her grandmother more than once. She had even mentioned it back when she was still in school.

Back then, Xu Chen couldn’t move, so there was no other choice, but she could take Grandma with her.

Yet the old woman firmly refused, saying she was old, what was the point of going out? She’d rather die where her roots were.

Sometimes, Xu Qingyi felt powerless; other times, she pitied her grandmother’s mindset. Timid and weak people weren’t suited for kindness, it only brought them suffering.

She didn’t know how else to persuade her, so she could only try to improve the old woman’s life by ensuring she had three meals a day and new clothes.

That day, she arrived home in the morning and didn’t see Huang Jiamei until late at night.

While taking Grandma out to shop for New Year’s Eve supplies, she vaguely caught the neighbors implying that Huang Jiamei had long been cohabiting with Old Zhang from the mahjong table.

So, all this time, Grandma had been alone. Back then, Xu Chen must have been taken care of by Grandma alone, too.

How heartless.

…

February 19th.

Xu Qingyi thoroughly cleaned the old apartment, so exhausted she could barely straighten her back. As she lay down to rest, her phone rang.

Seeing the contact name “BOSS”, she wondered if Xu Chen’s surgery was over.

She quickly took off her gloves. “Hello?”

“Not bad.” Shen Yuqiao’s reply was brief.

“What?” Xu Qingyi frowned slightly, though she had already guessed.

Shen Yuqiao simply said, “Happy New Year. The annual fee will be transferred to you.”

Then he hung up.

Xu Qingyi received 500,000 yuan.

She opened Weibo and clicked on the news headlines, searching for any updates about Shen Yanzhou.

But there was nothing.

The Shen family would never allow such a scandal to spread, and neither would Shen Yuqiao.

On the day of the new director election, Shen Yanzhou looked as if he hadn’t slept, his eyes bloodshot and his demeanor disoriented, as if he had taken too much of something.

He walked into the high-level conference room wearing slippers and a bathrobe.

In front of all the directors, he placed a portrait of Mrs. Shen on the conference table, set up an incense burner, and devoutly knelt down to bow three times.

“What are you all staring at? Don’t you say every year how deeply the directors mourn Mrs. Shen? This year, I want to see just how deeply.”

In contrast to his irreverent and unruly behavior, Shen Yuqiao remained eternally elegant and proper.

As an elder brother, his reprimands carried a hint of indulgence. “What are you doing?… Take the second young master away to wash his face.”

Shen Yanzhou didn’t let anyone near him. Striding over, he grabbed Shen Yuqiao and tried to force him to kneel before the portrait.

Faced with Shen Yanzhou’s outburst, the directors wore expressions of disappointment and discomfort.

There was no way he could run for director again, let alone be formally selected as the successor next year.

“My apologies for the embarrassment,” Shen Yuqiao straightened his collar. “My brother hasn’t spent a single New Year at home all these years. I had hoped we could finally have a proper family reunion this year…”

His regretful sigh seemed to suggest that letting everyone, even their deceased mother in the netherworld, see Shen Yanzhou at his worst was truly his failure as the eldest brother.

The board members all understood this was Shen Yuqiao giving Shen Yanzhou a chance. Unfortunately, that hopeless case remained incompetent and immature.