Chapter 24:

…………

He really didn’t make any sense. When they first met, he had looked like a self-restrained elite who could barely be bothered with worldly pleasures, yet once they became familiar with each other, he found that the man could spew vulgarities as easily as breathing.

What an oddball. He kept everyone at arm’s length, exuding a vibe like “I’m not the same species as you,” even though they all lived on the same planet. Didn’t everyone know they were all primates anyway?!

Pushing him away, Lin Qiao hopped off the counter, smoothed her disheveled long hair, and turned to switch on the hot water from the water dispenser. She knew that Qin Muyao had always had a good habit—cutting off all power when no one was home or when he was asleep. Since he had been resting in the bedroom earlier, he must have turned it off after finishing his medicine.

Shen Qingzhou, wearing a satisfied expression, leaned casually against the counter watching Lin Qiao bustling about. Thoughts like “she’s doing all this for another man” kept popping up in his mind, making him increasingly annoyed.

He pulled a cigarette pack from his pants pocket, took one out, shoved the pack back, lit the cigarette as he walked toward the door. Just as he stepped out of the kitchen, he saw Qin Muyao leaning against the wall outside the kitchen door.

He wore a deep blue twill shirt, its hem loosely draped over black dress pants. His soft, chestnut-brown bangs gently fell over his forehead, and his naturally pale complexion had turned even paler from illness.

Hearing footsteps, he lifted his gaze toward Shen Qingzhou. Behind his wire-rimmed glasses, his deep eyes carried a hint of scattered mockery.

Shen Qingzhou wasn’t surprised to see him at all. He simply sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs casually as he smoked. Smoke soon filled the living room. Qin Muyao frowned from the irritation, coughed lightly while covering his mouth, and turned toward the bedroom.

Not long after, Lin Qiao was drawn out by his coughing. She frowned and rushed out of the kitchen. Seeing Shen Qingzhou smoking in the living room, she immediately snatched the cigarette from him, put it out, then carefully headed toward the bedroom.

She leaned against the bedroom door, listening to the sounds inside. Qin Muyao coughed a few times before falling silent again, seemingly unaware of anything.

Shen Qingzhou, having witnessed all her actions, curled his lips slightly, as if mocking the futility of her attempts to hide things. In contrast to his calm and leisurely demeanor, Qin Muyao leaning against the bedroom door looked visibly worse.

Noticing the abnormality, Lin Qiao turned and walked to the sofa, intending to ask Shen Qingzhou to leave first, but soon her phone rang—it was a text message. The sender was Qin Muyao.

He wrote: “You can go now. I’m going to sleep. Good night.”

Lin Qiao tightened her grip on the phone, rubbed her forehead, and quietly walked back to the bedroom door, whispering, “Senior Qin, are you okay?”

Qin Muyao slowly sat on the edge of the bed, supporting his head with both hands, silently exhausted. Lin Qiao didn’t leave but kept asking carefully if he was alright. Eventually, he couldn’t bear to ignore her anymore and replied, “I’m fine. Go back now. I want to be alone for a while.”

Lin Qiao slowly lowered her hand from the knocking position, paused silently, then said, “Alright then, take care of yourself. I’m… sorry.” With that, she went to the kitchen to turn off the water dispenser, didn’t even glance at Shen Qingzhou, and left alone.

Lin Qiao wasn’t stupid—she just disliked doubting things. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t see the truth.

Although Qin Muyao hadn’t said it outright, the reality was clear. Obviously, he had noticed Shen Qingzhou, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked her to leave.

She didn’t blame Shen Qingzhou. It wasn’t the fault of either of them. It was all her mistake—thinking things were too simple and hoping for the best, which had led to this awkward situation for Qin Muyao and left Shen Qingzhou in a state she couldn’t even find the right words to describe.

Unable to find a suitable term, Lin Qiao simply gave up thinking. Quietly, she drove back to the hospital, dropped Shen Qingzhou off at the entrance, and left without saying a word.

Standing at the hospital entrance, watching her car slowly merge into traffic, Shen Qingzhou instinctively reached into his coat pocket for his phone, only to realize his phone was still in his coat, which was still in her car.

He exhaled slightly, pursed his lips, blinked indifferently, and entered the hospital briskly.

Back home, Lin Qiao only realized she still had Shen Qingzhou’s coat when she was getting out of the car. Annoyed, she grabbed the coat and got out, returning home from the garage. She was thinking whether to bring it to him or ask him to pick it up when she saw her father drunkenly slumped on the sofa.

“Dad?” Instantly, all other thoughts vanished from Lin Qiao’s mind. She carelessly tossed the coat onto the sofa and rushed to help her father up, frowning as she asked, “How come you’re like this again? Which client made you drink so hard?”

Her father leaned drowsily against the sofa, mumbling, “Hmm… I’m fine… I didn’t drink too much…”

“People who are drunk never admit they’re drunk,” Lin Qiao gritted her teeth. “Who were you drinking with? I don’t remember any of your clients being so unreasonable as to get an old man this drunk!”

