Chapter 34: I Miss You

Ever since Luo Jianyuan sent her back, Qi Zhen had been under house arrest in the apartment Su Qingwen bought for her.

Only now did Qi Zhen finally understand what Luo Jianyuan had meant by his words back then.

She truly regretted it.

Su Qingwen was suspicious by nature, and after getting involved with those people, his methods had grown even more ruthless.

If he could harm his own son, how much less would he care about her?

The only reason Su Qingwen was still willing to keep her was probably because he thought she still had some value, and that she didn’t know too much about his secrets. He had no real loyalty.

If Su Qingwen ever discovered that she knew about his private dealings, he would never let her go.

Only now did Qi Zhen begin to feel afraid.

She started looking for opportunities to escape.

But the four bodyguards Su Qingwen hired watched her closely, never leaving her side.

There was no internet at home, and the only way she could learn about the outside world was through the newspaper delivered every day.

When she saw the headline about the Qin Corporation’s president being suspected of murdering a relative, and the Qin Corporation’s stock price plummeting, Qi Zhen knew her chance had come.

Others might not know about the relationship between Qin Rui and Su Qingwen, but she did.

Qin Rui was involved in Su Qingwen’s shady businesses too.

She had spent a long time by Su Qingwen’s side.

Whenever he couldn’t discuss certain matters at the Su Family’s house, he would come to her place instead.

What she knew far exceeded what Luo Xiaoman or Shi Jing’an could imagine.

Sure enough, within a few days, the bodyguards watching her were reduced to two.

Qi Zhen was delighted inside but kept up an act as if nothing had changed.

The bodyguards, after watching her for so long and seeing how obedient she was, gradually let down their guard and relaxed.

***

~ On New Year’s Eve ~

Qi Zhen seized her chance.

While the bodyguards were tipsy from drinking in the evening, she quietly slipped away.

As soon as Qi Zhen left the apartment complex, she hailed a cab straight to the Luo Family.

She didn’t even care about the strange look the driver gave her.

At this time, the Luo Family was still celebrating the new year.

Both Luo Jianyuan and Luo Jianyang were already married, and the brothers each lived separately most of the year.

The main house rarely saw everyone gathered, except for occasions like New Year’s when the whole family would come together.

Ever since Luo Xiaoman and Su Qingwen divorced and returned to the old house, the brothers started coming back more often.

Luo Jianyuan had two sons: the eldest, Luo Zeyu, was twenty-five, and the younger, Luo Zexin, was ten.

Luo Jianyang married late and had only one daughter, a year younger than Luo Zexin.

At that moment, the two little rascals were making a fuss with Su Yu.

Su Yu had a gentle face and a good temper; the two little ones liked this cousin best.

Su Yu was playing with the kids, while in the kitchen, Luo Xiaoman and her two sisters-in-law were busy preparing the reunion dinner.

This was a long-standing tradition in the Luo Family: every New Year’s Eve, the family would make the meal themselves.

The women handled the cooking, while the men gathered outside to make dumplings.

The kitchen was bustling with activity, while the group making dumplings in the other room was gathered with a more solemn atmosphere.

The butler had just come in to report that Qi Zhen had arrived.

Luo Jianyuan wasn’t sure why Qi Zhen would show up at this time.

Luo Jianyang simply didn’t want her ruining the mood on such a good day.

Luo Zeyu deftly finished wrapping a dumpling, placed the plump dumpling neatly on the table, and said, “How about we settle her in the servant’s quarters for now and talk to her tomorrow? No need to let her spoil the mood.” He even nodded toward the kitchen.

Luo Jianyuan nodded and instructed the butler to take her away and arrange a place for her.

With that settled, they continued making dumplings.

Luo Zeyu glanced sideways at his lazy uncle.

“Uncle, if you keep dawdling, be careful, Aunt will come out and deal with you later.”

Luo Jianyang stiffened.

Seeing his nephew’s sympathetic look, he immediately tried to put on a stern face, attempting to maintain his dignity as the head of the family, “What’s there to be afraid of? Your Aunt always listens to me. I’ll have her come help me with the dumplings later.”

Yet even after saying that, he didn’t speed up his dumpling making at all, which was quite believable.

After the family finished their lively reunion dinner, they gathered together to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

The two little ones had played all day and, after eating their fill, soon got sleepy.

Su Yu coaxed them to sleep and then quietly slipped out to the balcony to make a call.

The call connected quickly.

Neither spoke first; only the sound of quiet breathing could be heard over the line.

After a while, Su Yu sighed softly, “I kind of miss you.”

The breathing on the other end grew heavier, and Qin Shou’s deep laughter came through the receiver.

“I miss you too. Very much.”

Su Yu unconsciously clenched the hem of his sweater, chuckling sheepishly.

“Why are you so quiet tonight?”

“I’m in my room.”

Qin Da Boss, who was actually working overtime in his office, preparing his grand plan for revenge, didn’t even blink as he replied.

Su Yu responded in a low voice.

They’d just seen each other the day before, so there wasn’t much to say, but he didn’t want to hang up either.

Leaning on the balcony, watching the distant fireworks, he listened to the quiet breathing over the phone.

Neither of them hung up first, yet neither felt awkward.

The midnight air was cold.

Su Yu tugged at his scarf, carefully blowing warm air onto his frozen hands.

On the other end, Qin Shou keenly noticed Su Yu’s movements.

“You’re outside?”

Su Yu laughed, “Yeah, I’m on the balcony. It’s too noisy inside.”

Qin Shou really had no way to deal with this silly guy, and could only urge him with concern to hurry back inside.

