Chapter 21:

Shen Qingzhou’s confession was ultimately interrupted by a phone call from the Wang family. Due to the suddenness of the incident, Lin Qiao hadn’t had time to give Shen Qingzhou the answer he desired before the two headed together to another hospital.

Wang Jiaqi had miscarried. The call had come from her father, Wang Jin. As a childhood friend of Jiaqi, Mr. Wang felt that Lin Qiao might be able to comfort her. Jiaqi had refused to eat or drink, lying in the hospital bed without uttering a word, surviving only on glucose drips. This had further worsened the already strained situation for the Wang couple.

The specific cause of Jiaqi’s miscarriage wasn’t mentioned on the phone by Mr. Wang, but it seemed somehow involved Fang Zheng.

Upon arriving at the hospital where Jiaqi was staying, Lin Qiao stopped Shen Qingzhou at the entrance hesitantly, saying, “Would your coming in with me upset Jiaqi?”

Shen Qingzhou’s gaze was steady, his lips curling into a cold smirk, though he made no comment.

“This kind of thing is hard to separate clearly. Although I can distinguish between you and Fang Zheng, it doesn’t mean everyone can. Someone might even lump you together or assume you’re on the same side. So, perhaps you shouldn’t come along,” Lin Qiao sincerely advised.

Shen Qingzhou replied bluntly, “I don’t care about others. I care about you.”

Lin Qiao was momentarily taken aback. Ever since they had opened up to each other, Shen Qingzhou had been making every effort to win her over, seemingly deliberately adjusting his personality. She could feel it and was moved, yet also felt a bit uneasy.

She could accept his gradual approach, but this sudden change made her uncomfortable, and likely him as well.

“I’ll be fine,” Lin Qiao sighed. “If you really want to help, can you go ask what exactly happened with Fang Zheng?”

“I was planning to do that anyway,” Shen Qingzhou replied with a glance.

“Why didn’t you go directly then? Why follow me here?” she asked.

“I wanted you to know just how much I care about you.” His tall frame stood before her, strong and imposing like a mountain, making her instinctively want to lean on him, and he was indeed someone she could rely on. His voice was convincing, his words filled with strength: “So far, aside from pursuing you, there’s little else that truly moves me.”

“I can feel that,” Lin Qiao covered her face and urged, “Then go quickly. Call me once you find out. Mr. Wang probably won’t tell me directly.”

Actually, Shen Qingzhou had no intention of leaving. In his eyes, the Wang family was as unreliable as Fang Zheng. There was an old saying, “Like father, like son,” or in this case, “Like husband, like wife.” Even though they were divorced now, they had once been a family. And even if Fang Zheng had deliberately manipulated the marriage, there must have been some similarities between them. That was also why Shen Qingzhou had rarely visited the Fang family since his mother married Fang Zheng’s father. The Fang household was a complicated, tainted place, and if he couldn’t clean it up, he would rather just stay away.

“You haven’t answered my question yet,” Shen Qingzhou said, his expression indicating he wouldn’t leave without a satisfactory response.

Standing at the hospital entrance facing him, Lin Qiao and Shen Qingzhou naturally drew attention from passersby. Among them was a familiar face—Wang Jiaqi’s younger sister, Wang Chengcheng.

Affected by her sister’s incident, Wang Chengcheng had cooled her previous affection for the man she once adored and now acted more normally.

She approached Lin Qiao with a pale face and a weak voice, saying, “Sis Qiao, Dad sent me down to meet you.”

Startled by her sudden appearance, Lin Qiao instinctively stepped back, unintentionally leaning closer to Shen Qingzhou.

Shen Qingzhou habitually placed an arm around her shoulders and frowned at Wang Chengcheng, saying, “Miss Wang, it’s impolite to startle people like that. Please be mindful.”

Lin Qiao instinctively grabbed his arm, wanting to stop him from being too harsh. Wang Chengcheng was nearly in tears after just one sentence from him, likely already overwhelmed by recent stress and now scolded by the man she once loved, her emotional defenses nearing collapse.

Shen Qingzhou hated fragile girls the most. After searching his pockets and failing to find what he was looking for, he impatiently said to Lin Qiao, “I’ll go first. I’ll call you.”

Lin Qiao nodded and said gently, “Drive carefully. If it’s congested, just wait. Don’t rush.”

It was the first time she had ever so tenderly reminded him to be safe. The irritation Shen Qingzhou had felt from Wang Chengcheng vanished instantly. Just as he was about to bid her a gentle farewell, Wang Chengcheng spoke again.