Her father sensed the anger in her voice and rubbed his temples, frowning. “Oh, it’s you, Qiao… Don’t worry, Dad’s fine. Just had dinner with Fang… Fang…”

The word “Fang” instantly set off alarm bells in Lin Qiao’s mind. She asked nervously, “Fang what? Fang Zheng???”

“Uh… yeah…” Her father nodded, lifting his face.

Lin Qiao instinctively stepped back, nearly tripping over the coffee table. She barely steadied herself, her eyes darting around without focus.

After a long while, she finally calmed down a little and helped her father up softly, saying, “Don’t sleep here. Let me help you to your room.”

Her father was already half-asleep. Supported by Lin Qiao, he went to his bedroom, didn’t even take a shower, just took off his shoes and covered himself with the quilt.

Lin Qiao stood by his bed for a while before dazedly leaving the room, slowly descending the stairs.

Back at the sofa, Lin Qiao looked at the mess around, her gaze finally landing on Shen Qingzhou’s coat. A light flickered from the coat pocket—the phone was ringing with a basic ringtone.

Thinking it might be Shen Qingzhou calling from someone else’s phone, she hesitated slightly before answering. But before she could speak, Fang Zheng’s voice came through.

“Shen Qingzhou, guess who I just had dinner with,” Fang Zheng’s voice carried a slight smile. Not receiving a reply, he wasn’t bothered and continued, “I just had dinner with Lin Weiming, the chairman of Lin Group—the father of Lin Qiao. Surprised?”

Lin Qiao tightened her grip on the phone, holding her breath as she listened. Perhaps because Shen Qingzhou rarely responded to him, Fang Zheng didn’t notice anything unusual and continued, “Actually, I originally had no intention of going after the Lin family. But blame it on you—why did you have to challenge me? I want to see if you can really protect the person you’re trying to.”

Lin Qiao remained silent, not uttering a word. She was extremely confused—how could her father, who knew about the Wang family’s affairs, still associate with Fang Zheng? There must be something wrong.

As expected, Fang Zheng continued mockingly, “Shen Qingzhou, do you really think no one will work with me once they know my past? Life isn’t that simple. People will do anything for profit. If Lin Weiming doesn’t want to go bankrupt, he has no choice but to cooperate with me. I laid this net long before the Wang family incident came to light. It’s already too late for him to escape unless he’s willing to let his beloved daughter suffer alongside him.”

Lin Qiao frowned, pulling the phone away from her ear, wanting to hang up. But Fang Zheng spoke one last sentence before ending the call himself, leaving her even more emotionally shaken.

He said, “Shen Qingzhou, one day I will finally drive your annoying mother out of my house. If you don’t want her to fall too hard, tell her to learn some sense and stay away from the Fang family, just like you. Goodbye.”

Lin Qiao slowly placed the phone on the sofa, wiping sweat from it with her skirt. Just this one call had left her drenched in cold sweat. There was an idiom she had heard and recited many times but had never truly felt—until now: chills without cold.

Her hands unconsciously continued wiping the phone when it rang again. Startled, Lin Qiao reflexively threw the phone away. Seeing the name “Du Xinling” on the screen, she immediately ran over and answered.

It was Shen Qingzhou calling. His voice was like a lighthouse in thick sea fog, gradually calming her disoriented emotions.

“Lin Qiao, who was on the phone just now?”

Lin Qiao scratched her head, her voice thick with emotion as she uttered the name, “Fang Zheng.”

Shen Qingzhou was silent for about ten seconds before finally saying, “Should I come to you, or will you come to me?”

He didn’t ask anything else. Just hearing her mention one name seemed to make him understand everything. He didn’t need her to repeat the situation in detail. He always spoke with that kind of confidence that seemed to solve everything.

He seemed to know everything, yet he didn’t know—didn’t know that a man like him was irresistible.

Lin Qiao took a deep breath and said steadily, “I’ll come to you.”

However, for her rare moment of courage in taking initiative, Shen Qingzhou simply replied, “Wait at home. You always become especially obedient when you need my help. This time especially—something serious must have happened.”

Hearing this, Lin Qiao felt guilty and wanted to deny it, but Shen Qingzhou didn’t wait for her response. He gently changed the subject, “Lin Qiao, you’re clearly shaken. It’s not safe for you to drive now. I’ll come to you. Be a good girl.”

Everyone has that one phrase they can’t resist—like “Don’t cry,” “I’ll marry you,” or “I’m here.” Lin Qiao thought “Be a good girl” must be her weakness. Every time he said it, she couldn’t bring herself to argue.

Softly murmuring an “Okay,” Lin Qiao whispered, “Yes, sir.”

Shen Qingzhou didn’t hang up immediately. She could hear him moving—probably heading downstairs. Soon the background noise quieted, and his voice came again.

“Oh, and while you’re waiting for me, think about how you’ll thank me.”

A short pause, and as if fearing she might feign ignorance, he added in a low, soft voice, “I won’t accept verbal or material gratitude.”