Just then, the man’s phone buzzed.
Qi Yanli, still pressing down on her, picked up the phone and put it to his ear. ”Got it. I’m on my way now.”
Then he hung up.
“I have somewhere to be. Stay home and rest.”
Qi Yanli got up and put on the off-white suit jacket lying nearby.
At the door, he gripped the handle and paused for a moment.
He looked back at her as she sat up. ”You and I are destined to be entangled with each other. We can’t split up. Stop thinking about it. Give up on that idea.”
“I really don’t understand. You don’t even love me, so why won’t you break up with me?”
Qi Yanli let out a disdainful, cold laugh. “A marriage between business and politics is about interests and the future. Understand?”
She closed her eyes in despair.
She didn’t want to look at this man a second longer.
“One more thing—Ning Xi and I have nothing going on, but right now, she’s useful to me.”
With that, he opened the door and left.
Only after hearing the door close did Wen Lanyue slowly open her eyes.
She looked at the familiar bedroom, filled with traces of her and Qi Yanli everywhere.
A marriage of alliance…
So in Qi Yanli’s eyes, their relationship was nothing more than a marriage of convenience.
All the grievances and sorrow she had endured over these four years—Qi Yanli simply couldn’t see them.
Pathetic and pitiful.
Suddenly, a phone ringtone broke the silence of the bedroom.
Wen Lanyue picked up her phone and glanced at it. An unknown number.
“Who is it?”
“Wen Lanyue, how are you still so spineless? I thought you’d finally grown a backbone this time, but you just scurried right back to beg for reconciliation?”
Ning Xi’s sharp, biting mockery came through the phone.
She was about to hang up when Ning Xi continued, “Let me tell you—forget about burning your wedding dress that day. Even if I burned that pretty hair of yours, Yanli wouldn’t do anything to me! Haha…”
Wen Lanyue took a deep breath.
“Likewise, forget about me beating you bloody that day. Even if I pushed you down a flight of stairs, he wouldn’t do anything to me. You should count yourself lucky you survived.”
“Wen Lanyue, you—!”
She continued with a cold laugh. “A rotten man like that—if you like him, keep him. After all, you only deserve what’s left over after I’m done playing with it. You and I aren’t in the same class. Only when I throw something away does it become yours.”
With that, she hung up directly.
Even though Wen Lanyue was so furious her fingertips were trembling.
Even her breathing was ragged.
But she absolutely could not show weakness in front of Ning Xi.
…
Hospital, corridor.
Qi Yanli’s tall, cold figure stood outside a hospital room door.
The attending physician, dressed in a white coat, appeared to be reporting on the patient’s condition.
“Mr. Qi, Miss Ning Xi will need to rest for a while longer before we can begin the hematopoietic stem cell mobilization injections.”
“As soon as possible.”
“Understood.”
After the doctor left, he pushed open the door and walked in.
Qi Yanli came to the bedside, looking at his grandfather lying there weakly.
“Grandpa, it’s me.”
The old man leaned against the head of the bed, his voice aged and feeble. “If you’re busy, don’t come. The doctors and nurses here are enough.”
“It’s fine. I haven’t been too busy lately.”
“Then go keep Ning Xi company. Every time I think of her donating bone marrow to me, my conscience weighs on me.”
Ning Xi was the granddaughter of the old man’s former comrade-in-arms.
Later, when that comrade’s family met with misfortune, Ning Xi was placed in the Qi family’s care for ten years.
Over these ten years, Ning Xi had exhausted every trick in the book, yet she never once managed to catch Qi Yanli’s eye.
But no one on the outside knew about the foster arrangement between them.
And Qi Yanli had always been far too indulgent toward Ning Xi.
Even when Ning Xi spread rumors that she was Qi Yanli’s first love, he never once responded.
The old master suddenly sighed. “It would be so much better if you just married Ning Xi…”
Before he could finish, Qi Yanli cut him off coldly, his voice low and merciless. “Once you’ve recovered, my wedding with Wen Lanyue will proceed as planned.”
His attitude was already crystal clear.
The old master said nothing more. He simply nodded, sighing over and over.
…
Late at night.
Wen Lanyue went to bed right after her shower.
Though no matter how she tossed and turned, she couldn’t fall asleep.
If Lin Sen hadn’t been standing guard outside, she would have escaped even if it meant climbing out the window.
All she could do was wait for her father to return to the capital and handle the broken engagement.
Suddenly, a set of low footsteps sounded outside the bedroom.
Wen Lanyue immediately shut her eyes and pretended to sleep. She didn’t want to say a single word to that man right now.
Then came the sound of the door being pushed open.
Qi Yanli walked to the bedside and seemed to stare at her for a few seconds before turning and heading into the bathroom.
Only when she heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
She never imagined that one day, sharing a bed with Qi Yanli would feel like such torture.
After a dozen or so minutes, the water stopped.
Wen Lanyue quickly shut her eyes again, pretending to be already asleep.
Suddenly, the man returned to the bed carrying a cold, crisp, refreshing scent, and out of habit, he pulled her into his arms.
Wen Lanyue’s entire body went rigid.
In the end, she couldn’t help but say coldly, “Don’t touch me!”
“You’re not asleep?”
The next second, Qi Yanli pinned her down beneath him, his long fingers gripping her chin. “Since you’re awake, then keep me company and do what we’re supposed to do.”
!!!
Wen Lanyue felt like her head was about to explode.
“Get off!! Don’t touch me!”
She twisted her body desperately, trying to push away the man’s tall frame.
The man’s voice was low, sensual, and lazy. “That’s your duty as my wife.”
“Let me say this one more time—we’ve already broken up. I have no such duty. If you want to do that, go find Ning Xi! Don’t come to me!”
Qi Yanli’s handsome face darkened instantly.
A trace of menace slowly surfaced in his pitch-black eyes.
But she had no idea that her words had completely enraged this man.
Suddenly, Qi Yanli lowered his head and forcefully kissed her lips—a domineering, aggressive kiss, like a general storming a city.
This deep kiss, laden with such intense desire, was clearly about far more than just kissing.
“Mmph… mmph!”
Wen Lanyue struggled for a long while, but it was useless, and her nightgown was about to be torn off.
She reached around blindly, groping for anything she could find, and her hand landed on the table lamp.
She grabbed it and slammed it mercilessly into the man’s head.
At that, Qi Yanli finally released her—but drops of blood fell onto her face, one after another.
Wen Lanyue was so frightened that the lamp slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor, her small face draining of all color.
The man pressed a hand to his forehead and, frowning, rose from the bed.
“Your… your head…”
She hadn’t expected it to be this serious. So much blood.
The blood had nearly stained the entire side of Qi Yanli’s face red, yet somehow it only added a roguish edge to his looks.
Qi Yanli made no move to treat the wound right away. He simply grabbed some tissues and casually wiped the blood from his face.
Then he sat down on the single armchair nearby.
The man lit a cigarette and held it between his lips, the swirling smoke blurring his handsome features.
“What’s there to panic about? Even if you accidentally killed me, it would be self-defense. I’d have gotten exactly what I deserved.”
“…”
Qi Yanli was always this calm and cold-blooded, no matter the situation.
A few minutes later, Wen Lanyue said, “Have Lin Sen take you to the hospital to get your wound treated. I just want to break up—I don’t want your life.”