Ye Rong looked at Li Chongming.
From the expression on his face, she seed to sense that sothing was off. If, at this critical mont, Li Chongming had betrayed her daughter…
Then—
At that thought, Ye Rong’s brow furrowed tightly. She didn’t choose to leave. Instead, she headed deeper into the house.
Seeing this move, Li Chongming was instantly terrified, though he still forced himself to act calm.
“I didn’t have ti to get soone to tidy up earlier, maybe so clutter just fell over…”
“……”
Ye Rong ignored what Li Chongming was saying behind her and walked forward on her own, her pace much quicker than usual.
The clicks of her high heels echoed on the floor one after another as she made her way toward the bedroom.
Until—she reached the door.
Li Chongming followed behind her. He knew very well that over-explaining would only make things worse, so he didn’t say another word at this point.
He just stood obediently to the side, not uttering a sound.
Unaware of what was going through Li Chongming’s mind, Ye Rong reached out and gripped the doorknob, pressing it down.
Li Chongming’s heartbeat sped up with her every move.
The door was yanked open.
Ye Rong stepped forward and walked into Li Chongming’s bedroom. Her gaze scanned the entire room, taking everything in at a glance.
There was no sign of anyone.
“Phew…”
Li Chongming quietly let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
But just as he relaxed a little, he noticed Ye Rong hadn’t left or closed the door. Instead, she walked deeper into the room, heading straight for the wardrobe.
His heart tensed again.
Ye Rong looked around as she walked.
When she got to the wardrobe, she stared at it for a mont, then slowly raised her hand and gripped the handle.
With force, she yanked it open.
Inside were only a few pieces of clothing. It seed that Li Chongming had moved in so hastily this ti, he hadn’t brought much with him.
She shifted slightly to the side, carefully checking to make sure no one was hiding in there. Only then did Ye Rong finally feel reassured.
She closed the wardrobe again, and deep down, she found her earlier suspicions sowhat ridiculous.
Li Chongming… wasn’t that kind of person.
A smile reappeared on her face as she turned to look at Li Chongming.
And he, who had been silently watching from behind, now wore a perfectly calm expression. He even asked with so confusion:
“Mom… why were you checking the wardrobe?”
Hearing his question, Ye Rong smoothly changed the subject. She didn’t say anything about her earlier suspicions.
“Nothing… just noticed you didn’t have many clothes. I’ll have soone bring more over for you.”
“Okay, thanks, Mom!”
This ti, Ye Rong really did leave.
After escorting her downstairs and watching her get into the car and drive off, the smile on Li Chongming’s face completely vanished.
His expression darkened as he took the elevator back up to his floor and returned to his apartnt.
He strode quickly to the bedroom door and pushed it open hard. The force of it made the door rebound slightly after slamming into the wall.
Seeing the empty room, Li Chongming’s face twisted as he shouted,
“Stop hiding, co out!”
No one replied.
After a mont, a figure erged from the balcony.
It was Chu Fang.
Barefoot, carrying her bag in her left hand, and holding a pair of high heels by the straps between her right index and middle fingers—she walked toward Li Chongming like a child who had done sothing wrong, head hanging low.
In a soft voice, she said,
“Are you mad at …?”
“I told you not to co out of the wardrobe! What were you thinking, making such a loud noise?”
Scolded like that, Chu Fang looked incredibly wronged.
She threw her things on the floor and walked two steps toward him, then reached out and gently grabbed his wrist, shaking it like she was being playful.
“I didn’t an to… It was so uncomfortable hiding in the wardrobe. I just slipped and—”
Li Chongming didn’t let her finish. He yanked his arm out of her grasp and looked at her with a sour expression.
“Don’t show up in front of again. Get out, now!”
“I was wrong… just forgive this one ti, okay?”
“Get out!”
“Chongming…”
“Didn’t you hear say get out?!”
“……”
Chu Fang fell silent at the sound of his roar, stunned like she’d been frightened senseless. She didn’t say another word.
And Li Chongming showed no sign of pity—his gaze remained cold and indifferent.
Chu Fang stood there.
The two stayed locked in that standoff for a while, until suddenly, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Noticing this, Li Chongming began to struggle, but it didn’t seem to help.
Sensing his resistance, Chu Fang shouted,
“I really like you! From the very first ti I saw you!”
“Let go of !”
“Stop running away from ! I don’t care if you’re already married, I still like you! I think about you every single day!”
Hearing all this, Li Chongming went stiff.
He let her hold him.
They say a man chasing a woman is like climbing a mountain, but a woman chasing a man is like a thin veil…
What’s more, Chu Fang was undeniably a beauty—face, figure, personality—she had it all.
To say Li Chongming didn’t feel tempted would be a lie.
But the reason he resisted?
It was Li Wanran.
He had his own plans—his own agenda.
For the sake of that plan, he was willing to risk the An family’s revenge just to be with Li Wanran.
And he understood her personality very well.
A self-centered woman, just like her mother Ye Rong—arrogant to the extre, never tolerating a single mistake from others…
If she ever found out about him and Chu Fang, Li Chongming could already imagine the kind of fallout that would follow.
