After getting to know him, the woman had also taken a liking to Xiao Wangnian. She had even, quite unusually, taken the initiative to approach him and show her interest.
In the end, however, Xiao Wangnian still rejected her.
Because of that, rumors began to spread that Xiao Wangnian simply wasn’t interested in women. Some even speculated that perhaps he was incapable in that regard and was too embarrassed to marry, so he used his career as an excuse to hide it.
An even more ridiculous rumor claimed that Xiao Wangnian didn’t want a wife because he had made his career his wife, and that this was actually some kind of psychological disorder…
In short, there were all kinds of wild speculations.
Qin Mengxue, however, had always leaned toward the belief that Xiao Wangnian simply had extremely high standards. He couldn’t find anyone he liked, and he would rather remain single than settle.
After all, a man who was outstanding in every way—both in ability and family background—couldn’t possibly fall for some ordinary woman. Naturally, he had to find someone who could match him.
But now he actually had his eyes on someone like Qin Mingzhi…
Qin Mengxue simply couldn’t understand it.
Qin Mingzhi was a woman Xiao Xingjie was about to abandon. Even if the two of them divorced, Qin Mingzhi would still be a divorced woman!
Xiao Wangnian was a promising military officer. Surely he couldn’t possibly marry a woman who had already been married once?
Wasn’t he afraid that people would find out and gossip behind his back, making him lose face?
Did Qin Mingzhi really have that much charm?
Then why, despite being daughters of the same Qin family, didn’t she have any of it?!
Qin Mengxue secretly ground her teeth and shot Qin Mingzhi a vicious glare.
She wanted to see just how Qin Mingzhi was going to clean up this mess after making the relationship between the uncle and nephew so strained!
No one knew how long Xiao Wangnian and Xiao Xingjie had remained locked in that standoff. It felt as though an entire century had passed.
Qin Mingzhi was practically suffocating.
Under the oppressive force of Xiao Wangnian’s presence, she didn’t dare say a word. She barely even dared to breathe. Her throat was itchy and she wanted to cough, but she didn’t even dare do that.
She was about to go crazy.
If she wanted to break the stalemate, the first thing she had to do was get Xiao Wangnian out of the room.
Unable to endure it any longer, she finally summoned her courage and boldly raised a hand to push Xiao Wangnian toward the door.
Xiao Wangnian seemed somewhat surprised. His brows furrowed as his deep gaze settled on Qin Mingzhi.
Qin Mingzhi licked her dry lips. Not daring to meet his eyes, she could only stare at the buttons on his chest as she spoke as politely as possible.
“Thank you, Uncle, for standing up for me, but there’s no need. I can handle this myself.”
The corner of Xiao Wangnian’s lips curled slightly, forming a faint, mocking smile.
“You can handle it?”
His voice was cool and indifferent, yet Qin Mingzhi somehow detected a hint of disbelief.
What did he mean by that?
Did he think she was just some foolish woman who could only hide behind a man and cry, incapable of solving anything herself?
Did he really look down on her that much?
Although Qin Mingzhi had no confidence in herself, she still forced herself to nod. Almost defiantly, she straightened her back.
“Yes. And even if I can’t handle it, there’s no need for you to worry about it, Uncle. After all, this is between Xiao Xingjie and me.”
She emphasized the words between Xiao Xingjie and me.
It was almost as if she were deliberately reminding him not to meddle in their affairs.
Xiao Wangnian stared fixedly at Qin Mingzhi. His eyes grew so dark and ominous that they seemed to gather storm clouds.
Her words felt like a thorn driven straight into his heart.
Did she really like Xiao Xingjie that much?
She claimed she wanted a divorce, but deep down, she still couldn’t let him go and wanted to hear Xiao Xingjie explain himself?
And what then?
Once he explained, wouldn’t her naturally softhearted personality make her waver and back down?
Xiao Wangnian’s gaze grew darker and darker.
Qin Mingzhi swallowed. At that moment, she felt like a tiny prey being targeted by a predator. Her throat had gone painfully dry.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly again, making every second unbearably difficult.
Looking at his unpredictable expression, Qin Mingzhi began to regret her attitude just now.
What if he had only wanted to help her out of kindness?
Had she been too harsh?
Just as Qin Mingzhi hesitated over whether she should say something to soften her words, she suddenly heard the man in front of her let out an extremely mocking scoff.
“Are you blind?”
Qin Mingzhi looked up in surprise. What?
No, seriously. Everything had been going fine. Why was he suddenly insulting her?
Her lips moved, and she was just about to say something when Xiao Wangnian expressionlessly withdrew his gaze and suddenly turned around.
With a few long strides, he walked out of the room, leaving behind only his resolute back.
Qin Mingzhi felt as though something had lightly scratched at her heart. She couldn’t quite explain what she was feeling. All she knew was that something felt strangely off.
Still, the moment Xiao Wangnian left, the oppressive atmosphere that had felt like a storm about to break finally eased.
She took two deep, relieved breaths.
As she looked away, she recalled the look in Xiao Wangnian’s eyes and the words he had left behind.
Why had he suddenly called her blind?
She hadn’t even done anything to him!
And even if she really was blind, so what? It wasn’t as though she had asked him to take responsibility for her for the rest of her life…
At that thought, the conversation from last night suddenly echoed in Qin Mingzhi’s ears.
“Then I’ll find another husband. You’ll do.”
The way he had just stood up for her…
Could it be that he had actually taken those words seriously?
Did he really intend to take responsibility for her for the rest of her life?
Qin Mingzhi covered her face with both hands, wishing she could find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
Xiao Xingjie watched her movements from the side and tried to speak.
“Mingzhi, are you all right?”
Qin Mingzhi quickly pulled herself together and lowered her hands, suppressing her expression.
When she turned around again, it was as if the woman who had just covered her face in despair had never existed. Her expression was eerily calm.
“I’m fine.”
She looked expressionlessly at Qin Mengxue. She couldn’t even be bothered to waste words on her and simply tilted her chin toward the door.
“Get out.”
Qin Mengxue pointed at herself. “Me?”
Qin Mingzhi sneered.
“You’re the only outsider here. Who else would I be talking about?”
Outsider?
Qin Mengxue was already seething with resentment. Hearing those words made her want to argue back.
She was Xiao Xingjie’s future wife! How could she possibly be an outsider?
But when she turned around and met the questioning look in Xiao Xingjie’s eyes, Qin Mengxue hurriedly suppressed the true expression that had almost slipped out.
She wiped away her tears with a pitiful little sob.
“So my sister has always regarded me as an outsider… But I really wanted to give you and Brother-in-law my blessing…”
“And besides… besides, Xiao Xingjie and I already… We’re not exactly outsiders anymore, are we?”
With tears shimmering in her eyes, Qin Mengxue looked at Xiao Xingjie, trying to hint that he should speak up and let her stay.
Xiao Xingjie was practically sick to his stomach.
It wasn’t that he was interested in Qin Mingzhi, but that didn’t mean he was interested in a pretentious drama queen who only knew how to act pitiful.
He simply didn’t want to deal with all these emotional entanglements. That didn’t mean he was blind!
Faced with Qin Mengxue desperately blinking at him, putting on an act of helplessness with an affected expression, the corner of Xiao Xingjie’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He ruthlessly shook off Qin Mengxue’s hand, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
“Get out. Now.”
Qin Mengxue’s lips trembled twice.
“Xingjie, how can you be so heartless? Last night, the two of us clearly…”
Xiao Xingjie finally lost his patience. He pointed toward the door.
“Get out! Whether anything happened between us or not, don’t I know that better than anyone? Do you really take me for a fool?”