Chapter 28: A Lesson from Four Years Ago, Half-Dead and Half-Alive

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In the car, Qiao Xu still put a straw in the coffee and set it in the cup holder.

The man behind the wheel raised an eyebrow. “And you still insist you didn’t buy it for me.”

Unable to contain her irritation, Qiao Xu picked up the coffee and was about to throw it out the window.

“You’ll be fined for littering from a moving vehicle.”

“Qiao Qiao, I’m hungry and sleepy. Feed me.”

Qiao Xu took out her phone and checked Xu Si’an’s schedule and itinerary.

“Drink it yourself.”

“I’m driving, Qiao Qiao.”

Qiao Xu picked up the coffee and shoved it toward his face without even looking.

“Sweetheart, where exactly are you aiming? You nearly poked it into my nose.”

Qiao Xu turned and glared at him. “Could you call me Assistant Qiao? The way you’re talking makes it very easy for people to misunderstand.”

Xu Si’an took a sip of the black coffee, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

Sweet.

“But our relationship is already—”

Fine. He would shut up.

There would be plenty of opportunities anyway.

To pick up Qiao Xu, Xu Si’an had not called for a driver, so the car could only remain parked at the airport.

There were not many people at the airport that early in the morning. Xu Si’an took Qiao Xu’s hand and led her toward the business-class boarding passage.

“Let go of me.”

Xu Si’an tightened his grip. “Don’t make a fuss. If you get lost, where am I supposed to find you?”

“I’m not directionally challenged.”

Xu Si’an pulled her straight into his arms. “Who was it, then, that got lost at the airport and cried while looking for me the first time she flew?”

Qiao Xu wished she could smother him to death.

She and Xu Si’an were clearly incompatible in every possible way. Whenever she ran into him, nothing good ever happened.

Thank goodness they had broken up. Otherwise, they might have damaged the next generation.

Xu Si’an stopped the moment they entered the business-class lounge.

Qiao Xu, caught off guard, crashed into his back. “Why did you stop?”

“Si’an, you’re traveling for work too?”

Xu Si’an’s expression turned cold. He turned around, took Qiao Xu’s hand, and started leading her outside.

“Si’an.”

Xu Shiran released Shen Zhiwei from his arms and stood up. His expression was equally unpleasant as his icy gaze swept over Qiao Xu.

“You really severed ties with your brother for her?”

Xu Si’an stepped in front of Qiao Xu. “You severed ties with me for her. Four years ago, I already warned you, Brother. You were the one who insisted on going your own way.”

“You saw the email I sent you last night, didn’t you?”

Before going to bed the previous night, Xu Si’an had sent Xu Shiran the medical records showing that Shen Zhiwei had undergone an abortion and hymen reconstruction at a hospital four years earlier.

He had thought that seeing the evidence might finally make Xu Shiran use his brain.

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Instead, Xu Shiran had replied by message: “Don’t slander your sister-in-law.”

Xu Si’an had nearly laughed.

The evidence was conclusive, and he was accusing him of slander?

That hopelessly lovesick idiot was beyond saving.

Shen Zhiwei still wore a delicate, pitiful expression as she tugged at Xu Shiran’s sleeve. “Darling, what email?”

Xu Shiran gently reassured her. “It’s nothing. Just a work matter.”

“Si’an, that’s enough.”

Qiao Xu’s head was beginning to ache. She wanted to run.

Couldn’t they argue after she was gone?

“Miss Qiao, since you left Si’an four years ago, why have you come back to cling to him now? Do you know what happened four years ago—”

“Xu Shiran, what right do you have to talk about her?”

Xu Si’an turned around and pulled Qiao Xu, whose face had gone pale, into his arms. “Don’t listen to him. He’s talking nonsense.”

Xu Shiran’s face turned livid. “Xu Si’an, wasn’t what happened four years ago enough to teach you a lesson you’d never forget?”

“I’m willing to live with it. Mind your own business.”

“With all this free time, you should worry about your wife instead. You’ve got weeds growing on your own head, yet you still have the nerve to interfere in my affairs.”

“Always meddling.”

“Come on. Let’s board first.”

