Chapter 94: I've Been Too Kind to You

The man on the other end must have been soothed by him, because Liu Changyong gave a couple of final grunts of agreement. “Wait for my news. Don’t concern yourself with anything else.”

He hung up. Qiao Jiu hurried into the restroom. After a while, she saw Liu Changyong sweep past the entrance to the women’s room.

Her heartbeat was frantic, her head ringing.

During the period when her father was gravely ill, she had not been by his side, so she did not know what had really happened. If Lu Fengzhou had done something behind the scenes, it was not impossible.

Only...

She stepped out of the restroom a little and watched Liu Changyong’s retreating back. After a long moment, her brows knit faintly.

She stayed in the restroom until Liang Xiujin grew uneasy and sent a waiter to look for her, and only then did Qiao Jiu splash water on her face and return.

When she went back into the private room, Liu Changyong was smiling and exchanging pleasantries with Liang Xiujin. Seeing her come in, he looked up, then froze.

Qiao Jiu knew her eyes must be red, though in tonight’s circumstances, that was easy enough to explain.

Liu Changyong quickly stood, came over, patted her on the back, and sighed. “Child, even if you keep going like this, your father still wouldn’t be at ease. Try to look on the bright side.”

Qiao Jiu raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye. “I know.”

She gritted through the meal until it was over. Once Liu Changyong left, Qiao Jiu did not spare the other man a glance; she hailed a taxi and went straight home.

After entering the house in darkness, she leaned against the door.

The emotions that had surged so violently earlier somehow all ebbed away at once. She slowly slid down to the floor.

By reflex, she took out her phone, found Lu Fengzhou’s number, and for an instant wanted to call and demand an explanation. But then she let the thought die.

What was there to hope he would say? What could he do?

...

Qiao Jiu did not sleep all night. Too many thoughts were charging wildly through her head.

For a moment she wanted to tear everything open and drag everyone down to die together. The next, reason returned and she wanted to take it slowly, to plan her way through.

Only when the sky outside had fully brightened did the voices in her head finally recede, but a thick, muddled fog seemed to rise in their place.

She reached for her phone, intending to call Liang Xiucheng and ask for leave, when there was suddenly a knock at the door.

The first thought that flashed through her mind was Lu Fengzhou. The only person who knew where she lived, and who would come looking for her at this hour, was him.

She didn’t put on shoes. She got out of bed and walked over.

This time she did not even check the peephole. She pulled the door open at once. “You damn—”

The words stopped dead.

The person standing outside was Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo was probably also surprised that she had opened the door so readily. He blinked, then smiled. “Miss Qiao, you really are home?”

Qiao Jiu’s face turned cold. “What are you doing here?”

Zhao Shuo pushed his way in and shut the door behind him. “You never came downstairs, so I guessed you were still here.”

Qiao Jiu flinched at the suddenness of it. Her phone was still clenched in her hand. “Mr. Zhao, have some self-respect and get out.”

Zhao Shuo ignored her entirely and surveyed the room at his leisure, clicking his tongue a few times. “From young lady to servant girl. That doesn’t sit well, does it?”

He said, “I heard you’ve latched onto Liang Xiucheng now? But the Liang family is arranging blind dates for him, and you won’t be able to stay by his side for long.”

Qiao Jiu frowned. “How do you know where I live?”

Zhao Shuo curled one corner of his mouth and did not answer. “Miss Qiao, it’s just the two of us here. Why keep up appearances? Who are you trying to fool?”

He turned back to her, his gaze roaming over her body. “It’s hard to go from luxury to frugality. Now you even have to work for the Liang family to earn those little scraps. Must be bitter.”

He chuckled with obvious ill intent. “If Miss Qiao is willing, I could give you some protection.”

Then he added, “I may not be as suitable as Liang Xiucheng, but I have an agreement with Zou Qingqing. We don’t interfere in each other’s affairs, so you can rest easy. She won’t come looking for trouble.”

Qiao Jiu was light-headed and could not be bothered to waste time on his nonsense. “Get lost.”

Zhao Shuo did not take her seriously at all. “Miss Qiao, there’s a limit to playing hard to get. Keep carrying yourself like this and it won’t be fun anymore.”

He moved toward her. “Zou Qingqing already told me about your situation.”

Qiao Jiu paused. “What did Zou Qingqing tell you?”

Zhao Shuo began unfastening his buttons. “What else? Just your circumstances. Qiao Jiu, whatever Liang Xiucheng can give you, I can give you too. I can even give you more.”

After thinking it over, he reminded her, “Everyone on this floor has gone out to work. I just knocked on every door. Screaming won’t do you any good.”

That bastard Zou Qingqing had definitely whispered some filthy wind into this pig’s ear. Qiao Jiu ground her teeth.

Zhao Shuo kept advancing as he spoke. “Ruyue is a temptress. You should be even sweeter than she is.”

If it were an ordinary day, Qiao Jiu would not have feared him. She had gotten into plenty of fights and brawls; her skills were decent enough. This fat swine was clumsy and wheezing, not quick on his feet.

But she had not slept all night, and she seemed to have a slight fever too. She was in far too poor a state.

Zhao Shuo gave a couple of lewd laughs and suddenly lunged at her, muttering, “If you come with me, your life will be better than it is now. I’ll even make you a young lady again. From now on, when Zou Qingqing sees you, she’ll have to go around you.”

Qiao Jiu hurried to dodge, but he still seized her arm and dragged her into the room.

This time she was genuinely frightened. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “Get the hell off me. Let go.”

Zhao Shuo had done enough shameful things in his life that he had no fear. Besides some money-for-favors dealings in certain places, he had also forced people before. He had money, and as long as he paid enough, even the most unwilling girl would eventually give in. Some even threw themselves at him willingly.

He had long since grown experienced at this, which was why, when he pinned Qiao Jiu down on the bed, he was still panting and saying, “Tell me how much you want. I’ll pay you double. Stop putting on an act.”

Qiao Jiu felt like vomiting. She had barely eaten anything the night before, and now she was dizzy and seeing stars. With that dead-fat pig brushing against her, waves of nausea kept surging up again and again.

Her voice trembled. “Lu Fengzhou...”

Zhao Shuo burst out laughing. “Lu Fengzhou? He dumped you, and you’re still thinking about him? Don’t worry. I’m better in bed than he is.”

Qiao Jiu was wearing pajamas, and with just a little tearing they were already almost useless.

Zhao Shuo’s eyes were red.

Qiao Jiu kicked and thrashed. “Get the hell out of here. Just wait. I’ll kill you for sure.”

“Kill me?” Zhao Shuo laughed. “Then kill me right here. I’d love to die on your bed.”

He was too eager. His belt would not come undone, and because Qiao Jiu kept fighting him, he could not spare a hand to pin her properly.

Sweat broke out across Qiao Jiu’s body. Her voice trembled as if it were on the verge of tears. “Lu Fengzhou, if you don’t come now, once I get out of here I’ll cut you down too.”

As soon as she finished, she turned her head and bit into Zhao Shuo’s arm.

Zhao Shuo cried out in pain. Without thinking, he slapped her hard across the face. “I’ve given you enough face. Women like you—I’ve had more than I can count. You’re still trying to act pure? Is that it?”

Qiao Jiu’s head rang, but she still lifted a leg and drove her foot straight into Zhao Shuo’s stomach. “I’ll definitely kill you. You just wait.”

She rolled off the bed and was about to run for the bathroom, but at that moment Zhao Shuo became unexpectedly nimble. He flipped over and caught her ankle.