“Go in soon. I’ll come to your house to pay New Year’s respects the day after tomorrow.”

Su Yu’s ears quietly turned red.

Visiting on the second day of the New Year…

According to tradition, it was usually the women who visited relatives on this day.

Rubbing his burning ears, Su Yu bounced on the spot with joy.

New Year’s Eve passed quickly, with the sounds of firecrackers and brilliant fireworks lasting through the night.

Qi Zhen curled up in the tiny servant’s room, watching the warm lights and the faint laughter from the main house.

Her heart was a tangled mess.

Once, she too had been part of that family.

But now, she could only wait anxiously in the servant’s quarters, hoping they would spare a moment to see her, to beg for a chance at survival.

She couldn’t tell if she felt joy or sorrow.

Ever since she got involved with Su Qingwen, there was no turning back.

She didn’t want to spend her life in mediocrity.

She had grown up alongside Luo Xiaoman, she’d known Su Qingwen first, she was more outstanding…

But just because of her background, she was destined to never compare to Luo Xiaoman.

Even though she’d grown up in the Luo Family with Luo Xiaoman, in outsiders’ eyes, she would always be the adopted daughter with a servant’s background.

She would never be a match for Luo Xiaoman, the true young lady.

When Luo Xiaoman married Su Qingwen, Qi Zhen even felt satisfied.

No one understood Luo Xiaoman better than she did.

Luo Xiaoman couldn’t tolerate the slightest imperfection.

She was full of naïve fantasies about marriage.

Heh—

How could a playboy like Su Qingwen really give up all other women just for her?

So naïve.

Qi Zhen coldly watched Luo Xiaoman, full of hope, marry into the Su Family.

And, as she expected, their relationship fell apart not long after.

As someone who had grown up with Luo Xiaoman, Qi Zhen was naturally the first to know.

During that time, Qi Zhen accompanied Luo Xiaoman through her hardest days, watching the once lofty young lady of the Luo Family cry and rage…

In the end, for the sake of her family, she had to swallow her pride.

Qi Zhen’s heart was filled with an indescribable satisfaction.

You finally got what you deserved.

Then she seized the chance to get close to Su Qingwen.

Back then, Su Qingwen still came home often, though he mostly stayed in his study.

Because of Luo Xiaoman, Qi Zhen started visiting the Su Family more frequently.

They already knew each other, so naturally, things progressed between them.

What a pity, Qi Zhen lowered her gaze, what a pity she hadn’t managed to kill Su Yu in that accident.

Now the whole family was reunited, while she herself was like a stray dog with no home.

How pathetic.

The next morning, Luo Jianyuan went to see Qi Zhen.

Qi Zhen had spent a long time with Su Qingwen and surely knew a lot.

Since she came seeking refuge on her own, she must have something to offer.

Qi Zhen barely managed to sleep through the night in the servant’s room, her lips turning purple from the cold.

Whether it was intentional or not, the room she was given had no heating, and the blanket was a thin autumn one.

She had rushed out in a hurry, with only a set of cotton loungewear on.

She’d spent the whole night shivering.

When Luo Jianyuan came in, Qi Zhen was so cold her teeth were chattering.

Luo Jianyuan glanced at her indifferently, acting as if he hadn’t noticed.

Whatever feelings the Luo Family had left for her had been cut off long ago, when she insisted on not acknowledging them.

“Say it. What do you want?”

Qi Zhen pulled her clothes tighter.

“Send me abroad. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“Oh?”

Luo Jianyuan looked at her calmly.

“Tell me first—what do you know that’s worth the Luo Family going up against Su Qingwen for your sake?”

Qi Zhen bit her lip.

Luo Jianyuan’s indifferent attitude made her want to turn and leave, but then she remembered only the Luo Family could save her now.

She could only swallow her pride and spill everything like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

The more Luo Jianyuan listened, the deeper his frown became.

Su Qingwen was bolder than they’d imagined, daring to do such things.

And this woman…

Luo Jianyuan looked at Qi Zhen, his gaze unreadable.

Smart, scheming, able to bend and yield—someone like her could never be kept around.

Who knew when she’d trip up the Luo Family again.

“Fine, I agree. I’ll arrange for you to go abroad the day after tomorrow.”

Qi Zhen was overjoyed, almost desperately looking at Luo Jianyuan.

“Tomorrow—can I leave tomorrow?”

Luo Jianyuan nodded, which counted as agreement.

As he turned to leave, he heard Qi Zhen say, “There’s one more thing…”

Luo Jianyuan turned back to look at her.

Qi Zhen smiled nervously, her eyes gleaming with malice.

“Su Yu’s car accident—it was probably Su Qingwen’s doing.”

Luo Jianyuan’s eyes turned sharp, his gaze seeming to pierce through her.

“You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want.”

Seeing Luo Jianyuan’s dark expression, Qi Zhen only smiled more gleefully.

“I heard it with my own ears. Young Master Su had his accident the very next day—don’t you think it’s suspicious?”

Luo Jianyuan gave Qi Zhen a look of utter disdain, then left without a backward glance.

Qi Zhen was still smiling happily, and as she watched Luo Jianyuan’s hurried figure, she called out loudly, “Don’t forget to send me abroad tomorrow, Mr. Luo!”

Luo Jianyuan returned to his study with a cold face.

On one hand, Qi Zhen’s information was truly shocking.

As the saying goes, even a vicious tiger won’t eat its cubs—he never imagined that Su Qingwen would orchestrate Su Yu’s car accident.

On the other hand, someone like Qi Zhen could never be allowed to stay.