Revenge
Fu Peijia gently pushed open the study door and immediately heard her father’s booming voice and Qiao Jiaxuan’s deep tone.
Right after dinner, her father had pulled Jiaxuan into the study, and they had been discussing matters ever since. Since the two became engaged a year ago, her father and Jiaxuan had begun collaborating in many areas and had reaped considerable rewards. From their recent conversations, it seemed they were planning to invest in land in a certain Southeast Asian country to undertake a major real estate development project.
She had never cared about such matters; she simply believed that as long as she had enough money to live on, life was good. Her father had never let her worry about these things, and Jiaxuan certainly didn’t either. They were only afraid she would get tired or stressed; her only “job” each day was to be an idle housewife at home!
Her arrival seemed to interrupt their conversation. Qiao Jiaxuan gently pulled her into an embrace and turned to his father-in-law, Fu Xiong, saying, “Dad, I think we should discuss this matter at the office tomorrow. Peijia has been getting tired easily lately, so we’ll head home now.”
Fu Xiong seemed reluctant to end the conversation, but after glancing at his daughter, he said, “Well, you two go ahead and head home then!”
Jiaxuan was acting strangely today. As soon as they got home, he held her tightly, as if he might lose her the very next second. Before she could even react, he planted a passionate kiss on her………
Peijia struggled to catch her breath; the lovemaking had drained every ounce of her energy. She didn’t understand what had come over him today—he’d been unusually wild and rough, almost as if a demon had possessed him.
Qiao Jiaxuan gently held her in his arms, while Peijia smiled and curled up against his bare, broad chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat as it gradually slowed from rapid to steady: thump, thump, thump…
“It sounds so nice,” she murmured.
“Hm?” Qiao Jiaxuan’s breath brushed against the top of her head.
“Your heartbeat,” Peijia lifted her face slightly and gave him a faint smile. “It sounds really nice. I guess it’ll stop sounding nice if I listen to it for the rest of my life!!”
His dark eyes gazed quietly at her for a long moment before Qiao Jiaxuan spoke:
“Peijia, whatever you want or whatever wish you have—as long as it’s within my power, I’ll definitely grant it.”
“I don’t lack anything!”
“You have to tell me!”
Qiao Jiaxuan’s tone grew serious.
“Well…” Peijia mused, tilting her head as she thought for a long time. Finally, she smiled sheepishly, “I really can’t think of anything. How about this: I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
There was a long silence.
“Peijia, do you love me?” Qiao Jiaxuan gazed intently at her charming face.
“Mm-hmm! I love you!” Peijia nodded vigorously.
“You’re still young. You’ll fall for someone else someday,” Qiao Jiaxuan said calmly.
“No… I won’t. I only love you!” Peijia lifted her head to look at him, not understanding why he was saying these things to her. But she couldn’t detect any emotion in his eyes.
“There will definitely be other men in your life.”
“No… Besides you, I don’t want anyone else!! I don’t love anyone else!” She grew a little anxious. Why was he saying these things to her?
Qiao Jiaxuan suddenly flashed a toothy grin, gentle and childlike: “I was just joking with you. Go to sleep early!” ……..Maybe one day, you’ll hate me—wish I’d vanish from this world.” The last three sentences were almost a murmur; Peijia couldn’t make out what he was saying.
She wanted to ask for clarification, but saw that he had already closed his eyes!
She didn’t know how much time had passed. Listening to Jiaxuan’s steady, deep breathing—he seemed to be fast asleep—Peijia, for some reason, simply couldn’t fall asleep. She lay there quietly, gazing at his chiseled, striking features: his arched eyebrows, straight nose, and sensual lips…
His eyelashes were so long and thick! As if she’d discovered a new continent, she leaned in slightly to examine them closely.
Suddenly, Qiao Jiaxuan snapped his eyes open.
“Uh…” Startled, her face instantly flushed crimson.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you sleeping in the middle of the night?”
“I can’t sleep!”
“Go to sleep,” he ordered.
“Okay,” she nodded obediently and closed her eyes.
“And one more thing…” Qiao Jiaxuan suddenly said, his voice sounding unusually clear in the empty room.
“What?” She opened her large, dark-and-light eyes and blinked at him.
Gazing deeply into those innocent, clear eyes, Qiao Jiaxuan said, one word at a time, “Don’t trust people so easily from now on.”
Many years later, Qiao Jiaxuan finally realized that what he had told her back then could actually be called a piece of advice.
“Mm-hmm,” Pei Jia nodded, not understanding the meaning behind his seemingly out-of-the-blue remark, and closed her eyes once more.
It wasn’t until many years later that she realized this was the—final piece of advice—he had left her.
*************
Pei Jia had barely drifted off to sleep that morning. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep when her cell phone rang loudly.
With a splitting headache, she pressed the answer button: “Hello!”
“Miss Fu, there’s been an emergency. The chairman suffered a sudden heart attack and has been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment!”
“I’m on my way.” Startled, Peijia snapped awake.
After a quick wash, she rushed to the hospital where her father was in the emergency room, only to find his secretary and assistant already waiting anxiously for her.
