Chapter 31: Human Nature Always Sympathizes with the Weak
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Qiao Xu pounded his chest, but he lifted her up and set her on the washstand.
“Mmm—”
~
By the time the kiss ended, Qiao Xu no longer needed lipstick.
Her flushed, slightly swollen lips complemented her makeup perfectly.
Xu Si’an tugged down her neckline and left a deep hickey on her skin.
Qiao Xu’s mind went numb. “Xu Si’an, are you insane?”
The red mark was right at the edge of her neckline. As long as she did not move too much, no one would see it.
But if she lowered her head or bent over, that would be another matter.
Xu Si’an pulled her neckline back up. “Isn’t it covered now?”
“Did Shen Zhiwei provoke you again?”
Qiao Xu shoved him aside and crouched to pick up her cosmetics. “You certainly know her well.”
“No matter what she says, you can’t believe her.”
“Qiao Xu, you’ve already stopped trusting me once.”
The aggrieved, helpless look on his face made Qiao Xu’s heart ache sharply.
Standing before the mirror, Qiao Xu touched up her makeup and reapplied her lipstick. “I’ve never stopped trusting you. I simply thought we weren’t suited to each other.”
Xu Si’an stood behind her and lowered his head beside her ear. “We’ve done it hundreds, even thousands of times. Apart from the beginning, we’ve always been perfectly suited afterward.”
Qiao Xu felt his breath burning against her ear.
“That isn’t what I meant by being unsuited.”
“Besides, even that isn’t suitable. It hurts every time. President Xu, you should find someone who can stay with you all night.”
Xu Si’an pinched both her cheeks between his fingers.
Forced to pout, Qiao Xu watched as his expression darkened. “Explain yourself. What do you mean, someone who can stay with me all night? I’ve only ever spent an entire night with you.”
“Does it really hurt? That’s impossible. Every time, you—”
“I was pretending, all right?”
A sense of defeat swept over Xu Si’an. He knew they had not been particularly compatible at first, which was why he had often been left unsatisfied.
Only after they had done it more often and Qiao Xu had gradually learned how to respond to him had he begun to indulge himself.
And now she was saying it had all been an act.
Xu Si’an gave a mocking laugh. “You can fake it, Qiao Qiao, but your body can’t.”
“All right. We’re almost out of time.”
“When we get back tonight, I’ll show you just how well suited we are.”
Qiao Xu brushed his hand away. “I’m changing rooms.”
Xu Si’an slipped her phone into his own pocket. “No. They’re all occupied.”
……
Joy was in the car as well. He and Qiao Xu discussed work and reminded her of a few things to watch out for at the banquet.
Xu Si’an kept his eyes closed, resting without interrupting their conversation.
When they got out of the car, they ran into someone unpleasant again.
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Qiao Xu regretted coming on this business trip with him for the eight-hundredth time.
No—she regretted becoming his assistant.
Shen Zhiwei had her arm linked through Xu Shiran’s. Compared with the custom-made designer gown she wore, Qiao Xu looked like a banquet server.
Xu Si’an instructed, “Joy, I’m leaving Qiao Xu to you. She isn’t familiar with the place, so stay with her.”
Joy was a shrewd man. He had recognized the relationship between the two of them back at the airport.
“Rest assured, President Xu.”
Xu Si’an took out his phone and handed it to Qiao Xu. “Don’t drink too much. Don’t eat or drink anything that’s been out of your sight.”
If Shen Zhiwei had not appeared here, Xu Si’an would never have given her such warnings.
That woman’s methods were far too underhanded.
Once they entered the venue, Qiao Xu and Joy followed behind Xu Si’an.
Qiao Xu was remarkably capable. Her conversational skills and ability to handle unexpected situations were both impressive, and Joy regarded her with undisguised admiration.
“Qiao Xu, being President Xu’s assistant is such a waste of your talent.”
“With your abilities, you could easily be a project manager for an overseas company.”
Xu Si’an took a sip of wine. “Trying to poach my people right in front of me?”
“President Xu, we all work for the same company. We’re family.”
