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墨書 Inktalez
“Cheng Tianhong, do you know that Shen Wenqin originally wanted to kill me?” Cheng Qiuyi asked.
Cheng Tianhong stammered, “She is a weak woman, how could she possibly hurt you?”
“Cheng Tianhong, you really are something,” Cheng Qiuyi found herself at a loss for words.
Cheng Qiuyi waited outside the consultation room for Liu Shuhan. With Cheng Tianhong lingering and refusing to leave, she had no choice but to deliberately ignore him, out of sight, out of mind.
After a while, Cheng Tianhong took the IV bottle from the nurse's hand, dismissed her, and then asked Cheng Qiuyi, “Qiu Yi, how is the Cheng Family doing?”
“What do you think?”
“Although the old man and they kept it from me, it can't be worse than when I fell ill,” Cheng Tianhong recalled with his eyes closed. “The glory of the Cheng Family back in the day, tsk tsk, who could compare? A skinny camel is bigger than a horse; such a large Cheng Family can't just disappear.”
Cheng Qiuyi secretly laughed at Cheng Tianhong's naivety. A man in his fifties still spoke such self-deceiving nonsense. She couldn't be bothered to shatter his illusions and simply agreed, “The old man is still going strong; you can rest assured about the Cheng Family.” Although she mentioned the Cheng Family, those distant relatives had long since plotted their own escape routes. Only Old Master Cheng and Cheng Boming remained in the entire Cheng Family.
Cheng Tianhong was indeed satisfied and stood up to shuffle back to his hospital room. His hunched back resembled a curled-up shrimp, and a patch of baldness peeked out from under his hat. Cheng Qiuyi suddenly felt a bit of compassion. Even a stranger would find it hard to bear seeing Cheng Tianhong like this. Though she claimed to have nothing to do with him, such statements were not so easily made real.
Cheng Tianhong had been her father for seventeen years. He had once lifted her high above his head when she was little, letting her ride on his shoulders. He had also quietly protected her from her mother's punishments when she misbehaved, though such moments were few.
Cheng Qiuyi remembered one summer when Mother Cheng had mercilessly hit her with a ruler for not understanding difficult classical texts. It was then that Cheng Tianhong had just returned from outside and shielded her from the first strike. In the end, Mother Cheng showed no mercy; all the blows landed on Cheng Tianhong instead.
See, even if Cheng Tianhong was so bad, he still had some redeeming qualities. However, these scant memories paled in comparison to the distressing things he later did.
Cheng Qiuyi's smile suddenly faded.
When Liu Shuhan emerged after changing her bandages, Cheng Qiuyi had already composed herself, but Liu Shuhan still noticed something was off. “Qiu Yi, what's wrong?”
“Nothing,” Cheng Qiuyi replied with a smile as she stood up. She noticed that Liu Shuhan's right hand was wrapped in bandages that were noticeably smaller than before. “How did the doctor say your injury is healing?”
“He said it's healing very well!” Liu Shuhan exclaimed excitedly. “The wound has scabbed over and should be almost healed in another week! Thank goodness it's finally getting better; having only one usable hand was so inconvenient.”
Cheng Qiuyi nodded in agreement, "It's indeed inconvenient; your left hand isn't as skilled as your right."
If this had been three months ago, Liu Shuhan's face would have turned red from her forehead to the nape of her neck. Two months ago, Liu Shuhan would have quietly scolded Cheng Qiuyi for being inappropriate. A month ago, Liu Shuhan would have rolled her eyes at her. Now, Liu Shuhan could only glance sideways and retort, "What, are you saying my skills aren't good enough now?"
"I wouldn't dare," Cheng Qiuyi replied with a bow. "Your skills are exceptional; I simply can't get enough."
"At least you know how to flatter." Liu Shuhan pretended to tidy her hair and raised her noble right hand to Cheng Qiuyi, "Little Qiuyi, strike a pose, we're heading back to the palace."
"Yes." Cheng Qiuyi cooperatively lifted Liu Shuhan's arm as they exited.
A passerby looked confusedly at the sign outside the consultation room several times, starting to question life—wasn't this a psychiatric department?
Upon reaching the hospital entrance, Cheng Qiuyi tossed the car keys to Liu Shuhan, telling her to wait in the car while she retrieved something she had left at the consultation room door. Liu Shuhan took the keys and headed to the underground garage, where she found someone already waiting.
Liu Shuhan was extremely reluctant to see this person but steeled herself and approached. "Miss Ye, what a coincidence."
"Miss Liu, I came specifically to find you," Ye Jing said. "How is your injury?"
"The doctor said it's nothing serious now; thank you for your concern, Miss Ye." Ye Jing was a formidable and unpredictable individual. In the dimly lit underground garage, Liu Shuhan kept her distance from Ye Jing. If trouble arose, she would run if possible; if not, it would be fate.
Ye Jing leaned against Cheng Qiuyi's car with her arms crossed and smiled. "Miss Liu, there's no need to be nervous; I mean no harm."
"Then why are you looking for me…"
"Miss Liu, how has Qiu Yi been treating you lately?"
Of course well; when has it ever been otherwise? Fearing that she might provoke Ye Jing, Liu Shuhan carefully replied, "It's been okay, just like that."
Ye Jing nodded knowingly. "Seeing Miss Liu in high spirits must mean things are going well with Qiu Yi; congratulations."
Liu Shuhan wasn't adept at navigating the roundabout conversations of these clever individuals and mustered the courage to say, "Miss Ye, please just say what you want directly. I don't understand what you're saying like this; you'll have to explain it again anyway, which is a waste of time."
Ye Jing sighed, "Miss Liu, do you remember Miss Yuan?"
