Bryce Shaw could finally be discharged from the hospital today. Although he’d been cooped up here all this while, having Li Qiuchi by his side every day had become such a comfort that, now, he found himself reluctant to leave. He knew that once he recovered, the two of them would probably go back to seeing each other only occasionally.
At this moment, Li Qiuchi was on her way to pick him up from the hospital. Ms. Chen had told him to return to the Shen family home to recuperate, but he refused—he wanted to stay at Lanshan Mansion, so he could be around Li Qiuchi all day long.
The sound of high heels echoed in the hallway. Bryce Shaw thought Li Qiuchi had arrived, and his face lit up with a smile. But the moment he saw who walked in, his expression instantly soured.
It wasn’t Li Qiuchi—it was Zhu Yurou. Seeing how his face darkened the moment he spotted her, Zhu Yurou felt like something was stuck in her throat. She wanted to flare up, but she had to hold herself back.
“President Shen doesn’t welcome my visit?”
Bryce Shaw lounged on the hospital bed. Thanks to Li Qiuchi’s meticulous care over the past days, he looked much better. Though he didn’t much care for Zhu Yurou, business was business—he still had to keep up appearances.
“As I told you last time, President Zhu, if you have any business, you can talk to our person in charge at the office.”
Zhu Yurou didn’t seem bothered at all, swaggering into the room and stopping at the foot of his bed.
“I’m not here for business today, President Shen. I came for something personal.”
Bryce Shaw collected himself. “Personal?”
With a flirtatious glance, Zhu Yurou tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled slyly. “Yes—about Miss Li.”
At the mention of Li Qiuchi’s name, a dangerous glint crept into Bryce Shaw’s eyes.
Zhu Yurou prattled on, “I’m guessing you don’t know what happened with Miss Li in the past, do you?”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that from any angle, Miss Li is not a good match for you. She’s just not worthy of you.”
Zhu Yurou looked at him with confidence. She was certain that what she’d say next would make Bryce Shaw truly dislike Li Qiuchi.
Bryce Shaw’s gaze turned even colder. “Then tell me—what kind of woman do you think is worthy of me?”
Mistaking his coldness for interest, Zhu Yurou smirked inwardly and continued, ready to air all of Li Qiuchi’s old secrets.
“Did you know? Li Qiuchi was once sold by her own father to be a wife for an old bachelor in her village. Ever heard of that?”
Bryce Shaw said nothing, his hands unconsciously clenching at his sides. With his head bowed, Zhu Yurou couldn’t see his expression and assumed he was angry because he felt deceived by Li Qiuchi.
“Looks like you really didn’t know,” Zhu Yurou went on smugly. “Li Qiuchi sure hid it well. But if this comes to light, she’ll be ridiculed by everyone—drowned in other people’s spit.”
“And how do you know all this?”
Bryce Shaw fixed her with an icy stare, but Zhu Yurou didn’t notice the menace in his eyes at all.
In truth, Zhu Yurou hadn’t actually investigated Li Qiuchi. She figured the heavens themselves were helping her—and that’s how she’d stumbled across this secret.
Last weekend, after a night out, she happened to walk past an argument in a hotel parking lot and heard someone mention Li Qiuchi’s name.
One of the men—reeking of alcohol—slurred out, “My daughter’s a big star! You know Li Qiuchi, right? She’s my daughter! That pocket change you’re arguing about—I wouldn’t even bother picking it up…”
“Ha! Your daughter a star? Do you take us for fools? Stop spewing crap.”
With that, fists nearly flew. Zhu Yurou stepped in just in time. “Excuse me, who did you just say your daughter was?”
Li Guangliang, facing a fashionably dressed woman, realized he’d spoken out of turn and blurted, “Why should I tell you? Who are you?”
Zhu Yurou glanced at the angry men beside him. “Why are you all trying to beat him up?”
“He owes us money.” The ringleader scowled.
“How much does he owe? I’ll pay.” Without waiting for a reply, Zhu Yurou pulled out her phone.
Figuring she was easy to deal with, the man named a sum at random. “Fifty thousand.”
Without so much as blinking, Zhu Yurou sent the money. The men grinned at the notification and left contentedly.
Li Guangliang said nothing. Zhu Yurou eyed him with interest.
“You just said Li Qiuchi is your daughter? You know, false claims like that can land you in court.”
At her warning, Li Guangliang immediately wilted.
“How do you know I was making it up? Li Qiuchi really is my daughter.”
Zhu Yurou remained skeptical. “You mean the Li Qiuchi on that ad?”
She pointed at the hotel entrance, where an ad featuring Li Qiuchi’s endorsement hung on the wall.
Li Guangliang hesitated, growing wary. “Why do you care? Who are you?”
Despite his scoundrel nature, Li Qiuchi was still his daughter. He was starting to get suspicious about Zhu Yurou’s motives.
Seeing his reaction only confirmed Zhu Yurou’s guess: this really was Li Qiuchi’s father.
“Don’t get me wrong, Uncle—I’m a friend of Li Qiuchi’s. You’ve had a bit to drink; let me call her to come get you.”
He relaxed a little upon hearing she was “a friend,” but tensed again at the mention of calling Li Qiuchi.
“No need; I can get home myself.”
His obvious discomfort set off alarm bells for Zhu Yurou, who insisted on driving him home just to be safe.
On the ride back, she fished for more information. Thanks to the alcohol, and with his guard down, Li Guangliang poured out everything without reservation.
Zhu Yurou was astonished at how many secrets were hidden in Li Qiuchi’s past.
Now, she just wanted to see how Bryce Shaw would react to learning all this.
The hospital room door swung open. When Zhu Yurou saw who came in, a sly smile curled on her lips.
“Well, well, the superstar herself has arrived.”
The teasing gleam in Zhu Yurou’s eyes made Li Qiuchi’s skin crawl. She glanced at Bryce Shaw lying in bed and picked up immediately on his off-kilter mood.
It suddenly clicked—she realized what Zhu Yurou’s purpose here must have been. Her tone jumped a notch in sharpness.
“What are you doing here?”
Knowing Zhu Yurou must have said something to Bryce Shaw, Li Qiuchi’s gaze grew dark and turbulent.
With an indifferent shrug, Zhu Yurou retorted, “Does it matter what I said? Or is it that you’re scared—scared that your biggest secrets will be exposed to the one you care about most?”
The air between the two women crackled with tension.
“Shut up! Get out!” Bryce Shaw’s voice cut through the room like ice, utterly merciless.
Zhu Yurou stared mockingly at Li Qiuchi, eyes full of gloating delight.
Li Qiuchi’s eyes burned red, her face twisted in rage as she glared back at Zhu Yurou. But the angrier she got, the more exhilarated Zhu Yurou seemed.
“Didn’t you hear President Shen? Why are some people still shamelessly hanging around here?”
She shot a contemptuous look at Li Qiuchi. Having feelings didn’t matter, she thought; when someone wants to kick you out, that’s it. Feelings without any value are the cheapest of all.
Li Qiuchi’s hands clenched at her sides—she wanted nothing more than to strangle Zhu Yurou, but not in front of Bryce Shaw. She couldn’t let herself fall to pieces here. Biting her lip, she turned to leave the room.
“I was telling you to get out. Didn’t you understand?” Bryce Shaw raised his eyes, cold as frost, staring Zhu Yurou down.