Chapter 454 - Your Hand Was Clipped by the Door, Yes? (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“My wife loves me dearly. What need do I have for you? I’d rather let myself starve to death then let you dote on me.” Qi Chenglin shot her a merciless glance, with his eyes filled with evil intentions.
Wu Qiaoyin did not look at him. Her heart shattered to pieces after hearing her Big Brother Qi’s heartless words.
“Are you leaving, or not?” Qi Chenglin asked coldly.
Wu Qiaoyin shook her head and presented the lunchbox. “I… I’ll leave, but Big Brother Qi, please keep this. It’s from the heart. I made it myself.”
Qi Chenglin seemed oblivious to what she said. He simply asked, “You’re really not leaving?”
“If… If you don’t accept this, then I won’t leave.” Wu Qiaoyin shuddered at the door like a little white flower. Her expression however, remained steadfast, and in that steadfastness was also a look of weakness, as if she was pitiable.
“Hehe,” Qi Chenglin’s laugh was a happy one that came from the heart.
Without saying anything further, he turned and slammed the door. Wu Qiaoyin scarcely imagined that Qi Chenglin would act so quickly despite smiling so genuinely earlier. She was completely unable to react at all.
Her hand was still placed on the door frame, so the door slammed painfully against her hand.
Qi Chenglin did not need to exert any energy. The malicious glimmer in his eyes was actually lying in wait for her refusal to leave, after which he would then have a reason to slam the door in her face.
Since she could not understand his words and actions, the only option left was to scare her.
Qi Chenglin had decided to leave the worst impression in Wu Qiaoyin so she would shudder at the sight of him and her infatuation would no longer manifest itself.
The sound of Wu Qiaoyin’s scream greeted his ear. It was so piercingly loud that it seemed capable of transmitting to the floor above. Qi Chenglin’s face brightened up—to him, her scream was practically the most wonderful thing to greet his ears.
Wu Qiaoyin was in so much pain that she did not care about anything else. She retracted her hand immediately and could feel that her four fingers were no longer in her control. She did not dare to move them, and the searing pain made her entire body tremble.
As she brought the injured hand to eye-level, she saw how it did not take much effort—if any at all—to make her fingertips turn reddish-purple. Each one of them was swollen, like a radish.
Wu Qiaoyin was afraid to touch her fingers. She merely raised her hand while howling and wailing. Tears and mucus were streaming down her face and she was completely unable to bear the pain.
The lunchbox she held in her good hand dropped to the ground, with the cover cracking open and the contents spilling out. It was a miserable sight.
Wu Qiaoyin did not care about how she looked anymore. She was already in so much pain that she could not even stand up. Falling onto the floor with a thud, she cried and wailed.
When the door slammed onto Wu Qiaoyin’s hand earlier, it bounced back. Qi Chenglin was still standing at the door. He cocked a brow, and looked heartless, so much so that he even sounded like he was reveling in her misfortune. He said crisply and gleefully, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see your hand on the door frame. How could you be so careless? Even little kids know that it’s not right to put it there.”
Wu Qiaoyin shuddered and cried. She gasped for air and said, “I… I… I…”
“Aren’t you going to bring Miss Wu away?” Qi Chenglin shot a look at Jiang Yuan. Qi Chenglin’s face was all along unemotive, and it was rare that a hint of deviousness appeared in his expression.
Jiang Yuan understood at once and began dragging Wu Qiaoyin out of the main entrance.
Wu Qiaoyin cried in pain and was completely unable to straighten her back, leaving it to remain like a prawn. Her silky-soft hair drooped over her shoulders and down the front of her body, shielding her face.
As she walked, her hair was tousled, making her look like a lunatic. Those tears soiled her makeup too. Beneath all the hair sticking to her face was a black smudge of makeup, turning her fair-skinned face into a frightening monstrosity that was not unlike a black dahlia.
Jiang Yuan let go of her and stopped holding her up. He watched as Wu Qiaoyin swayed as if she was going to tumble over.
In a voice that was loud enough for bystanders to hear, he said, “Sigh, why bother, Miss Wu? Our general manager has his wife to take care of him. Why must you come over and insist on sending food? Your hand was clipped by the door, yes? Don’t do this again in the future. You’re only injuring yourself by coming here.”
Jiang Yuan cleared his throat and said sincerely, “Our general manager really didn’t mean to do it on purpose. Is the injury bad? How about I give Mr. and Mrs. Wu a call and let them send you to the hospital?”
He refrained from offering to bring her to the hospital.
It was no joke that he still had to work overtime. If the general manager did not leave, he—as the general manager’s assistant—could not leave as well. He could not just skip his duties.
Wu Qiaoyin’s mind was no longer functioning properly. She could feel that Jiang Yuan’s voice was coming in continuous waves, but they went in one ear and went out the other. Those words were heard, but not understood.
Next, there came a raucousness from all around. Slowly but surely, she heard the discussion going on beside her.
“Did she try to be a mistress and was beaten up by the rightful partner instead?”
“Didn’t you hear the young man? The man doesn’t like her in the first place. The rightful partner doesn’t even need to do anything. The man could just hit her like that.”