Xu Si’an glared at him irritably. “She’s family with me, not with you.”
At the banquet, Xu Si’an ran into some acquaintances. After drinking several glasses of red wine, Qiao Xu felt a little dizzy.
“I want to rest for a while.”
“All right. Find a sofa and sit down. Call me if anything happens.”
Qiao Xu sat on the sofa and played with her phone, replying to messages in the secretaries’ group chat.
There was a time difference with home; it was morning there now.
After checking the time, Qiao Xu sent Xu Si’an a message saying that she was going to the restroom.
She was unfamiliar with the place, so it was wise to be cautious.
After using the restroom, Qiao Xu paused while washing her hands.
Shen Zhiwei took a check from her handbag. “Here’s five million. Leave Xu Si’an.”
“Not enough?”
“Qiao Xu, back then, you refused to take the money, leaving your father unable to afford treatment until he died. Don’t you feel guilty?”
Slap!
Qiao Xu’s hands were still wet, but she slapped Shen Zhiwei across the face without the slightest hesitation.
“You wretch! How dare you hit me?”
“Qiao Xu, go to hell!”
Shen Zhiwei snatched up a large glass bottle of scented oil from the washstand and hurled it at Qiao Xu.
Qiao Xu reacted swiftly, stepping back and twisting aside to avoid it.
The glass bottle struck her shoulder before falling to the floor and shattering.
The scent of bluebell spread throughout the entire restroom.
Pain shot through her calf, making Qiao Xu clench her teeth.
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She crouched down, picked up a shard of glass from the floor, and walked toward Shen Zhiwei.
“What are you going to do?”
“If you touch me, neither the Xu family nor the Shen family will let you off.”
Qiao Xu gave a cold laugh. “Let me off? What have I done that requires their forgiveness?”
“Shen Zhiwei, you’re the one who has provoked me again and again.”
There were signs that someone was pushing against the restroom door. Qiao Xu slashed the back of her own hand with the glass shard, and blood began streaming down.
“Ah—”
By the time the two Xu brothers arrived at the women’s restroom, a crowd had gathered outside. Shen Zhiwei’s face was streaked with tears as she hurriedly explained herself in English.
Qiao Xu, by contrast, stood calmly before the washstand, supporting herself with her uninjured hand.
Blood from the wound dripped down her fingers onto her high heels.
What the people arriving to use the restroom saw was Qiao Xu covered in injuries and Shen Zhiwei completely unharmed.
Qiao Xu had held back when she slapped Shen Zhiwei moments earlier, leaving no mark on her face. Her explanation was therefore utterly unconvincing.
As expected, human nature always sympathized with the weaker party.
Xu Si’an’s eyes turned cold. He removed his tie and bandaged her wound.
Qiao Xu’s face was pale, and she did not defend herself even once.
The moment Xu Shiran appeared, Shen Zhiwei had already thrown herself into his arms, sobbing as she told her story.
After bandaging Qiao Xu’s wound, Xu Si’an crouched down and lifted the hem of her dress.
There were several scrapes on her calf as well.
Broken glass lay scattered around her feet.
“Miss Qiao, my wife is a gentle and delicate woman. I hope you’ll tell us what really happened,” Xu Shiran said coldly.
The man examining her wounds suddenly looked up at her. “Why aren’t you crying?”
Qiao Xu gave a soft laugh. “Who would I cry to?”
She handed the check in her grasp to Xu Si’an. “Miss Shen offered me five million to leave you. I refused, so she threw something at me. I couldn’t get out of the way.”
Wasn’t he asking for the truth?
That was the truth.
Qiao Xu spoke in English, and everyone gathered there heard her clearly.
“I didn’t! Brother Shiran, I didn’t!”
“She caused those injuries herself.”
Xu Si’an’s expression darkened. “Where did it hit you?”
“My shoulder.”
Xu Si’an’s tall body shielded Qiao Xu completely. He brushed aside her long hair, revealing a large bruise across her shoulder. The scent of bluebell still clung to her hair.
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