Shen Xizhou merely pressed his tongue against his cheek, holding back his temper at Shi Ning.
He looked at her with eyes full of wounded grievance. “I don’t mean anything else…”
Shi Ning didn’t care to listen. Her gaze was cold as ice. “Think about who caused your loss today rather than blaming it on me.”
With that, she turned and left.
If she stayed another second, she feared she might actually be infected by the stupidity of these two fools.
As soon as Shi Ning left, Shen Xizhou spun around and vented his anger on Shi Qingyin.
“This is all your fault! What a rotten idea!” His voice was harsh. “Because of your stupid phone call, I lost 11 billion!”
And not just that—the trending posts online had already flipped the internet upside down, destroying her image entirely.
Shi Qingyin, who had already been humiliated enough today, now had to suffer Shen Xizhou’s blame. Her composure cracked, and she forgot all about pretending to be weak.
“Why are you blaming me? I discussed it with you before I called! You agreed to it, you agreed to every word I said!” she cried, her voice rising with rage.
“You didn’t stop me yesterday, and now you blame me? Couldn’t you at least have asked if Qin Heye was there? If he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have heard it! This was your idea too!”
Her voice broke into sobs of anger as she screamed, “Shen Xizhou, how can you say such things? Haven’t I done enough for you? How could you treat me like this, you bastard!”
Fury overtook her. She grabbed something off the bedside table and hurled it at him.
It was a fruit plate. It smashed against Shen Xizhou’s head, leaving a swelling bump on his forehead.
His own anger flared. “What the hell are you doing! It was your stupidity, your garbage idea that made me lose 11 billion!”
“No—21 billion!”
He could have gotten 10 billion for free, and now he had to hand over 11 billion instead. Wasn’t that equivalent to losing 21 billion?
All because of Shi Qingyin’s worthless phone call!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His eyes burned as he shouted, “Idiot!”
Shi Qingyin’s bottled-up resentment also exploded. “Shen Xizhou, you’re nothing but trash!”
She grabbed another object off the table—an ashtray this time—and flung it at him.
Shen Xizhou dodged.
Shi Qingyin snatched up a vase and hurled it next. She smashed whatever she could get her hands on, cursing him viciously with each throw.
Shen Xizhou could only dodge back and forth. When he couldn’t avoid fast enough, the objects struck him, adding to his injuries.
She shrieked through her tears, “And you think you’re any better? You’re just a useless loser, a slut—”
The hospital ward became a chaotic mess of smashing, crashing, and shouting under them.
Patients passing by, or family members accompanying them, stopped to watch this commotion as if it were a free drama show.
Finally, a nurse rushed in, alarmed by the noise, and quickly called for security. The guards dragged apart the two who were clawing at each other in a tangled mess.
By then, both were battered and bruised, neither looking any better than the other.
Shi Qingyin collapsed onto the sofa and began sobbing quietly after getting apart.
Shen Xizhou also sat there in a corner brooding, smoking with a sullen face.
At last, Shi Qingyin lowered her head, crying pitifully. “Brother Xizhou, I’m sorry… I was just too angry just now.”
Shen Xizhou’s expression remained sour, but he too realized he had gone too far. “Forget it. I wasn’t exactly right either.”
In his mind, he excused her—after all, Shi Qingyin had only done this because she loved him. That love had turned her from a “good girl” into someone willing to go a little bad for his sake.
Well, at least she was still better than Shi Ning.
Shi Qingyin wiped her tears and sniffled. “It’s obviously Shi Ning who should be blamed. She should have reminded me Qin Heye was right there beside her.”
“If she truly loved you, she would have begged Qin Heye on your behalf. But she doesn’t love you at all—she’s just playing with you, playing with us both!”
Shen Xizhou nodded, agreeing. “Yes. If Shi Ning really loved me, she would go to Qin Heye again, plead with him, and make him transfer that land to me for free.”
He touched the stinging corner of his mouth and said confidently, “It’s fine. With Plot 7 in the east city—before the auction, I’ll coax her a bit more. With how she’s felt about me all these years, I’ll definitely be able to get her to hand it over for free.”
As long as he sweet-talked Shi Ning a little, not only would he save 11 billion, he could even earn another 11 billion.
Still, he had to prepare a backup plan.
He turned to Shi Qingyin, voice stern. “You bear responsibility for this. Find a way to raise some money. I must acquire Plot 15 in West City.”
Shi Qingyin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You want me to raise money?”
Shen Xizhou nodded matter-of-factly. “I won’t ask too much. Just five hundred million. Consider it your investment.”
Shi Qingyin was so furious she almost struck him again.
Five hundred million? Was that supposed to be a “little” money? Where on earth would she find such funds?
She used to think Shen Xizhou was handsome, gentle, and capable.
Now, all she saw was a shameless gigolo. How boring.
Just then, Shen Xizhou’s phone rang.
The moment he saw the caller ID, his face paled. He hurriedly picked up, bowing and scraping through the phone.
“Dad… yes, I sent it out… There were reasons, please listen to my explanation… Yes, I’m in the hospital, I’ll come back immediately…”
Not long after, Shi Qingyin also received a call from her father, Shi Guogang. He scolded her harshly as well. Shaken, she left the hospital and went home.
Meanwhile—
Shi Ning was driving toward the company to find Qin Heye when she received a call from Mu Tiantian. Tiantian wanted to ask about the hot search, and where she was.
They decided to meet at a coffee shop in the mall. Tiantian directly booked out the whole place.
“Ningning baby!”
The moment Shi Ning arrived at the café door, Mu Tiantian rushed up and hugged her tightly.
The embrace was so forceful that, had Shi Ning been a little shorter, Tiantian’s chest would have practically given her a “face wash.”
Shi Ning reminded her calmly, “Don’t hug me so randomly next time. Qin Heye will get jealous.”
Mu Tiantian immediately let go. “If that Great Devil Qin gets jealous, the whole Mu family will probably tie me up and drag me to beg forgiveness. But seriously…” She pulled a face. “Does he have to be that perverted? Getting jealous even over a woman like me?”
Shi Ning nodded solemnly. “Yes.”
“…That’s terrifying.” Mu Tiantian glanced at Shi Ning’s slender white arms. “It’s fine if I hold your arm or your hand, right?”
Shi Ning chuckled. “I’m just teasing. Qin Heye isn’t that overbearing.”
But Tiantian still cautiously linked arms, muttering, “I think he’s more possessive than you realize. I’d better be careful.”
“You don’t know—last time at the Dihua Club (a luxury private club), I nearly had to commit suicide to apologize after ordering male models!”
She pouted dramatically. “He came at such a bad time. I even canceled those 18 male models and ordered one that looked like Qin Heye just for you. In the end, the models didn’t leave, and he didn’t arrive, so we both got into trouble.”
“The Dihua Club has even forbidden me from booking male models again. If I dare order one more time, they’ll blacklist me!”
Tiantian flopped into her seat and slid a cup of taro bubble milk tea (a sweet drink with chewy tapioca pearls) across the table. “I ordered this especially for you.”
Then she leaned closer. “Tell me, did Qin Heye bully you that day?”
Shi Ning sipped her drink and shook her head. “No.”
Tiantian’s eyes widened. “What? He’s that jealous, how could he not bully you?”
“Yeah.”
“…Wait. I mean—did he bully you in bed?”
Shi Ning: “…”
Mu Tiantian gasped at her reaction. “Don’t tell me! Could it be that the Great Devil Qin has… a hidden illness? Is that why he’s stayed away from women all these years, with that foul temper?”