That was exactly why he had been so resistant to Chu Fang throwing herself at him from the beginning…
But…
With a sob in her voice, Chu Fang looked heartbroken from being told to leave. She clung even tighter to him.
“We can keep it a secret… You don’t have to give anything. Just co see once in a while. I won’t ask for more…”
“……”
Struggling inside, looking at Chu Fang’s pitiful expression, Li Chongming ultimately shoved her away and made up his mind.
“No!”
“……”
Stunned, Chu Fang looked at him with teary eyes, staring at his firm expression.
After a while, she clenched her teeth, her face suddenly twisting in anger.
“If you don’t agree, I’ll go tell Li Wanran everything! Don’t forget—we already slept together last ti!”
“You—!”
Seeing the fury on Li Chongming’s face, Chu Fang knew this was her chance and quickly switched to a pleading tone again.
“As long as you agree to what I asked just now, I won’t say a word…”
“……”
Faced with this threat, Li Chongming’s face flushed red, and his fists clenched so tightly they trembled with rage.
His mind spun rapidly…
With things as they were now—
He had no choice.
Leaving Li Chongming’s place,
Chu Fang had gotten what she ca for. She walked to the roadside and didn’t wait long before hailing a cab.
After getting in, she gave the driver her ho address.
The taxi pulled away.
She rolled the window down halfway.
Looking at the scenery flying by outside, there wasn’t a hint of joy on her face despite Li Chongming’s “agreent.”
There was only numbness.
This life… was a ss.
She used to have a happy family of four. They lived cheerfully together, and Chu Fang had once thought it would always stay that way.
Until… that tragic news hit.
Now, her ho was in shambles. As the only one who escaped that disaster, she felt it was only right that she choose revenge.
With that thought, Chu Fang clenched her fists.
When she got ho,
She didn’t even glance at her mother, who was sitting silently in front of the blacked-out TV screen.
Instead, she rushed into the bathroom.
Stripping off all her clothes, she got in the shower.
Scrubbing herself clean with a loofah, she stood under the falling water.
Sothing seed to slip from the corner of her eye…
Chu Fang didn’t know if it was just the water, or if it was her own tears.
She stayed in there for a long ti.
Only when she ca out and dried her hair did she simply let it fall naturally, doing nothing to style it.
Leaving the bathroom, she saw her mother still sitting there like a soulless shell, not saying a word.
She returned to her room and changed into a different outfit.
Then ca out and called toward where her mother was.
“Mom, I’m going to the hospital to see Lanlan.”
“……”
No response.
Staring at the black screen of the TV, her mother didn’t even seem to hear her.
Seeing that, disappointnt flashed across Chu Fang’s face.
She quietly opened the door and walked out.
Once again, she took a cab to the hospital.
Night had already fallen.
Seeing other patients surrounded by family made Chu Fang feel a twinge of envy.
But that envy quickly turned to hatred.
She didn’t show it.
Chu Fang just kept walking until she reached her sister’s hospital room.
But when she opened the door—she froze.
Her sister… wasn’t there.
Standing stunned, Chu Fang rushed to the empty bed where her sister had been and quickly asked the patient next to it,
“Do you know where the girl who was in this bed went?”
“Oh, yeah. The hospital just transferred her to another room not long ago. Wasn’t it soone from your family who requested it?”
“Transferred?”
Chu Fang’s mind filled with questions.
She ran out to find a nurse.
After asking around, she was told that soone claiming to be a relative had arranged to move her sister to a private room.
That answer only deepened Chu Fang’s confusion.
Following the directions the nurse gave her, she arrived at the room.
Standing at the door, Chu Fang slowly pushed it open.
She even thought she heard her sister’s cheerful laughter…
“Lanlan!”
Calling out, Chu Fang looked inside.
She saw a man sitting at the bedside, back facing her, chatting and laughing with her sister.
At the sound of the door opening, both turned around to look at her.
And Chu Fang saw the face of the man who claid to be a relative of theirs—
As soon as she got a good look, a faint sense of familiarity rushed over her.
She had definitely seen him before.
The man noticed her but didn’t speak right away. Instead, he looked at the little girl lying on the bed and said with a smile,
“I’ll tell you the rest of the story later. I need to have a word with your sister.”
“Okay!”
Lanlan replied cheerfully.
Hearing that, the man stood up and walked toward the door.
As he passed by Chu Fang, he said softly,
“Let’s talk outside.”
Then he left the room.
Chu Fang clearly heard him and, after glancing once more at her smiling little sister,
She realized… it had been so long since Lanlan had looked this happy.
She smiled back at her sister.
Then gently closed the door and followed the man down the hallway.
They didn’t stop until they reached the corner by the hospital stairwell.
Turning around, the man looked at her.
After a mont, he finally spoke.
“Your sister is really sweet. If she could walk again, I bet she’d smile even more.”
At the ntion of that, Chu Fang’s face imdiately changed.
She asked,
“Who are you? Why did you move my sister to a private room?”
“Oh, right… I forgot to introduce myself.”
Smiling politely, the man said,
“My na is Liu Changqing. Also… I apologize for making that decision without your permission.”
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