Chapter 43: Qin Miao Returns

These days, she hadn’t replied to a single message from him—not when he said he was hungry, not when he said he was hurt, not even when he was in a bad mood. It was as if she didn’t see any of it. Yet, just now, the moment Shen Yan mentioned something related to Yu Wanqing, this woman came running down without a second thought.

So, in her heart, did he mean even less to her than Yu Wanqing?

Ye Yaoyao was in a foul mood. “What do you want?”

“Thank me.”

“Are you out of your mind? I already know everything you wanted to tell me, and you still want me to thank you?” Ye Yaoyao couldn’t understand him at all.

It was as if Ye Yaoyao knew she needed to breathe to stay alive, and if Shen Yan repeated it, he expected her to be grateful. She didn’t get it. She couldn’t understand.

“You don’t know. Look at this first.” Shen Yan shoved a file into her arms.

Ye Yaoyao refused to look. If she did, she really would have to be grateful to him.

“Fine, I’ll just pretend I don’t know. Not that I want to know. I’m not interested in Ji Yanxi.”

“Then who are you interested in?”

Ye Yaoyao: What?

Was Shen Yan even listening to himself?

“What do you want, exactly?”

Shen Yan’s arms tightened around her. He didn’t know what had come over him—he simply wanted to see this woman, desperately. Staring at her face, so close, he was nearly overcome with the urge to kiss her.

Ye Yaoyao turned her head away, and his lips brushed her cheek.

Her eyes widened. “Shen Yan, what are you doing? Let me go!”

But Shen Yan only held her even tighter.

She’d just showered and the soft scent of milk lingered on her skin—pleasant and intoxicating, stirring up other thoughts within him.

The next second, Shen Yan pulled open the car door and pressed Ye Yaoyao onto the back seat.

She realized what he was about to do and bent her knees, but he pinned her down.

“Don’t move.”

“Shen Yan, if you dare touch me, my brother won’t let you get away with it.”

“Your brother?” Shen Yan frowned.

He’d never heard this woman mention having a brother.

“Ye Shen.”

Ye Shen?

The name hit Shen Yan like a jolt. He gripped her wrist tighter. “You call Ye Shen your brother?”

Ye Yaoyao’s heart skipped a beat. In her panic, she’d forgotten—would Shen Yan realize the truth?

“So this is some game you two played before?”

Hearing this, Ye Yaoyao rolled her eyes. She should have expected as much—this man’s mind worked in the strangest ways.

“Yes, that’s right. So will you let go of me now?” She played along. “Shen Yan, I’m someone else’s girlfriend now. If you touch me, it’s just wrong.”

As soon as she finished, a wave of dizziness swept over her. Shen Yan yanked her upright and pushed her out of the car.

Bang!

Shen Yan slammed the door, stepped on the gas, and sped off like the wind.

Ye Yaoyao: What?

All her confusion stemmed from Shen Yan. What was wrong with this man? He’d come all this way in the middle of the night to make a scene, only to leave again?

Rubbing her head, she went back upstairs.

Annoyed though she was, she had to admit Shen Yan still had some self-control. Since she said she already knew, it meant she had her own plan. This little ingrate—never mind, he’d let it go for now.

…

Yu Qingqing and Ji Yanxi held a grand wedding.

Ye Yaoyao and Yu Wanqing didn’t attend, but they couldn’t escape the livestream online.

Forcing something that wasn’t meant to be yours always felt unnatural.

No matter how expensive her dress, Yu Qingqing still seemed out of place.

“She got what she wanted.”

“Did she?” Ye Yaoyao made no further comment.

Time would tell.

The wedding was broadcast citywide at Yu Qingqing’s insistence. Even if Father Yu and his daughter didn’t attend, she wouldn’t let them miss her moment of glory.

That night, she watched the replay in the bridal suite, pride shining in her eyes.

Father Yu and Yu Wanqing must be furious—after all, this was originally meant for Yu Wanqing.

Yu Qingqing watched it again and again. She was still clutching her tablet when someone woke her up.

“Yanxi, how could you do this? On your wedding night, you were out fooling around with another woman, and now it’s all over the news?”

In the hall, Zhan Qiuyi lashed Ji Yanxi with a whip over and over.

Yu Qingqing, guessing what had happened, began to tremble violently.

“Young Madam—”

The servant tried to help her, but she shoved them away roughly. “Get off! Don’t touch me.”

Snatching the phone, she went online. When she realized what had happened, she shook with rage.

Ji Yanxi’s actions had turned yesterday’s grand wedding into a joke.

“Mom, stop hitting me. She’s pregnant and I can’t touch her for at least two more months. I’m a man, I have needs—it’s normal to find someone else,” Ji Yanxi said, feeling no remorse.

“You think you’re justified?” Zhan Qiuyi struck him several more times.

Yu Qingqing staggered over. “Ji Yanxi, how could you treat me like this?”

“I married you—what more do you want?” Ji Yanxi showed no trace of guilt. “You got all the attention you wanted. What else do you expect? Do you really think I’ll devote my life to you alone? Do you, Yu Qingqing, deserve that?”

“Ji Yanxi, what did you just say…” Yu Qingqing’s chest ached with fury.

She hadn’t slept well the night before. Zhan Qiuyi hurried to support her.

“You have to calm down. Don’t hurt the baby.”

“So all you care about is the child?”

“What else?” Ji Yanxi’s voice was cold. “Should we care about you?”

“Yu Qingqing, just behave and have the baby and everything will be fine. If you try anything else, we’ll see who outsmarts whom.”

The wedding had already taken place. If Yu Qingqing made a scene now, she’d only embarrass herself.

Ji Yanxi was certain of this, which was why his attitude had changed.

…

Ye Yaoyao was the first to gossip about it all.

Ji Yanxi’s actions had come as no surprise to her.

A leopard never changes its spots.

But Yu Qingqing didn’t necessarily want Ji Yanxi himself.

Things between those two were far from over.

Qin Miao had been discharged from the hospital and made her return to the entertainment industry.

Whenever news about her appeared, the comments were full of insults, but soon enough, those were buried.

In time, everyone forgot what she’d done before.

The internet has no memory.

Ye Yaoyao learned about this when she saw a video of Qin Miao and Shen Yan attending a banquet together.

The comments all praised them as a perfect match.

Her heart clenched, but she scrolled on indifferently.

That night, she saw him in person.

Shen Yan still hadn’t changed out of his suit.

Ye Yaoyao shot him a cold glance and tried to leave, but he stopped her.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Because of Qin Miao?”

Shen Yan paused. “Yes. She said she wanted to apologize to you for what happened before.”

“So she’s trying to clean up her image?”

“Ye Yaoyao, it’s been so long. Many things have changed,” Shen Yan said heavily.

They were no longer who they once were.

Ye Yaoyao’s heart trembled. Shen Yan’s willingness to trust Qin Miao so easily unsettled her.

No matter how much time passed, Shen Yan would always trust Qin Miao without question.

As for her, he’d never believed a word she said.

“That’s right, it’s been so long. Do those things still matter? Why put on a show of apologizing now?”

She retorted, “An apology is just for show. The audience is still watching, and I’m just a supporting character.”

“You’re angry?”

“Shouldn’t I be?”