“Yeah, sounds like it’s an accident, but I think it’s on purpose.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, the couple is on very good terms with each other and can’t tolerate other people butting in. This lady is so young, but she’s already learning all the bad things. She insists on being a homewrecker. Does it make you happy to do such an immoral thing?”
“This is a problem that has to do with family values. If the family did their part and taught her well, she wouldn’t have done such a thing.”
Wu Qiaoyin could only feel her brain fill with blood and turn giddy. As she listened to what the surrounding people were saying, she thought, ‘What do you know!’
‘All these old ladies with nothing to do except to criticize people. What does it have to do with them!’
She then came to a sudden realization of what Jiang Yuan said earlier. She looked up suddenly and glared at him.
Those words all sounded nice, but in truth, it was blatant smearing of her reputation in public! “Don’t think I don’t know that!”
Jiang Yuan was slightly taken aback by her viciousness, but after taking two steps back, he put on an earnest look and said, “Miss Wu, our general manager’s son is afraid of you. He’s only seven. Please don’t always come looking for him. He says that you put a lot of pressure on him and it makes him feel scared.”
Jiang Yuan felt that Qi Youxuan would not mind him making that statement.
After that sentence, murmurs were heard once again.
“Ah, so she used the child as a vessel for her intentions.”
“What the hell? Harming other people’s children! Those who lay their hands on children have the worst heart!”
Gao Xiaoyang originally heard about an incident at Chang City and came just to take a look. To her surprise, she was faced with that spectacle when she arrived at Qilin’s door.
Gao Xiaoyang’s eyes lit up instantly since their newspaper also had an entertainment news department!
It must surely be someone in their circle if that person dared to come over and try to be Qi Chenglin’s mistress.
Chang Jingqiu did the same thing in the past, did she not?
Although the woman was unidentifiable due to tear-smudged mascara and long hair stuck to her face, Gao Xiaoyang felt that the girl was surely someone of status.
If it could make the news, it did not matter if it was a topic that she was responsible for. It would still be good if she passed it to her colleague in exchange for a future favor.
Just as she stumbled upon some newsworthy gossip, her colleagues at the entertainment news department might someday stumble upon some financial news!
Moreover, those in the entertainment news department had vast connections. They knew all sorts of people and there was no drawback whatsoever in establishing a relationship with them.
Gao Xiaoyang thus took out her cell phone and opened the video recorder. From time to time, she would even take pictures from different angles. She then shuffled over to Jiang Yuan’s side and said, “Special Assistant Jiang, may I ask who is this?”
Jiang Yuan realized it was Gao Xiaoyang and felt that she was a very persevering journalist. She phoned him every day to arrange a meeting with Qi Chenglin, and at times, she would even pay a personal visit to ask various questions and check whether there were any appropriate times to conduct an interview.
He was not the only one she called. During a gathering between himself, Cheng Dongge, and assistants of Yan Beicheng and his circle, he found out that she called each of them once a day, giving all of them equal treatment.
Jiang Yuan heard that Gao Xiaoyang was Ruan Danchen’s high school classmate, and although the two women did not have too close a relationship, they still got along pretty well. Despite that, she never attempted to burden Ruan Danchen by trying to get the latter’s help in things.
Jiang Yuan regarded Gao Xiaoyang as someone with good character.
It was not a bad thing to make new friends professionally and give oneself more options in the future.
Seeing her resplendent gaze, Jiang Yuan knew what she wanted to do and felt that it was very doable.
Special Assistant Jiang’s expression turned warm as he answered Gao Xiaoyang, “This is Wu Qiaoyin, or Miss Wu.”
As a reporter who specialized in finance, she knew of those big bosses’ families. “Ohhhhh…” she answered immediately to show that she understood.
“May I ask what exactly happened, from start to beginning?” Gao Xiaoyang stared at Wu Qiaoyin.
Knowing that Wu Qiaoyin was trying to interfere in Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen’s marriage, Gao Xiaoyang raised her voice instead of quieting down. She was determined to use all her resources to get one back for Ruan Danchen.
Jiang Yuan was a smart man who got it immediately. In a loud voice, he recounted every single thing in precise detail.
Wu Qiaoyin was surrounded by hordes and hordes of people. She could not step out, and all she was able to do was stand there to be horribly denounced by strangers.
In addition, her hands were hurting very terribly. She swayed and struggled to stand upright, let alone walk. All she felt was her brain turning fuzzy as if she was going to collapse at any moment.
The crowd was already aware of what happened. A group of women, aged twenty to fifty, came over to show their disdain and spoke unpleasantly of Wu Qiaoyin.
“Hey! Girls! Can we talk!” Gao Xiaoyang noticed a group of students—still clad in their high-school uniform—shooting everything with their cellphones. She left Jiang Yuan and went over.
The girl turned around while still raising her phone up. She looked curiously at Gao Xiaoyang and heard the latter ask, “Can you please don’t post this up just yet?”
Through disheveled hair, Wu Qiaoyin saw Gao Xiaoyang’s actions and felt grateful that there were still kind people out there.
In the end though, her thoughts had yet to properly materialize when she heard Gao Xiaoyang say, “Can you wait till the headline appears tonight before posting it on the web?”