Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Her fingernails dug into her palms, leaving several marks of varying depth. Xia Wanzhi’s face was pale. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of that woman’s smug, provocative expression flashed through her mind.

Her fiancé, at this very moment, was entangled with another woman, indulging in pleasure.

Zhou Yu was filthy.

The Zhou Family was filthy, too.

Xia Wanzhi snapped back to reality. She pushed open the car door, stepped out, and turned to walk in the opposite direction, putting more and more distance between herself and the Zhou Family villa.

She felt miserable, and it wasn’t just because of Zhou Yu’s betrayal.

It was because she had misjudged someone.

She thought she understood Zhou Yu.

But she didn’t understand the nature of men.

It was early August, the end of summer. In a few days, it would be the Start of Autumn. The breeze was light, gently lifting the hem of Xia Wanzhi’s airy dress.

She hadn’t changed out of her formal gown yet, and her seven-centimeter heels were beginning to pinch her feet. Xia Wanzhi stopped, bent over to take off her shoes, and continued walking aimlessly with them in her hand.

She was a striking sight, looking like a princess escaping from a fairy tale kingdom. Passersby looked at her with confusion; some stepped forward to ask if she needed help, but she simply shook her head and whispered a thank you.

“Another poor soul heartbroken by love,” a passerby sighed for her.

“Such a beautiful girl, yet someone doesn’t know how to cherish her,” another grumbled on her behalf.

Xia Wanzhi eventually stopped walking and found a bench to sit on. Staring blankly at the dirty soles of her feet, she suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh.

If her maternal grandparents far away in the UK knew she had ended up in such a state in Beicheng, they would immediately send someone to snatch her away.

Cutting off contact with her parents was one tactic; freezing her bank cards was another of their usual tricks.

They were betting that she would give up soon.

Then, she would obediently leave everything in Beicheng behind, immigrate to the UK, and go back to being a pampered young miss.

At the same time, having finished his business, Zhou Yu wrapped himself in a bathrobe and picked up his phone from the nightstand. The woman beside him immediately pressed herself against him, clinging to his shoulder. Her voice was sweet and filled with feigned apology: “I accidentally answered a WeChat call. I was going to decline it, but I must have pressed the wrong button…”

Zhou Yu lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. “I don’t care what you do.”

The woman rested her chin on his shoulder, her voice nasal and whining. “I thought it was my phone…”

“What did you say?” Zhou Yu turned his head almost reflexively, his eyes sharp as a bad premonition took hold.

The woman swallowed hard and explained, “I didn’t realize the call was for you…”

“Sun Lingzhi!” A chill ran down Zhou Yu’s spine. The veins on the hand he used to choke Sun Lingzhi’s neck bulged, and his mind went blank for a moment.

His phone and Sun Lingzhi’s had been sitting together on the nightstand. When a ringtone had gone off earlier, he had been in the heat of the moment and silenced it with one hand. Shortly after, another WeChat call had come in.

Sun Lingzhi had coyly said her phone was ringing.

Very few people ever called Zhou Yu on WeChat-hardly anyone, in fact-so he had believed her and flirtatiously told her to hang it up herself.

“Young Master Zhou…” Sun Lingzhi struggled, her eyes filled with fear.

“Who gave you the nerve to play games with me?” Zhou Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, his anger and resentment exploding. After a brief loss of composure, he snapped back to his senses, released Sun Lingzhi’s neck, and began frantically searching through his WeChat messages.

Xia Wanzhi was his only pinned contact.

Below her name, the words [Video Call] clearly indicated that Xia Wanzhi had initiated a video call.

With trembling fingers, Zhou Yu tapped into the chat interface.
[Call Duration: 01:26]

Above that log were several messages sent by Xia Wanzhi.

She had asked where he was, saying she was waiting for him in the car so they could enter the house together.

In an instant, a wave of overwhelming regret swept through Zhou Yu. A massive panic surged in his heart, and after his body froze for a moment, he looked up at Sun Lingzhi, who was kneeling on the bed. He pinned all the blame on this woman.

“Slap-” He didn’t hold back at all as he struck Sun Lingzhi across the face. Flushed with shame and rage, Zhou Yu grabbed her hair to vent his fury. “It’s all your fault…”

“You seduced me!” His expression was pained, unable to hide the hostility radiating from him.

It was only because this woman had taken advantage of his vulnerability, claiming her name was also Zhi Zhi, that he had let his guard down.

Sun Lingzhi begged for mercy in terror, tears streaming down her face. Suddenly, a ringtone snapped Zhou Yu out of his loss of control. The moment Zhou Yu answered the phone, Sun Lingzhi tremblingly crawled up only to collapse back onto the floor, huddling in the corner, too terrified to move.

“Mom, is Zhi Zhi back yet-” Zhou Yu asked anxiously.

On the other end of the line, Zhou’s Mother heard him ask about Xia Wanzhi and immediately interrupted him with an impatient tone. “Zhi Zhi, Zhi Zhi! Do you even care about your own mother anymore? Didn’t you two go to the banquet together? It’s so late, why aren’t you back yet?”

“What did you say? Zhi Zhi didn’t go back?” Zhou Yu’s heart tightened. Completely ignoring Sun Lingzhi, he hurriedly threw on his clothes and headed out the door.

Xia Wanzhi had blocked him. Unable to reach her, he raced to every place she might have gone, but he couldn’t find her anywhere.

His car finally came to a stop at the entrance of the Xie Family estate. He covered his face with his hands, looking utterly pathetic.

This was the last place Xia Wanzhi could possibly be.

After stepping through the main gates, Zhou Yu was stopped by an order from Xie Qiyan and told to wait in the side hall.

After a long wait, Xie Qiyan finally made a late appearance. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and a sharp, hidden glint flickered within his calm eyes. “It’s almost eleven. Xie Tan is already asleep.”

Zhou Yu swallowed hard and stammered, “Cousin… Cousin, I’m looking for Zhi Zhi.”

Xie Qiyan immediately let out a cold snort. “Looking for your fiancée at my place? Do you suspect I’ve hidden her away?”

“Zhi Zhi is close with my younger cousin, I thought she…”

“She’s not here.” Xie Qiyan’s gaze was dark. When he lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on Zhou Yu’s shirt collar.

There was a vibrant smudge of lipstick there.

Xia Wanzhi’s lipstick tonight had been very light.

That mark was a bit wide.

It didn’t match Xia Wanzhi’s small, cherry-like lips at all.

Xie Qiyan sneered, his gaze toward Zhou Yu becoming even more mocking.

Zhou Yu didn’t entirely believe him, but he didn’t dare to doubt him openly. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said, “If she comes to see Xie Tan tonight, please give me a call, Cousin. I…”

“What does that have to do with me?” Xie Qiyan stood up and turned to leave the side hall without showing the slightest bit of courtesy.

In the South Courtyard, the lights in Xie Tan’s bedroom had already been turned off.

Xie Qiyan stood outside the door and reached out to twist it open. The light switch was just to the left of the entrance. Xie Qiyan slapped it on. Xie Tan, who had been hiding under the covers reading comics with a nightlight, instantly killed the light and held her breath, pretending to be asleep.

“Get up.” The pressure radiating from Xie Qiyan was at an absolute low.

Xie Tan didn’t dare to move a muscle.

“Give your Sister Wanzi a call.” Xie Qiyan stood at the head of the bed and yanked back Xie Tan’s blanket.

He didn’t pull it back much, just enough to reveal her head and her tools of the trade.

Xie Tan opened one eye and gave a sheepish grin as she pulled the blanket back to cover her comic book.