Chapter 25: Only You Are Willing to Be Deceived by Her

Qiao Xu kicked his abdomen. "Why would I call you? You seemed to enjoy trying on that wedding dress well enough, didn't you?"

Xu Si'an picked her up and carried her to the sofa. "Are you only going to use your thorns on me?"

"Was it my mother who said Shen Zhiwei was your fiancée?"

"Not going to say anything?"

"Then keep undressing."

*Rrrrip!* Qiao Xu watched as her stockings were rendered useless.

"Damn it—mmph!"

Xu Si'an bit her lip. "Don't curse. If you say things like that, you have to be prepared to follow through."

"So, no questions asked, you just dumped me?"

Qiao Xu wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "What was there to ask? I saw it with my own eyes."

Unable to bear the sight, she pulled the stockings off and threw them into the trash. Her "all-or-nothing" attitude stirred Xu Si'an's memories. She had been the same way when they were dating—if she couldn't beat them, she'd join them.

Qiao Xu took off his suit jacket and covered her legs with it. She pointed toward the door. "If you want to talk, sit over there."

Xu Si'an knelt halfway in front of the sofa, took off his own suit jacket, and completely covered the legs that were tempting him into sin. "I won't touch you. Just give me an explanation."

Qiao Xu thought for a moment. "The day before graduation, I went to the mall to pick up the custom gift I’d ordered for you. I passed the bridal shop where we had looked at dresses before and saw you walk in with Shen Zhiwei. When she looked at you, you were smiling at her."

Xu Si'an felt a surge of frustration—his fists clenched so hard he felt like he could have punched her to death.

"You dumped me over a goddamn smile that meant nothing?"

"And then you had the nerve to tell me you didn't love me."

"You loved me to death, didn't you?"

Qiao Xu retorted, shouting at him, "Bullshit. I just don't love you anymore."

"I don't love you, I don't love you, I don't love you—I hate your whole family."

Xu Si'an cradled her face. "You can hate the Xu family all you want, but my only family is you."

"Qiaoqiao, Shen Zhiwei is my brother's wife. She has nothing to do with me."

"Or rather, she could be anyone's wife."

"Four years ago, the Shen family needed a marriage alliance. My mother... well, my brother's mother and Shen Zhiwei's mother are good friends."

Qiao Xu twitched her lips. That sounded an awful lot like an insult.

"She wanted Shen Zhiwei to marry me. I refused, but my brother was willing. You know that after my father died, my mother had no interest in managing me; my brother took care of everything. That day, he had an emergency meeting and asked me to go try on the clothes for him. I’ve never been able to refuse my brother’s requests."

"But I didn't know Shen Zhiwei would be there."

Qiao Xu truly hadn't known that. But what she cared about wasn't him being with Shen Zhiwei.

"Xu Si'an."

"I'm here."

Qiao Xu's eyes turned red, her voice cold and clear. "The day before we broke up, I received a text message."

"What did it say?"

"Do you know about my father's illness?"

Xu Si'an nodded. "I know. I had already arranged for a doctor to perform the surgery and oversee his treatment. Originally..."

"Shen Zhiwei said that the doctor you arranged was one of her family's people. She told me that if I didn't break up with you, she would make sure my father died on the operating table. She said that if I didn't let her handle it, no other doctor would agree to take his case."

Xu Si'an gritted his teeth in fury. "You really are asking for a spanking." To think she would hide something so important from him just to break up with him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Xu Si'an, put me down!"

The two black suit jackets fell to the floor as he picked her up and threw her onto the bed. Just as she rolled over to climb out, he loomed over her.

"I don't care. Make up. We are making up, right now, immediately."

"No, get away."

Xu Si'an kissed her neck erratically. "Are we making up or not? If you don't, I'm going to cry."

Qiao Xu turned her face away. "Your mother doesn't like me."

"Are you planning to marry my brother's mother?"

"If she doesn't like you, that's her problem. As long as I like you, that’s enough."

Xu Si'an kissed her face. "I'll handle the Shen Zhiwei situation. And as for what you said, I haven't been part of the Xu family for a long time."

"What did you say?" Qiao Xu was taken aback. Xu Si'an's father had passed away early, and he had always respected his mother. That was the only reason she had agreed to meet her four years ago.

"After we broke up four years ago, I gave up my inheritance rights, and I removed my name from the Xu family registry."

Xu Si'an chuckled softly. "Now we're finally well-matched, aren't we?"

"You're crazy!"

"Get off, I'm going to take a shower and sleep."

Xu Si'an didn't make things difficult for her; he released her waist and stepped away from the bed. "Alright. I'm going to make a call."

Qiao Xu pulled the quilt over herself. "You should go home."

"I can't drive while exhausted."

"I'll call you a driver."

Xu Si'an held his phone to his ear. "I want to watch you shower."

"Get lost, you pervert."

Qiao Xu ran into the bathroom without even grabbing a change of clothes and locked the door behind her.

Xu Si'an left the bedroom, closed the door, walked to the window, and lit a cigarette.

"Xiao An? Why are you calling your brother at this hour?"

Xu Shiran's voice was still thick with sleep, and Xu Si'an could hear a woman's voice in the background, which made him sick to his stomach.

"Ah-Ran, honey, whose call is it?"

"It's Xiao An. Go back to sleep, I'll take this."

Xu Si'an resisted the urge to hang up and took a deep drag of his cigarette.

"Xiao An, your brother is a married man. If you call in the middle of the night, what are we supposed to do?" Xu Shiran teased.

Xu Si'an said coldly, "The Shen Group. I'm taking it."

"Don't be ridiculous. Weiwei is your sister-in-law." Xu Shiran scolded his brother. It wasn't that he didn't know about Shen Zhiwei's little schemes, but she was the girl he had loved for years.

"Brother, you're the only one willing to be fooled by her. She's just a b—"

"Xu Si'an, where are your manners?"

Xu Si'an scoffed, his voice icy. "Manners? What manners do I need?"

"My manners are what kept me away from the person I love for four years. My manners are what let them plot against me time and time again. My manners are what let that bitch Shen Zhiwei threaten my wife."

"I said it four years ago: don't let me catch you in a lie. Otherwise, I don't care if it's the Xu family or the Shen family—I'll tear it all to the ground."

Xu Si'an was so angry the corners of his eyes were red. The sudden, clean break four years ago had led to over a thousand days of longing and agony. Losing his beloved was like having his heart carved out.

"For the sake of you being my brother, I'm giving you a warning. Whether or not you can protect the Shen family—that’s up to your own ability."

Xu Shiran sighed. "Xiao An, anyone who can discard you so easily isn't worthy of you."

"Your mother isn't worthy of you, and from now on, you're not my brother."

He hung up the phone and leaned against the window, the cold wind tousling his hair.

When Qiao Xu finished her shower, she heard his angry shouting from outside. The soundproofing in the small apartment was mediocre, and she could hear everything.

Qiao Xu opened the bedroom door and saw the man who had just been full of vitriol and threats standing by the window, his shoulders trembling slightly. She knew Xu Si'an was innocent in many ways, but as an ordinary person, she had no way to stand up to the wealthy elite.

"It's very late. You should go home."

Xu Si'an wiped his face. "Qiaoqiao, come here and give your ex-boyfriend a hug."