Xu Si’an put an arm around Qiao Xu and led her away. Xu Shiran’s hand clenched into a fist, while Shen Zhiwei beside him felt a chill run down her back.

Had they discovered something?

Impossible. She had hidden that matter so carefully. There was no way anyone could have found out.

“Darling, is Si’an blaming me for what happened to the dog? I truly didn’t do it on purpose.”

Xu Shiran was her devoted lapdog. Even if she had done it deliberately, he would never do anything to her.

The man bent down and kissed her, soothing her. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. You know what he’s like—reckless and incapable of holding his tongue.”

“Don’t worry. Once the Los Angeles contract is signed, the Shen Group will be stable again.”

All the way to the gate, Qiao Xu was practically dragged along by him.

She wanted badly to shake him off, but his grip was too tight, and his expression was frightening.

“Xu Si’an, let go of me. My wrist is going to break.”

Xu Si’an lowered his eyes to the marks his fingers had left on her wrist. “I’m sorry.”

Business-class passengers were allowed to board early. Once seated, Xu Si’an seemed distracted.

The events of that night four years ago remained vivid in his mind, yet Xu Shiran had placed all the blame on Qiao Xu.

It had clearly been that vile woman, Shen Zhiwei.

When a flight attendant came over to ask what they wanted, Qiao Xu glanced at the absentminded Xu Si’an and ordered two cups of hot water.

“Why did your brother say that you were half-dead four years ago? What did he mean?”

Xu Si’an accepted the water and took a sip. “I don’t remember you paying such close attention to anything I say.”

“He was talking nonsense.”

“Your brother was right. It was because I—”

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Xu Si’an set down his cup with a cold expression. “Don’t think so highly of yourself. It wasn’t because of you.”

Qiao Xu picked at her fingers.

He was right.

Before long, two more people entered the business-class cabin.

Qiao Xu could not help thinking that it really was a small world.

Shen Zhiwei greeted them first. “Si’an, Miss Qiao, what a coincidence.”

Qiao Xu was Xu Si’an’s assistant, and every word and action of hers reflected on the company.

She forced herself to greet them. “President Xu. Miss Shen.”

Xu Si’an suddenly unfastened his seat belt and stood up. “You sit by the window.”

Qiao Xu was afraid of sitting near the window on airplanes, so Xu Si’an had taken the window seat as soon as they boarded.

Now that other people were in the cabin, he was not at ease.

Qiao Xu did not refuse. She simply thanked him.

The sensation of weightlessness during takeoff was intense. Qiao Xu suddenly felt as though her chest were being squeezed, and her face began to pale.

She clasped both hands tightly, digging her nails desperately into her palms.

Sensing her trembling, Xu Si’an reached out and pulled her into his arms, forcefully pressing her head against his chest.

Xu Shiran and Shen Zhiwei both looked displeased when they saw what he had done.

Shen Zhiwei was especially furious. She had just had her nails done, and she nearly clawed the diamonds right off them.

Only after the plane settled into a smooth flight did Xu Si’an ask gently, “Feeling better?”

“It’s been years. How are you still so useless?”

For once, Qiao Xu did not snap back at him. She left his arms and murmured her thanks.

The flight to Los Angeles would take more than ten hours. She was thinking of finding a chance to take some medicine, then sleeping for a while.

Xu Si’an worked while keeping an eye on her.

Seeing that she still looked terribly pale, he reached out again, pulled her into his arms, and lowered his head to kiss her.

In the adjacent seat, Shen Zhiwei knocked over her water and cried out when it spilled over her.

Qiao Xu tried to push him away, but Xu Si’an kissed her even more forcefully.

Xu Shiran asked, “Are you all right? Did you burn yourself?”

Shen Zhiwei shook her head. “I’m fine. The plane just jolted.”

Xu Si’an ignored them and continued kissing Qiao Xu.

Unable to break free, Qiao Xu bit his lip.

He released her with a pained laugh. “When are you going to break that habit of biting people?”

He wiped the moisture from her lips with his fingertip.

Qiao Xu took the opportunity to bite his finger. “Don’t think I won’t hit you just because we’re on a plane.”