Chapter 121: Unable to handle

Liu Qiu’s reassurance worked.
Fu Jinyin didn’t continue asking about that matter. Instead, she pulled Liu Qiu into her arms as if they couldn’t be separated even for a moment.

Liu Qiu gently stroked the top of Fu Jinyin’s head.
“Jinyin, once everything is finished, we’ll go live in another city.”

Fu Jinyin pressed her cheek tightly against Liu Qiu’s neck, enjoying the warmth of her touch. Her hand slipped beneath the hem of Liu Qiu’s clothes and slid inside.

Liu Qiu shivered all over and whispered softly, “Can we not do it?”

“I’m really tired.”

Fu Jinyin nodded. Her voice was hoarse and unpleasant to the ear.
“We won’t do it. I just… want to touch you.”

Hearing that, Liu Qiu let out a breath of relief. As long as they didn’t do it. When Fu Jinyin did, it would last the entire night. She was just an ordinary human—how could she possibly endure that?

Fu Jinyin shifted slightly, pressing the tip of her nose against Liu Qiu’s skin as she muttered gloomily,
“Tonight, we’re sleeping together too.”

“Tomorrow… we’ll go get the divorce.”

Liu Qiu patted Fu Jinyin’s back lightly.
“Okay.”

The next day, outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, Liu Qiu flipped through the freshly issued divorce certificate in her hands.

It wasn’t her first time seeing one, but it still felt unfamiliar.

She turned her head to look at Fu Jinyin. Fu Jinyin had been keeping her head lowered the whole time. The dark-red booklet in her hand had already been crumpled into wrinkles from how tightly she was gripping it.

But unexpectedly—

Fu Jinyin didn’t cry today. She was simply silent, as she always was.

Liu Qiu reached out, held Fu Jinyin’s hand, and gave it a little shake.
“Jinyin, let’s go get a haircut.”

Fu Jinyin slowly raised her head. Her gaze fell on Liu Qiu’s long, wavy hair. She pressed her lips together and said hoarsely,
“Long hair… looks good.”

Liu Qiu pointed at Fu Jinyin’s forehead.
“You’re the one who’s getting it cut. It’s too long—it’s affecting your vision.”

When she first arrived here, Fu Jinyin’s bangs hadn’t been this long.

Now they were almost completely covering her eyes. They absolutely had to be cut.

Fu Jinyin lifted her hand and touched her own hair.
“Okay.”

If Liu Qiu wanted her to cut it, then she would.

She was very obedient. They would always stay together.

Even though they had divorced, she was obedient. She didn’t cry, and she didn’t throw a tantrum.

Once, she had hated Liu Qiu. She had wanted to kill her. She had wanted to wait until Liu Qiu’s company went bankrupt and then cooperate with Duan Fan to push Liu Qiu into the deepest suffering.

That had been her revenge.

She had wanted revenge against this human who had left her with no future.

But ever since Liu Qiu handed the company that was about to go bankrupt over to her, everything seemed to begin changing little by little.

Liu Qiu had become very good to her.

Very gentle.

Fu Jinyin liked that very much.

She didn’t want a divorce. But Liu Qiu said that if she behaved well, they would always stay together.

“Liu Qiu, I’m very obedient.”

“So we’ll stay together forever, right?”

Liu Qiu was busy searching for hair salons on her phone and didn’t clearly hear what Fu Jinyin had said. She nodded absentmindedly.

“Mm, right.”

“Okay, let’s go with this one. I’ve already called a car.”

The car arrived very quickly.

The salon wasn’t far away—about a five-minute ride.

Fu Jinyin remained quiet the entire way.

Once the overly long bangs were cut, her beautiful and striking brows and eyes were completely revealed.

The hairstylist couldn’t help but praise her.
“Miss, you’re incredibly beautiful. Are you mixed?”

She had been cutting hair for many years and rarely saw someone this beautiful.

Fu Jinyin didn’t respond. She simply rolled her eyes slightly to look at Liu Qiu sitting nearby.

Liu Qiu answered for her,
“Sorry, she doesn’t like talking. She’s not mixed—just an ordinary Chinese person.”

The hairstylist used the hair dryer to blow away the loose strands from Fu Jinyin’s face and chatted casually,
“Then her parents must have amazing genes.”

Only then did Liu Qiu suddenly realize—

Were Fu Jinyin’s parents even still alive?

Fu Jinyin couldn’t even remember who her parents were, nor when she had ended up in that laboratory.

“Liu Qiu.”

A touch landed on her shoulder.

Liu Qiu snapped back to her senses and looked up at Fu Jinyin.

Without the long bangs covering her face, the gloomy aura around Fu Jinyin had lessened.

But she looked even colder.

Liu Qiu wasn’t fooled by appearances. Fu Jinyin’s eyes were very red. Even though she wasn’t crying, she was probably just forcing herself not to.

Liu Qiu stood up and took Fu Jinyin’s hand. Her eyes curved as she smiled.

“You look beautiful.”

“Jinyin is a big beauty.”

It was sincere praise.

Fu Jinyin’s heartbeat sped up again.

In the past, Liu Qiu had praised her too, saying her face looked good.

Back then, it had annoyed her. She had hated it—so much that she wished Liu Qiu would die.

But now, Liu Qiu’s praise only made her feel…

Fu Jinyin carefully analyzed the emotion in her mind.

Warm.
Hot.

It felt very similar to liking someone.

It was joy.

Liu Qiu’s praise made her feel joyful.

Fu Jinyin clasped Liu Qiu’s hand in return, sliding her fingers between Liu Qiu’s until their fingers interlocked.

She said quietly,
“You have to keep praising me.”

After feeling these emotions—so different from hatred, irritation, and sadness—she never wanted to return to the way things were before.

