Ten minutes prior, Shi Qingyin stood on the balcony, observing the unfolding scene between Shi Ning and Shen Xizhou with a sinister smirk. Satisfied, she turned, a cardboard box tucked under her arm, and made her way to the study, knocking on Qin Heye’s door.
“Mr. Qin,” she began, but was cut short by Qin Heye’s cold, sharp reprimand. “Don’t come in. Say what you need to say from outside!” Shi Qingyin wasn’t even afforded the pretense of being alone with a man. However, this was merely a minor setback.
Clutching the cardboard box, she continued, “Brother-in-law, could you accompany me to the garden to find my sister? This box belongs to her, and I wanted to return it.”
Qin Heye had no desire to indulge Shi Qingyin, yet he set aside his work. “Okay,” he consented. His wife’s prior instruction echoed in his mind: agree to everything Shi Qingyin asked, as long as it wasn’t overtly intimate like kissing or hugging. Shi Ning wanted him to witness a spectacle. My wife said that when the couple joins forces, the scumbag trembles! he mused. The “scumbag” was secondary; the words “husband and wife,” “the couple,” resonated most powerfully with him.
Though Qin Heye agreed to walk with Shi Qingyin, his long strides devoured the distance, leaving her trotting, then running, behind him, the cardboard box clutched in her hands. “Master Qin, wait for me!” she called out.
Qin Heye only quickened his pace.
Shi Qingyin attempted a more direct approach, feigning weakness. “Master Qin, please help me with the box. It’s so heavy, my hands are aching.” Her true intention: to have Qin Heye unknowingly carry the very love letters Shi Ning had supposedly written to Shen Xizhou, guaranteeing his fury upon discovery. He would surely cast Shi Ning aside.
But Qin Heye ignored her plea, accelerating even more. Shi Qingyin abandoned her trot for a desperate sprint. The closer they got to the garden, the more she curbed her volume. All she had to do was wait for the show to begin.
Soon, they arrived, spotting Shen Xizhou and Shi Ning by the swimming pool.
“Master Qin!” Shi Qingyin cried out, feigning shock. “My sister is with Brother Xizhou, and they’re so close! It’s because my sister gave Brother Xizhou a love letter; they came here for a secret meeting…”
Qin Heye abruptly halted, his gaze sweeping over Shi Ning and Shen Xizhou. Shi Qingyin observed him: cold eyes, a chillingly impassive face, radiating an almost palpable murderous aura. She, standing beside him, shivered involuntarily at its intensity. Yet, the angrier Qin Heye seemed, the more a thrill of excitement coursed through Shi Qingyin.
Still, she maintained her pretense of defending Shi Ning. “Master Qin, don’t be angry. Although my sister has liked Brother Xizhou for many years, she would never disappoint you by meeting Brother Xizhou here.”
Qin Heye’s icy stare met Shi Qingyin’s, and he hummed, a low, dismissive sound. “I believe my wife. I don’t need you to explain, especially not when you’re clearly trying to hint they’re on a date.”
Shi Qingyin was dumbfounded. You saw it with your own eyes, and you still believe her? And he called her a ‘green tea’ in the process! A wave of indignation washed over her. “I wasn’t hinting!” she protested, genuinely aggrieved. “Brother Xizhou was holding roses and standing face-to-face with her! It looked like a date!”
She’s slandering my wife! Qin Heye’s eyes grew colder, the terrifying aura surrounding him intensifying. He fought the urge to lash out. Hold it in! he reminded himself, recalling his wife’s instructions. Let Shi Qingyin speak freely! Don’t interrupt! Hold it in!
At that moment, by the swimming pool, Shi Ning spoke to Shen Xizhou. Then, Shen Xizhou moved closer, offering the roses. Shi Qingyin watched Shi Ning reach out, take the bouquet, and could barely suppress her triumphant glee. She seized the moment to act as Qin Heye’s champion.
“Sister has such a good man like Master Qin,” she loudly proclaimed, “how can she accept Brother Xizhou’s flowers!”