Liu Shuhan certainly remembered her; she was the woman who had dazzled everyone at the banquet, even catching Cheng Qiuyi's attention. Why was Ye Jing bringing her up?
"Miss Liu may not know, but Qiu Yi and Miss Yuan have met before. At that time, Qiu Yi already knew Miss Yuan, but Miss Yuan thought Cheng Qiuyi was just like those playboys and rejected her outright."
Liu Shuhan felt that this Yuan Ying must have some vision problems if she thought everyone looked like a playboy. Cheng Qiuyi was a beauty in her own right, far more attractive than Yuan Ying. It was just making friends; how did it turn into something about playboys? Besides, with same-sex relationships being so common these days, could a woman seeking friendship with another woman really be misconstrued?
"Miss Liu, Qiu Yi seems to have a good impression of Miss Yuan," Cheng Qiuyi hinted.
So this was an attempt to sow discord. Liu Shuhan felt amused; she had thought Ye Jing was some formidable character, but here she was engaging in such low-IQ tactics.
"I appreciate your concern for my relationship with Qiu Yi, but there's no need for Miss Ye to worry about it. Thank you for the reminder."
"You're welcome. However, I would like to remind Miss Liu that people tend to prefer fresh and exciting things; this applies to both genders. Even couples experience the seven-year itch. Do you think you can maintain a seven-year relationship with Qiu Yi?"
Liu Shuhan found herself at odds with Ye Jing's worldview; further discussion seemed pointless.
Ye Jing's blood ran cold; she possessed only possessiveness and none of the other beautiful emotions. Liu Shuhan couldn't be bothered to argue with her.
However, after Ye Jing left, Liu Shuhan pondered over the conversation and felt something was off. Cheng Qiuyi had known Yuan Ying before; why had she never mentioned it? Cheng Qiuyi never talked about her work, and if it weren't for Ye Jing today, Liu Shuhan wouldn't have known that these two rivals could collaborate.
...
Cheng Qiuyi hadn't left anything behind; she had merely sent Liu Shuhan away to continue paying for Cheng Tianhong's ongoing treatment. Cancer treatment wasn't cheap, and Cheng's Building was on the verge of collapse. In that case, not only Cheng Tianhong but even Old Master Cheng and Cheng Boming's future in C City would be uncertain. Cheng Qiuyi wasn't acting out of sudden kindness; after all, the Cheng Family had raised her for seventeen years. This small amount of money was just a way to repay the family's kindness.
When Cheng Qiuyi arrived at the parking lot, Liu Shuhan was already sitting in the car. "Did you wait long?" Cheng Qiuyi asked casually as she fastened her seatbelt.
"No," Liu Shuhan replied, her eyes flickering, but she fell silent again.
"What's wrong?"
Liu Shuhan rested her chin on her hand and looked at Cheng Qiuyi. "Qiu Yi, do you think we will have a seven-year itch?"
Cheng Qiuyi started the car and drove out of the parking lot. "What made you think of that?"
Liu Shuhan said with concern, "Don't you feel like everything is a bit unreal right now?" Liu Shuhan had never been in a relationship before, but she had heard others complain about it—arguing one day and reconciling the next. Was there any couple that didn’t argue? Well, there was one: the two of them.
"What’s up? Do you want to have a fight with me?" Cheng Qiuyi really didn’t understand what this dense head was thinking.
"Not at all." Liu Shuhan shook her head. "I just feel like you’re too good to me, so good that it scares me a little."
"That’s unfair, my dear. Is it wrong to treat you well?"
Liu Shuhan glared at her. "Let’s be serious here!"
Cheng Qiuyi straightened up. "Shu Han, if we really do have a seven-year itch, give me a chance to win you back."
"Why do you always assume it’s you who will break up first? What if you’re the one who says it first?"
"That’s impossible," Cheng Qiuyi said firmly.
With Cheng Qiuyi's promise, Liu Shuhan felt relieved, but the shadow of Yuan Ying had already been planted in her heart. Even if she could no longer trust others' words, they still held some influence. Once the seed of doubt was sown, it wouldn’t be easy to uproot.
The next day, Liu Shuhan received an email in the office containing an audio clip.
"I like soft and fragrant women. This woman could be Liu Shuhan or Yuan Ying. Sooner or later, the master will find out. Rather than letting him deal with Miss Yuan in the future, why not push Liu Shuhan out to take on some of the risk? Isn’t that better?"
"Good, very good. Just afraid that Miss Liu will find out in the future and won’t let you off."
"She’s just an ordinary person; what can she do to me?"
The audio was recorded from a distance and was not very loud, but Liu Shuhan immediately recognized Cheng Qiuyi's voice.
"Is this fake? With technology so advanced now, synthesizing a few voice clips isn't difficult at all." Liu Shuhan comforted herself, thinking it must be false.
But then several photos came through, showing Cheng Qiuyi and Yuan Ying sitting closely together, whispering to each other with their heads down. Yuan Ying, usually so expressionless, was actually covering her mouth and lightly laughing at something Cheng Qiuyi said.
The photos were accompanied by a line of text: [Miss Liu, don't Miss Yuan's smiles look beautiful?]
Liu Shuhan dialed Cheng Qiuyi's number.
"Shu Han, what's wrong?"
"Where are you?"
Cheng Qiuyi sensed that Liu Shuhan was upset but glanced at Ye Jing, who was smiling and sipping coffee across the table. She steeled herself and replied, "I'm at home."
"I just got off work. Come pick me up." Liu Shuhan stared expressionlessly at the photos on her computer screen.
"I'm in a video conference and can't leave. You can go back by yourself."
Ye Jing heard this and hid behind her coffee cup, laughing.
Liu Shuhan felt a chill run through her and hung up the phone.
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