At this very moment.
Inside the office of the deputy general manager in the Qin Group building.
Liu Xuejiao was sitting on the office chair, and even a hint of fear flashed in her eyes.
She looked timidly at the man in a suit sitting on her desk and asked, "What on earth do you want to do?"
"Have you checked Weibo?" The man looked down at his phone, a playful smile curving his lips.
"Weibo?" Liu Xuejiao was a bit stunned.
After all those things happened, she was already struggling to cope with her own problems. How could she have the time to check Weibo?
"Qin Chengyao, what exactly are you up to?"
Back then, when Ji Siyue publicly revealed at the wedding that Liu Xuejiao had locked her up, causing her to jump out of the second - floor window and then rush out and almost get hit by a car, it really gave Liu Xuejiao a hard time.
Qin Chengyao had actually intended to agree at that time. He just wanted to see Ji Siyue's sincerity. But unexpectedly, Ji Siyue misunderstood his intention. Coupled with Liu Xuejiao's momentary madness of feigning fainting and holding him back forcefully, it led to Ji Siyue having a car accident. It was a long time before she was sent to the hospital, and she almost didn't make it.
Adding up all these things was enough to turn a man who was once polite to her into a demon.
On that day, he called off the wedding but publicly announced that they were already husband and wife. He bought a wedding house and wedding rings and posted them on Weibo. These things that she once envied so much had now become her nightmare.
All her family members had been sent abroad. She had suddenly become the vice - chairperson of the Qin Group. But she knew that it was all fake. Not only was her power empty, but her monthly salary was even less than that of the cleaning lady in the group. Although they lived in the same house, she could only look at his face every day, close but not daring to approach.
In public, he treated her politely and pretended to be a happy couple. But in private, he didn't even want to say a single word to her.
There was only endless cold - violence in life and the disgust that emanated from his very core, which was driving her crazy.
And so on... It was only when it was time to settle the score that Liu Xuejiao suddenly realized what she had done to Ji Siyue. She regretted it deeply.
But there was no turning back once the arrow was shot. There was no medicine for regret in this world. She would eventually have to bear his revenge.
She once asked him when this kind of life would end. He looked confused and finally replied, "When everything goes back to the beginning."
But actually, everyone knew that it was simply impossible for things to go back to the beginning.
Some things, once done, were done.
"Now take out your phone and check. It should be on the hot search."
Liu Xuejiao swallowed hard. Following his words, she opened her phone to check the hot search and her eyes widened in the next second.
"They went to buy a wedding house? This real - estate project is..." Liu Xuejiao's eyes bulged. "Isn't this the one back then..."
Yes, this was the wedding house they had bought before the wedding, but they never got to live in it.
"Shall we buy a new house?" Qin Chengyao stared at the photo on the screen, tapping his other hand on the table.
Liu Xuejiao took a deep breath and still looked at Qin Chengyao and said, "How about I just stay in the current house? You can go back by yourself... I think this is fine."
Although her voice became smaller and smaller because of his gaze, she actually had her own plan.
Qin Chengyao had been waiting for news of Ji Siyue for the past few months. But he was too proud to take the initiative to look for her. He just waited pretentiously. Now that he finally got the news, he would surely go and live in the same real - estate project as Ji Siyue.
If she could take this opportunity to get away from him...
Just as she was thinking about these things, her chin was suddenly lifted by someone.
"Liu Xuejiao, aren't we husband and wife? Since we are newlyweds, how can we live separately? If others found out, wouldn't they laugh at us? Don't you think so?"
Liu Xuejiao's smile was uglier than crying.
What a joke for others?
She was the real joke!
"Qin Chengyao, we never actually had a wedding. You just publicly announced it to tie me down. Please, just let me go. Don't you still like her? Can't you just go and find her? Pretend I never existed, okay?" Liu Xuejiao pleaded.
But Qin Chengyao suddenly flung her chin away in disgust, stood up, took a step back and said, "You've wasted so much of our time. I'll make you pay it back a thousand or ten thousand times over. Liu Xuejiao, everything in this world has its cause and effect. This is what you deserve."
As the office door closed, Liu Xuejiao felt as if she had lost all her strength in an instant. She could hardly catch her breath.
She didn't know when this kind of life would end. If Ji Siyue could return to Qin Chengyao's side, would she be able to get out of this misery?
Thinking of this, Liu Xuejiao's eyes suddenly brightened.
Yes.
The two of them had been on - and - off for so many years. After all, there was still someone who couldn't let go.
If she could make some efforts...
Just then, Liu Xuejiao's phone suddenly rang.
It was Qin Chengyao!
Liu Xuejiao picked up the phone with a trembling hand and put it to her ear.
"What's up?"
"Right, I just forgot to tell you. You'd better behave yourself these days. Don't go looking for her, and don't tell anyone about this. If I find out, you might wish you were dead."
"Beep beep beep beep..."
After saying this, the man hung up the phone directly. Liu Xuejiao threw the phone out as if she had seen a ghost, her face full of terror.
She felt it, truly felt it.
What Liu Xuejiao feared more was not his endless cold - violence and torture, nor his control over her words and deeds every day. What she feared most was the... killing intent that flashed in his eyes whenever he looked at her!
...
After looking at houses for an afternoon, Zhu Zhiyao felt hungry himself.
"I've just chosen one. I think you'll like it too. It's a well - decorated house. I'll come and sign the contract tomorrow, and then I'll pick you up directly. The balcony of that house has good sunlight. You can soak up the sun on the balcony without even leaving the house."
"You're so considerate. I suddenly don't want to eat steak anymore. Let's go home."
Zhu Zhiyao didn't know why Ji Siyue suddenly changed her mind, but he still nodded.
"Okay. I'll come back to pay the bill after I drop you off. We'll come here early tomorrow morning."
After all, what Zhu Zhiyao really wanted was not just a wedding house, but a new house where Ji Siyue could lie on the balcony and soak up the sun without having to go out.