“Sister reached out to hug Brother Xizhou. Are they going to kiss? Sister is sorry for you. She is cheating on you. She…”
“Ah!”
Shen Xizhou’s sudden scream sliced through Shi Qingyin’s pronouncements, bringing her words to an abrupt, shocked halt. She stared, wide-eyed and stunned, at the scene by the swimming pool.
Shi Ning, having taken the roses from Shen Xizhou’s hand, had, in the very next second, brought the bouquet down hard on his face. As she smashed the flowers, she cursed him: “Go to the eighteen levels of hell and be your shameful man! Dead scum!”
Roses, though beautiful, possess thorns. The thorns pierced Shen Xizhou’s skin, scratching his face, igniting his fury. “Shi Ning, what are you crazy about… ah!”
Before he could finish, Shi Ning delivered a powerful, direct kick to Shen Xizhou.
Plop!
Shen Xizhou was sent flying directly into the swimming pool, plummeting into the water. He spluttered, gurgling, swallowing several mouthfuls of chlorinated water. As soon as his head resurfaced, Shi Ning flung the now mangled flowers at him.
“You’re a stinking, rotten thing, not even worth a single hair on Qin Heye’s head! I don’t like you at all! I only like Qin Heye, and I only want Qin Heye as a man in this life!” she railed. “As for you, you dirty, rotten scum, you’d better die in that swimming pool!”
Having delivered her scathing tirade, Shi Ning called out, “Butler Zhao!”
Butler Zhao, already positioned nearby as instructed, immediately emerged with the household servants. “Miss!” he answered. With a swift gesture, the servants, armed with sticks, fanned out to surround the swimming pool. Without waiting for Shi Ning’s explicit order, Butler Zhao, having heard every word of Shen Xizhou’s confession, angrily commanded his staff: “As soon as Shen Xizhou approaches the edge, hit him! He’s not allowed out without the eldest lady’s order!”
Butler Zhao was seething. Though merely a butler, he had been with Ms. Shi since childhood and had, in essence, raised Shi Ning like a daughter. She was a precious gem, something to be cherished, feared to be dropped if held too loosely, or melted if held too tightly. And Shen Xizhou and Shi Qingyin had dared to plot against her! Butler Zhao was so enraged, he could have killed them himself.
Shi Qingyin, who had anticipated witnessing Shi Ning and Shen Xizhou’s reunion, followed by their passionate embrace and Qin Heye’s furious discovery, was left aghast. Instead, she had witnessed Shi Ning savagely beating Shen Xizhou, kicking him into the pool, ordering servants to keep him submerged, and then boldly declaring her devotion to Qin Heye! Nothing had gone according to her elaborate scheme!
She tilted her head, observing Qin Heye. The terrifying coldness that had emanated from him moments ago had completely dissipated, replaced by a subtle, beautiful, and charming curve to his thin lips. It was as if a thousand-year-old iceberg had been instantly melted by Shi Ning, his own personal little sun. Shi Qingyin felt a bitter wave of unwillingness. All her intricate calculations had seemingly backfired, serving only to strengthen their bond.
“Master Qin!” Shi Qingyin cried, seeing Qin Heye begin to walk towards Shi Ning. She scurried after him, clutching the box. As they reached the poolside together, Qin Heye’s voice, soft and gentle, reached Shi Ning. “Wife, I’m here.”
“Master Qin, sister… ah!” Shi Qingyin, catching up, deliberately stumbled, almost falling, and the cardboard box in her hand clattered to the ground, its contents scattering.
Both Shi Ning and Qin Heye turned to look at her. Shi Qingyin quickly righted herself, then squeezed deliberately between Qin Heye and Shi Ning. Facing Qin Heye, she feigned distress. “Sister, I’m so sorry, I scattered the love letter you wrote to Brother Xizhou! I didn’t mean to!”
“Master Qin, please don’t misunderstand sister, don’t be angry with sister, quarrel… ah!” Before she could finish her feigned plea, Qin Heye delivered a swift, decisive kick. Shi Qingyin, too, plunged into the swimming pool.