Chu Qinyan took several deep breaths to suppress the overwhelming urge to kill someone.
She looked up with a deliberately confused expression, tears perfectly welling in her eyes—delicate, beautiful, and pitiful.
“What? My sister was injured too?”
“You didn’t know?”
A flicker of suspicion crossed Shang Ye’s eyes as he took a step back.
He stared intently at Chu Qinyan, and when he saw the bewilderment in her eyes, he thought perhaps he was overthinking things.
Maybe she, like Meng Zhi, had lost her memory due to the trauma of the car accident.
Chu Qinyan bit her lip, tears glistening in her eyes, her face the picture of wronged innocence.
She stole a glance at Shang Ye and noticed the wavering in his gaze.
Guessing that he likely didn’t know the full truth, she immediately insisted she knew nothing.
Shang Ye believed her, yet couldn’t resist probing once more.
“On the day of the accident, you and Zhizhi were in the same car. You were in the passenger seat and suffered minor injuries, but Zhizhi wasn’t in the car. I suspect she was thrown out by the impact… Do you really have no memory of it at all?”
“That’s impossible. I was the only one in the car. Zhizhi was never there.”
Chu Qinyan’s tone was firm, lying with practiced ease.
She didn’t blush or falter, and even during Shang Ye’s moment of silence, she turned the tables on him.
“Did my sister tell you these things?”
Shang Ye pressed his lips together, neither confirming nor denying.
Seeing this, Chu Qinyan cried even harder.
“I know you and my sister grew up together, that your bond is deeper, and that I’m just an outsider. So whatever I say won’t be as believable as what my sister says.”
“But… but I really am not lying. I know I came from the mountains, and with a family like mine, everyone looks down on me, hates me, and pushes me away…”
As she spoke, she buried her head low, her choked voice filled with self-pity.
“If I could, I’d wish to be like my sister—to have a good background and be liked by everyone.”
“A-Ye, I only have you. If even you don’t believe me, then I…”
Her lashes trembled slightly, her eyes full of desolation.
She looked like a fragile butterfly, on the verge of shattering at any moment.
Seeing her emotional state, Shang Ye’s doubts completely dissipated.
He gently reassured her, “I never said I didn’t believe you. I was just asking casually. Don’t take it to heart.”
Chu Qinyan was about to say more when she was interrupted by the urgent ringing of Shang Ye’s phone—it was his assistant calling.
His gaze darkened slightly as he placed a hand on Chu Qinyan’s shoulder and gave it two light pats.
“There’s some business at the company I need to handle. Once I’m done, I’ll come see you this afternoon.”
Without giving Chu Qinyan a chance to speak, he answered the phone and walked out.
Watching his hurriedly disappearing figure, Chu Qinyan bit her lip.
Her pitiful demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by a venomous look in her delicate eyes.
Her face twisted with hatred as she stared at the closed door, Meng Zhi’s haunting face surfacing in her mind.
She couldn’t understand it—she simply couldn’t!
Under those circumstances, being thrown from the car should have meant certain death!
Why did Meng Zhi survive?
Could it really be divine favor?
Chu Qinyan bit down hard on her lip until the taste of blood spread through her mouth before she finally released it with a grim expression.
She didn’t believe in any divine favor.
Even if it existed, it should belong to her.
Chu Qinyan’s expression darkened as she pulled out her phone and called a mysterious number that had no name saved in her contacts.
The moment the call connected, she couldn’t wait to tell the person on the other end that Meng Zhi was still alive.
“She’s not dead—will she come after me? How are we supposed to carry out our plan now…”
A man’s voice came through the receiver, sinister and low.
Faced with Chu Qinyan’s rambling worries, the person on the other end snapped coldly.
“Idiot! You can’t even handle something this small! I’m warning you—stop losing your composure! If you delay the plan because of this, you know the consequences…”
The man’s dark voice trailed off, but it was enough to send a chill down Chu Qinyan’s spine.
“What about Meng Zhi…”
She pressed on in a small, unwilling voice.
“Leave that to me. I’ll investigate on my own.”
“Fine.”
Before hanging up, Chu Qinyan didn’t forget to ask the person on the other end to help her bribe the attending physician.
Now that Shang Ye was already suspicious, she had to nip this in the bud.
The man’s cold voice agreed.
Putting away her phone, Chu Qinyan was left alone in the spacious hospital room.
She could only lie in bed for the next couple of days.
After Shang Ye left, she didn’t even have anyone to talk to—she was about to go crazy from boredom.
She blamed all of this on Meng Zhi.
“Bitch, why, why won’t you just die!”
She cursed Meng Zhi frantically, but worried the nurses on rounds outside might hear, she could only keep her voice low.
This stifling feeling didn’t make her feel any better—it only made her angrier.
“Those two old fools, always saying they care about me, but the moment something happens, they stay far away.”
She cursed wildly, with none of the gentleness and kindness she usually showed in front of Meng’s parents and Shang Ye.
Just as her cursing grew more vicious, an abrupt phone ring cut through the air.
Chu Qinyan grabbed her phone and, the moment she saw it was Mother Meng, Ye Shaohua, immediately reined in her emotions.
She slipped back into her usual persona.
“Auntie.”
A weak voice came through, immediately tugging at Ye Shaohua’s heartstrings.
“Qinyan, how are you feeling now?”
Listening to the concerned words on the other end, Chu Qinyan curled her lips in disgust, but her voice remained as obedient as ever.
“I think I’m much better now. Thanks to Brother A-Ye staying by my side and taking care of me these past two days. It’s just that the doctor said I still need to stay a few more days for further observation.”
“As long as you’re alright. The doctors are professionals—just follow their advice.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Chu Qinyan agreed obediently, occasionally acting coy with Ye Shaohua, coaxing her into cheerful laughter.
But from the moment she picked up the call to the moment she hung up, Chu Qinyan never once mentioned Meng Zhi.
Nor did she tell Ye Shaohua that her biological daughter was in the same hospital right now.
“Alright, your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. You’ve been talking for so long—it must be tiring. Get some good rest!”
“Tomorrow afternoon, your uncle and I will come see you.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Chu Qinyan nodded emphatically, the smile in her eyes vanishing completely the moment the call ended.
In its place was a vicious, venomous glare.
If Ye Shaohua could see her at this moment, she would surely be in disbelief.
Three days later.
Under Shang Shiyan’s meticulous and patient care, Meng Zhi’s condition finally stabilized, and she had recovered considerably.
Meanwhile, Meng’s parents were on their way to the hospital.
If not for Shang Ye, who happened to mention Meng Zhi while taking a break from his busy schedule, they would have almost forgotten they still had a daughter.
“That girl is way too careless. She can’t even take care of herself, yet she dares to go off alone. She has no sense of propriety at all. We’re already stretched thin taking care of Qinyan, and now we have to deal with her too?”
Meng Shitian sat in the back seat, his brows knitted so tightly together they could crush a fly.
“I really wonder if she’s doing this on purpose! She’s always competing with Qinyan over everything. Qinyan is already suffering so much, and your daughter doesn’t have an ounce of compassion. She’s been completely spoiled by you!”