“Miss Fu!” For some reason, Peijia felt their gazes were a bit strange—as if tinged with sympathy—but she had no time to dwell on it.
“Secretary Qian, how is my father?”
Secretary Qian was already sweating profusely from anxiety: “I don’t know the details. I just heard that the Chairman received a phone call, and before he could even hang up, he clutched his chest! I know the Chairman has a weak heart, so I hurriedly called an ambulance!”
“What did the doctors say?”
“Not a single doctor has come out yet!” Secretary Qian rubbed her hands together in anxiety.
Peijia paced back and forth in front of the emergency room, calling Qiao Jiaxuan several times, but she couldn’t get through.
Finally, the door to the emergency room swung open!
Peijia rushed forward and grabbed the doctor’s hand: “Doctor, how is my father?”
“The situation isn’t looking good. He needs to be transferred to the ICU for observation!”
Peijia stared at her father, who was hooked up to an IV, in a daze. He was pale and looked as if he’d aged ten years overnight! She still couldn’t get through to Jiaxuan on the phone; whenever she called his office, his secretary answered and simply said he was out.
What should she do?
Fortunately, Secretary Qian and the assistant had been by her side the whole time; otherwise, she wouldn’t even have known how to handle the hospital paperwork.
She looked up and saw the hesitant expression in Secretary Qian’s eyes.
Peijia forced a smile: “Secretary Qian, what is it? Please, just tell me!”
“Miss Fu—”
“???” Peijia gestured with her eyes for him to speak.
“Miss Fu—” Secretary Qian sighed, paused for a moment, then said, “Miss Fu, you really shouldn’t call Mr. Qiao anymore!”
“Why?” Peijia widened her eyes in confusion.
Secretary Qian said nothing, but pulled several newspapers from his briefcase. The massive headlines on the front pages caught her eye—
Qiao Jiaxuan Calls Off Engagement
The Fu Family Faces Imminent Collapse
Fu Peijia felt a thunderous roar in her head; it was as if her entire world had come crashing down!
No, this couldn’t be true. Just last night, she had been in his arms, lost in passion.
This must be a fabrication by the newspaper; she was going to sue them.
Unable to control herself, Peijia rushed out—she had to find Qiao Jiaxuan!
In the CEO’s office at Qiao Jiaxuan Tower, she finally found him.
“Jiaxuan!” Peijia called his name softly. The barrage of blows she’d endured since this morning had exceeded her limits. Feeling so wronged, all she wanted to do was hide in his arms and cry!
“You’re finally here!” But Qiao Jiaxuan didn’t even bother to stand up to greet her. He sat back in his chair, looking perfectly at ease as he watched her panic.
A cold, magnetic voice reached her ears—so familiar, yet so alien!
Pei Jia looked up abruptly, and the blood in her veins seemed to freeze!
Stripped of his usual gentle demeanor, those eyes now flashed with a chill more intimidating than an iceberg!
Pei Jia couldn’t help but take a step back; she had never seen him look so dark and terrifying!
“Do you know what? I’ve been waiting for this day for years!”
One by one, words radiating extreme coldness slowly slipped from those mesmerizing lips. Despite the scorching midday sun, the room felt as cold as a zero-degree ice cave.
For some reason, Peijia suddenly began to shiver—it was a bone-chilling cold that came from the depths of her heart!
“If your father hadn’t used underhanded tactics back then—exploiting my father’s trust in him to seize my father’s company—my father wouldn’t have died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. Do you know how young he was when he died? Only thirty-seven! Now I’m simply returning everything your father did to him back then. I hope your father enjoys this gift! By the way, the Fu Group has gone bankrupt. Your father used all the cash—and took out massive bank loans—to develop real estate in the Philippines. Now there’s been a coup there!! He’s finished!!!!! Hahahaha”
Peijia stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head frantically, refusing to accept this reality.
Tears streamed down Peijia’s face: “What about me? What am I to you?
“You” The mouth that had once spoken words of love now spat out a barrage of daggers, piercing straight into Peijia’s heart: “To me, you’re nothing more than a tool for revenge! If it weren’t for you, your father would never have trusted me so much! And, of course, a free bedwarmer—you know, men have their physical needs. And the women out there aren’t exactly clean—”
“Stop! Stop—don’t say another word!!” Peijia sobbed uncontrollably, slowly collapsing to the ground. Her whole body went limp, drained of all strength; she didn’t even have the energy left to look at him one last time!
“Don’t say another word!!!!!!!” Peijia felt she couldn’t bear it any longer. How she wished she could faint right then—or even die on the spot—so she wouldn’t have to hear his hurtful words anymore.
But she still lifted her head and stood up. Though she swayed slightly, she turned around and walked step by step toward the door, never once looking back at him.
The world fell silent.
But she could hear the sound of her high heels—one step, then another—as the cold marble floor drove that sound inch by inch into her heart, deep into her very marrow.
Step by step, she gradually walked away…
Step by step, her life began to slowly shatter…
Tears trickled down her chin onto the back of her hand, then onto the floor.
That day, without a doubt, spurred her growth.