Assistant Zhang’s sneer deepened.
“Su Yuqing, I was kind enough to warn you, and you don’t even appreciate it! Do you think changing your tactics will make Young Master Huo look at you twice? Don’t kid yourself. Even as nothing more than a dog at Young Master Huo’s side, I have the power to keep you out of the Huo family and make Young Master Huo despise you for the rest of your life!”
When he finished, he fixed his eyes on Su Yuqing.
There wasn’t a trace of fear on her face. Instead, the smile at the corner of her lips deepened.
Assistant Zhang froze for a moment.
Then he saw Su Yuqing clap her hands and give a smiling nod. “Wonderful. Just wonderful. I never knew the Huo family was run by its assistants.”
“Assistant Zhang, you’ve been hiding your talents. I had no idea you could decide Huo Peiyan’s marriage for him. What do you think—should I tell Huo Peiyan what you just said, and then invite you into the Huo family ancestral hall?”
As she spoke, Su Yuqing waved the phone in her hand, her gaze meaningful. “I can’t wait to see Huo Peiyan’s expression…”
“You! You recorded me? You wicked woman, Su Yuqing! I never thought you’d be this vicious. It’s a good thing Young Master Huo doesn’t like you. You really don’t hold a candle to Miss Ruan!”
“Get out!”
At the mention of Ruan Qingqing, Su Yuqing suddenly lost control of her emotions.
She knew she couldn’t compare to Ruan Qingqing.
That fact was like a thorn driven deep into her heart.
It was bad enough when no one mentioned it. The moment they did, it was laid bare, and the pain came in sharp, throbbing waves.
Assistant Zhang stared at her phone. He wanted to snatch it away and check whether she had really recorded him, but he was afraid that might backfire—that he’d fall into her trap.
After a moment’s hesitation, he spat out viciously, “Su Yuqing, even if you got down on your knees and begged Young Master Huo, he still wouldn’t marry you. Give up already.”
With that, he turned and left.
Once he got back, he’d make sure to report her properly.
Want to get back to Young Master Huo’s side?
Keep dreaming!
Su Yuqing sat in her wheelchair and took a long while to calm down.
Assistant Zhang really was impossible to reason with. He was dead set on making trouble for her.
Before, she had put up with him for Huo Peiyan’s sake, hoping he’d put in a good word for her.
But now she didn’t even want Huo Peiyan anymore.
Why should she put up with Assistant Zhang?
If he was determined to bring about his own ruin, she’d be happy to oblige.
Su Yuqing unlocked her phone and made a call.
*
Elsewhere,
Assistant Zhang left the hospital, got into his car, and reported what had happened to Huo Peiyan.
He was obsequious and respectful, and lied without batting an eye. “President Huo, I just saw Miss Su at the hospital. She isn’t sick at all. She’s taking up a hospital bed, and no one can get her to leave. She was even shouting that you think having a little money makes you so important. You froze her cards, but she doesn’t care at all. She even said—she even said…”
“Say it.” Huo Peiyan’s voice came through the phone, icy and perilous.
Assistant Zhang hunched his shoulders and gritted his teeth as he continued.
“She said she’d rather beg on the street and marry a dog than marry you.”
…
Silence fell on the other end of the line.
Assistant Zhang gripped his phone, his heart pounding.
He was taking a gamble.
Huo Peiyan was an intensely proud man. Hearing such humiliating words would make him furious, but he wouldn’t confront Su Yuqing directly.
His pride wouldn’t allow it.
After a long while, Assistant Zhang heard Huo Peiyan speak, his voice icy with barely restrained fury.
“Fine. If she doesn’t want to come back, she can stay away forever.”
After hanging up, Huo Peiyan flung the things beside him to the floor.
The diamond shattered into pieces.
It was the diamond necklace he had bought at an auction in Manchester: clear and bright, pure in color, of excellent quality, and carefully cut into a heart to symbolize the most sincere and purest love.
He had fallen for it at first sight. For some reason, he had felt that the diamond belonged against Su Yuqing’s slender neck.
It would suit her perfectly—stunningly beautiful.
He had bought it without hesitation.
He had meant to surprise her and, while he was at it, register their marriage.
That would have been his way of making things right with her.
He hadn’t expected her to be so stubborn and unreasonable, or to say something so outrageous.
Where had the sweet, considerate girl she used to be gone?
Huo Peiyan closed his eyes in disappointment.
“Su Yuqing, you’d better not regret this!”
*
In the hospital room,
Su Yuqing had nearly recovered. Bored, she scrolled through videos on her tablet.
A commotion of footsteps sounded in the corridor outside.
Then the door opened, and a group of doctors in white coats filed in.
Su Yuqing looked up and immediately spotted the male doctor leading them.
He was about six foot one, tall and slender. Though he wore a mask, it couldn’t hide his handsome, refined features.
It was Tang Chuhan.
He had just finished a month-long international academic conference and had returned to Jing City only yesterday.
He and Huo Peiyan had grown up together, and his family was just as powerful as the Huo family.
Su Yuqing had met him a few times, but they weren’t close.
Still, she recognized him at once. She lowered her lashes, intending to pretend she didn’t know him.
He was a doctor, but she didn’t want anything to do with anyone connected to Huo Peiyan anymore.
Tang Chuhan came closer and leaned over beside her bed, lowering his eyes until they met hers.
“Su Yuqing?”
Now there was no way to pretend she didn’t know him.
Su Yuqing curved her lips into a sweet smile. “Hello, Dr. Tang.”
Tang Chuhan raised an eyebrow. “A racing champion crashes herself into the hospital?”
“…”
His long fingers came to rest on her forehead, cool against her skin.
Su Yuqing leaned back slightly.
“Don’t move.”
Tang Chuhan’s voice was low and rich. He supported the back of her head with one hand and examined her injury with a serious, focused gaze.
His eyes and breath were so close that Su Yuqing’s heart began to race.
Good heavens.
It was just a checkup. Did it have to feel so intimate?
Tang Chuhan’s gaze brushed over her pink earlobes. Amusement stirred in his heart, and a smile touched the corners of his eyes.
He seemed to be in a good mood. “You’re recovering well. You can be discharged in the next few days.”
“Really?”
“Mm.” Tang Chuhan straightened, his usual serious expression returning.
“Huo Peiyan? Hasn’t he come to see you?”
“He’s dead.”
Su Yuqing answered sourly.
“Oh.” Tang Chuhan looked thoughtful. “Once you’re discharged, we can hold his funeral together.”
“?”
Su Yuqing stared at him, bewildered. For a moment, she couldn’t make sense of what he meant.
Tang Chuhan then led his group out in a grand procession.
The room fell quiet again.
A question mark slowly took shape in Su Yuqing’s mind.
When had she and Tang Chuhan gotten so familiar?
And what had he just said? She couldn’t understand a word of it.
Sure enough, all of Huo Peiyan’s friends were crazy.
Pah, pah, pah!
She had to stay away from them.
Thank goodness she’d be discharged soon. She let out a long breath.