Qiao Ling leaned against the doorframe, looking at the furious young man before her with a mocking smile. “When exactly did you go blind?”
Water droplets splashed onto her calves, leaving behind an unpleasant sensation of cold, damp trails as they slid down.
As Qiao Ling bent over to wipe away the moisture, a foot suddenly stepped onto the shattered glass. Then, a sharp pain shot through her scalp as the hand gripping her hair yanked violently, forcing her toward the ground.
Her face was inches away from the glass shards. If she were truly pressed down, even if she didn’t end up disfigured, the situation would still be far from good.
For a moment, Qiao Ling was stunned, but her gaze quickly turned icy. She twisted her hand back, seizing the wrist that held her hair, and with a forceful wrench, she straightened up amidst Qiao Sijin’s agonized scream. Grabbing the back of Qiao Sijin’s neck, she kicked her hard in the knee.
“Thud—”
“Ah!” Glass shards pierced straight into her kneecap, and Qiao Sijin let out a piercing shriek. Struggling in pain, she roared, “Qiao You! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pull Qiao Ling away!”
Qiao You was still reeling from Qiao Sijin’s earlier actions. Hearing her cries of pain, he instinctively reached out to grab Qiao Ling’s arm.
Just then.
Yu Wanli, who had strode to the doorway, stepped in front of Qiao Ling. Without a word, she smashed the glass in her hand directly onto Qiao You’s head.
“Damn it, you two siblings are really something, aren’t you? Coming here to bully my Lingling? You’re just asking for trouble.”
Clutching his forehead, Qiao You stumbled back a couple of steps, only to hear Qiao Sijin’s even more agonized screams.
He looked up and saw Qiao Sijin kneeling on the glass shards, the water on the floor now stained red with blood. Qiao Ling, expressionless, pressed down on the back of Qiao Sijin’s neck, forcing her face toward the glass shards.
Clearly, she intended to give them a taste of their own medicine.
“Qiao Ling! Stop!” Knowing full well that Qiao Ling was capable of going all the way, Qiao You ignored his own injury. He rushed over, bent down, and wrapped his arms around Qiao Sijin from behind, using all his strength to pull her away from Qiao Ling’s grasp and drag her outside the door.
Terrified out of her wits, Qiao Sijin sat on the floor in a daze, her face pale with fear.
“Sis? Are you okay?” Qiao You patted her cheek worriedly. “Sis?”
“What sis? Stop making a racket at the door, it’s bad luck!” Yu Wanli kicked a piece of glass aside, casting a disdainful glance at Qiao Sijin before sneering, “This woman’s venomous heart really takes after… her mother, who drove her own father to his grave.”
Qiao Ling clicked her tongue. “Don’t say that. In this regard, she’s truly surpassed her predecessor.”
As she spoke, Qiao Ling suddenly noticed a slightly plump figure standing by the elevator. The person was hunched over, shoulders drawn inward, looking somewhat uneasy.
The figure seemed familiar—likely the building’s butler.
At the same time.
Sensing someone’s gaze, Lin Dong turned around instinctively and met the indifferent eyes of the young woman. His heart skipped a beat. Gritting his teeth, he nervously hurried over.
“Miss Qiao, Miss Yu.” He greeted them respectfully, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Qiao Ling gave a slight nod. “Call security. Have them deal with this.”
“Right away, Miss Qiao.” Lin Dong pressed the call button, then stood to the side with his head bowed.At that moment, Qiao Sijin suddenly burst into tears, crying out in pain from her leg. Qiao You wiped the blood from his forehead, picked her up, and then looked at Qiao Ling with a complicated expression, saying, “Sister Qiao Ling, my sister and I came to see you today just to ask you to come back and apologize to our mom.”
“I didn’t expect my sister to…”
“She probably did that because she was too angry. I apologize on behalf of my sister, and I still hope Sister Qiao Ling will come home and apologize to our mom. As a younger generation, how could you lay hands on an elder…”
Qiao Ling was amused by his words. “Qiao You, you’re already twenty-one years old, how can you still be so naive?”
“Grow up a little. With this attitude, how are you supposed to shoulder the responsibilities of the Qiao Family?”
Over the years, Qiao Ling had always treated the young man before her with an ordinary attitude. Qiao You’s personality took after his grandfather a bit—honest but not timid, capable of taking on responsibilities, and filial.
Just too filial to a fault.
Qiao You pursed his lips, unsure of what to say for a moment. He gave her a deep, complicated look before turning and striding away.
“Lingling, do you think I went too easy on him with that cup?” Yu Wanli rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “If I hit him a few more times, would he wake up a bit?”
Qiao Ling chuckled. “A hammer might have some effect.”
Yu Wanli, “Makes sense!”
…
As the two sisters chatted back and forth, Lin Dong, standing to the side, felt as if needles were pricking his back, his heart filled with anxiety.
He had been making a call outside the door when he overheard the siblings mention Qiao Ling’s name. At the time, their tone had been fairly polite, and he heard the young man refer to himself as Qiao Ling’s brother. Thinking it would save Qiao Ling a trip downstairs, he decided to bring them up.
But who could have expected something like this to happen?
Purple Garden was one of the top affluent neighborhoods in Shengjing, home to the wealthy and influential. Naturally, the property management had high standards for its butlers.
A mistake like the one he made today, if reported to the property management by the residents, would surely get him fired!
Thinking of this.
Lin Dong shuddered, rushed over to the two sisters, bowed deeply, and took the initiative to apologize. “Miss Qiao, Miss Yu, I’m sorry!”
“I…”
“Alright, go attend to your duties,” Qiao Ling interrupted him, crouching down to pick up the broken pieces from the floor. “Just don’t let it happen again.”
It was clear that Butler Lin had acted out of good intentions, and Qiao Ling wasn’t the type to make unreasonable demands.
Lin Dong felt as if he had been granted a pardon, thanking Qiao Ling excitedly. He took the initiative to clean up the mess on the floor before finally leaving.
After the minor commotion passed.
Qiao Ling took a shower, grabbed her laptop, and headed to Yu Wanli’s room to work on their graduation theses together.
The two chatted idly as they worked.
“Lingling, Chi Nian’s birthday is next week. What are you planning to give him?”
“Money.”
“Huh?”
“Chi the money-grubber loves money the most.”
“Makes sense!”
…
Chi Nian’s birthday fell on May 7th.
Having been cooped up at home for half a month, the two sisters headed out early.
Yu Wanli had ordered a racing car for Chi Nian and was going to pick it up today.
Qiao Ling’s gift was simpler—just something that could fit in a box.
Upon arriving at the 4S dealership, amidst the staff’s enthusiastic welcome as if greeting a god of wealth, Qiao Ling finally learned that the “racing car” Yu Wanli had mentioned was a KTM CR16.
A top-tier racing machine.
Priced at 2.7 million.
“Lingling, do you think Brother Jinyue will come tonight?” Yu Wanli touched up her lipstick in the mirror, though the corner of her eye remained fixed on Qiao Ling.Qiao Ling leaned lazily against the front desk. “Yes.”
“So sure?” Yu Wanli raised an eyebrow, closed her compact mirror, and gave her a meaningful look. “Have you two been in touch privately?”
“No, Chi Nian just told me.” Qiao Ling took the card handed over by the shop assistant and placed it in her bag, seeing right through the little schemes in her mind. “Let’s go, Yu Fupo.”
“Tsk, for that ‘Yu Fupo’ you just called me, I’ll give you a friendly reminder.”
“Tonight, that little puppy who’s been chasing you will be there too.”