Chapter 9

Chapter 9

My mother was fine.

The elderly woman had received a call from someone posing as a family member and was a bit shaken up, but she recovered after getting an IV drip.

I stayed by her side until two in the morning. Qi Zhaoyuan never left.

He leaned against a bench outside the ward, his suit wrinkled, his tie loosened, and visible dark circles under his eyes.

Ding Qichen stopped by once, handing us two cups of hot coffee.

“The police have already brought Qi Tingshan in to assist with the investigation,” he said. “However, that old fox still has the board’s support. If we want to deliver the final blow, we’re still missing that one last push.”

Clutching the paper cup, I looked up and asked, “What can I do?”

Qi Zhaoyuan frowned. “You don’t need to do anything.”

“Don’t give me that.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“You were cornered by thugs in the backstage of your own engagement party. Do you really expect me to just sit back and be a trophy?”

Ding Qichen coughed, clearly stifling a laugh.

Qi Zhaoyuan looked at me for two seconds before suddenly lowering his head and laughing as well.

“Fine.”

“You’re quite fierce.”

I glared at him. “Is this your first day knowing me?”

His gaze fell on my face and lingered for a long time.

“No.”

“I just haven’t seen you like this in a while.”

My heart felt as if someone had gently squeezed it.

We quickly finalized a plan.

At nine o’clock the next morning, the Qi Group would hold an emergency board meeting, and the Tang Family would also be present.

Tang Shuyi had old recordings kept by her father.

I had new evidence on my USB drive.

Combined with the copies of the repair shop’s ledgers that Ding Qichen had obtained, it was enough to nail Qi Tingshan down for good.

I hadn’t expected Tang Shuyi to be willing to help to this extent.

Her tone over the phone was lazy.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m doing this for my own reputation.”

“I don’t want people mentioning me in the future and saying I almost married into the camp of an old man who killed his brother to seize power.”

I gave her a sincere thank you.

She was silent for a second before suddenly asking me, “Peng Qingchuan, you still love Zhaoyuan, don’t you?”

I instinctively played tough. “Is that question important?”

“It’s important,” she said.

“Because if you still love him, don’t chicken out tomorrow.”

“He looks formidable, but honestly, when it comes to you, he’s softer than anyone.”

I hung up and turned to see Qi Zhaoyuan sitting at the end of the hallway taking a work call.

His back was perfectly straight and his tone was calm, as if he could handle anything.

Only the veins on the back of the hand holding the phone were prominently strained.

I suddenly thought back to the past.

Every time I was impulsive, he was always there to clean up the mess. When I threw tantrums, he let me have my way.

Even when our breakup was so bitter, in the end, he only told me to get out; he couldn’t bring himself to actually take revenge on me.

This man had the toughest mouth, but his heart was the cheapest thing he owned.

And yet, back then, I was always using it as a pincushion.

As dawn approached, I walked over and draped a blanket over him.

He opened his eyes, and when he saw it was me, his expression immediately softened.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I can’t.”

“Are you afraid of tomorrow?”

“I’m not afraid,” I looked at him and said softly.

“I’m only afraid of you carrying the burden all by yourself again.”

He froze.

After a few seconds, he reached out and took my hand.

“Then don’t let go tomorrow.”

I didn’t agree.

But I didn’t pull away either.