“Master Shen, are you and Sis Qiao together? Don’t you feel guilty? Fang Zheng is your brother, and Qiao is my sister’s best friend. After what Fang Zheng did to my sister, don’t you feel ashamed being with Qiao?” Wang Chengcheng choked out.

Shen Qingzhou gave her a sharp sidelong glance but had no interest in responding to such illogical accusations. He simply waved goodbye to Lin Qiao and left. Wang Chengcheng seemed to want to say more, watching his back with teary eyes.

Lin Qiao was momentarily at a loss from Chengcheng’s twisted reasoning. After a pause, she finally said, “Let’s go up. Let’s check on your sister.”

At the mention of “sister,” Wang Chengcheng stopped hesitating and led Lin Qiao upstairs.

While Lin Qiao visited Jiaqi, Shen Qingzhou was equally occupied. He had originally scheduled a client meeting in the afternoon, but now he canceled it to meet Fang Zheng instead.

Meeting Fang Zheng was simple for him—he could just go to the Fang residence. But he had no desire to go there, so he sent a text to Fang Zheng to meet elsewhere.

Driving, finding a convenience store, parking, turning off the engine, buying cigarettes, and returning to the car to light one before heading to the meeting place—Shen Qingzhou executed each movement seamlessly and elegantly. The convenience store clerk watched him through the glass until his eye-catching Ferrari disappeared into the traffic.

When Lin Qiao and Wang Chengcheng arrived at Wang Jiaqi’s ward, Mr. and Mrs. Wang were by Jiaqi’s bedside, sighing. Hearing the noise at the door, they turned to see Lin Qiao had arrived and hurried to greet her.

“Qiao, you’re here,” Mrs. Wang said sorrowfully, grabbing her hand. “Please talk to Jiaqi. She won’t listen to anyone. She refuses to eat or drink. After the miscarriage, her body is already weak. If anything happens to her, how can I go on living?”

“Mom…” Wang Chengcheng, eyes red, hugged her mother’s arm and wept softly.

Seeing this family, Lin Qiao’s hatred toward Fang Zheng deepened. She comforted Mrs. Wang briefly before joining them at Jiaqi’s bedside. Jiaqi was lying with her eyes closed, but Lin Qiao knew she wasn’t asleep—tears still clung to her eyelashes.

Mr. Wang sighed and gestured for Chengcheng and his wife to follow him outside, leaving Lin Qiao alone with Jiaqi.

Once the others had left, Jiaqi opened her eyes and weakly said, “Qiao, I broke my promise. I don’t think I can keep myself safe anymore.”

“Jiaqi…” Lin Qiao felt a lump in her throat, holding back tears. “But what about your parents if something happens to you?”

Jiaqi gave a faint smile. “There’s Chengcheng. Their clean, obedient daughter. She can take care of them in their old age.”

“You…” Lin Qiao sighed deeply. “Last time we met, you weren’t like this. What exactly happened? How did the baby… how did it happen?”

At the word “baby,” Jiaqi closed her eyes again, turning her head away and silently crying. Lin Qiao dared not push further, waiting patiently for her to calm down. At that moment, her phone rang from her pocket. Guessing it was from Shen Qingzhou, she immediately moved aside to answer.

It was indeed Shen Qingzhou calling. Lin Qiao sneaked into the restroom to answer, lowering her voice. “Qingzhou, do you have news?”

The casual use of “Qingzhou” naturally pleased the usually reserved Master Shen. Looking out the window at Fang Zheng’s stiff back, he calmly said, “Yes, I got the details.”

“What happened?” Lin Qiao asked anxiously.

Shen Qingzhou explained, “Miss Wang told Fang Zheng about her pregnancy. He believed the child wasn’t his, suspecting she had been with another man. He thought she was trying to blackmail him with someone else’s child to secure the Wang family’s company. So…”

“So what? What did he do?” Lin Qiao asked, tense.

Recalling Fang Zheng’s answer, Shen Qingzhou frowned, his voice low and heavy. “He hit her. He struck Miss Wang.”

“…”

Lin Qiao didn’t know what to say. She never imagined Fang Zheng could sink so low. Even if he was despicable, he had studied abroad and was supposed to have some basic decency. How could he hit a woman, let alone a pregnant one?

“Shen Qingzhou,” Lin Qiao said in disbelief, “how can there be such trash in this world?”

Shen Qingzhou stood up and left the café, walking toward his car. “You’re right. People like him deserve to be punished eventually,” he said, starting the engine and adding softly, “But if you wish, I can help bring that punishment sooner.” A brief pause, then his voice softened further, “But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?” Lin Qiao felt the atmosphere shift instantly, thick with intimacy. She asked softly, “What condition?”