She wanted to keep having this feeling forever.

To always stay with Liu Qiu.

Liu Qiu nodded vigorously. Her eyes were clear and bright, as if one could see straight to the bottom of them.

“Of course. I’ll praise you lots.”

Fu Jinyin stared into Liu Qiu’s eyes and lifted the corners of her lips, revealing a slightly awkward smile.

It didn’t last long.

Liu Qiu held Fu Jinyin’s hand as they walked out of the salon.

The moment she turned her head, she saw a car.

She recognized the emblem immediately.

It belonged to Liu Yaoming.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Qiu turned to Fu Jinyin and spoke seriously.

Fu Jinyin bit her lip. Her eyes were red.

She didn’t want to let go of Liu Qiu.

But Liu Qiu was already trying to pull away. Fu Jinyin’s heart tightened.

“Liu Qiu… I’ll wait for you.”

Liu Qiu comfortingly patted the back of her hand.

“I’ll be back very soon.”

“Jinyin, be good.”

In the end, Fu Jinyin still let go of Liu Qiu’s hand. Instantly, an empty feeling filled her chest.

She watched Liu Qiu get into the car.

The door closed.

They were separated.

That thought made Fu Jinyin’s eyes widen suddenly. She hurried to the car and began frantically knocking on the window.

She couldn’t see Liu Qiu anymore.

Seeing this, Liu Qiu tried to open the door. But just as her hand touched the handle, she saw Fu Jinyin clutching her chest, her face turning deathly pale.

Liu Yaoming glanced at Liu Qiu expressionlessly. Her fingers pressed against the ring on her hand as she called out calmly,

“Liu Qiu.”

Liu Qiu’s fingers curled slightly. After taking a deep breath, she withdrew her hand.

“Ms. Liu… let’s go.”

“I’ve already divorced her.”

“Let’s leave.”

Even the system—which had always disliked Fu Jinyin—felt a little sorry for her now.

[Host, I scanned her body. Her stats are still stable.]

[You don’t need to worry too much.]

Liu Qiu lowered her eyes slightly.

[I know.]

It was nothing more than getting a marriage certificate.

But when it came to having a child… she absolutely would not agree.

📚 Also on NHV NovelsOur Guide to the Second WorldRead Now →

Maybe she could talk to Duan Liming and ask him to use someone else.

The car started moving.

Fu Jinyin’s thin figure gradually disappeared from view.

Liu Qiu gripped the hem of her shorts tightly, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she lifted her gaze toward Liu Yaoming sitting opposite her.

Today, Liu Yaoming’s brows weren’t as tightly furrowed as usual. She looked somewhat calmer.

“Liu Qiu, after some time passes, you’ll understand that your mother isn’t wrong.”

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together and ignored her.

[System, let’s watch TV.]

She decided to act like a wooden puppet and refuse to respond to Liu Yaoming.

The system immediately replied,

[Sure! We still haven’t finished that drama from last time. I saved it so we could watch it together.]

And so the car continued driving while Liu Qiu watched episode after episode.

Eventually, they arrived at Liu Yaoming’s residence.

A massive villa.

How massive?

So large that Liu Qiu felt like she might get lost inside it.

“Oh my, the young miss has returned.”

An elderly woman with graying hair and a simple long dress approached with a warm smile and took Liu Qiu’s hand.

Memories about the old woman flooded into Liu Qiu’s mind.

Her name was Wang Xiushu. She had originally served the original host’s grandmother. Later she raised the host’s mother, and then helped raise the original host as well.

Liu Qiu’s lips moved slightly as she called softly,

“Grandma Wang.”

Wang Xiushu responded cheerfully and quickly led Liu Qiu to sit in the living room.

“Look at you—you’ve gotten thinner.”

Liu Yaoming frowned and removed the thin shawl draped over her shoulders.

“Aunt Wang, don’t spoil her. In two more years she’ll be thirty.”

A servant silently took Liu Yaoming’s shawl and quietly retreated.

The villa was extremely quiet.

The only lively sounds came from Liu Qiu and the elderly woman.

Liu Qiu felt a little uncomfortable. She couldn’t bring herself to act cold toward such a kind old lady.

But what Liu Yaoming had done today had gone too far.

So even though Liu Qiu’s expression remained cold, her cheeks turned red, making her look somewhat shy.

Wang Xiushu sighed.

“Thirty is still young.”

She was eighty-three years old. Someone not yet thirty was practically a child to her.

Liu Yaoming continued,

“Your room hasn’t changed. Someone will come tomorrow. I don’t want you still wearing those cheap clothes by then.”

She was clearly speaking to Liu Qiu.

Liu Qiu pressed her lips tightly together and refused to respond.

Liu Yaoming didn’t care.

The wedding with the Duan family was scheduled in three days.

She wouldn’t be spending much time with Liu Qiu anyway.

All she wanted was a grandchild with excellent genes.

This marriage proposal had been initiated by the Duan family.

No matter how she looked at it, it was the best option.

An alliance with the Duan family.

Then combining both families’ genes to produce an outstanding child.

That was what Liu Qiu was supposed to do.

That night, Liu Qiu lay on the original host’s enormous bed and made a video call to Fu Jinyin.

The call was answered after only one ring.

Liu Qiu was a little surprised. It was as if Fu Jinyin had been waiting by the phone the entire time.

Fu Jinyin’s face appeared on the small screen.

Even the phone camera couldn’t make her face look fuller. It was small and thin—hard to imagine that such a tiny face belonged to someone who was 180 centimeters tall.

“Liu Qiu.”

Fu Jinyin’s voice was still hoarse.

“Mm,” Liu Qiu responded. “Were you okay today? Are you still feeling unwell?”

Fu Jinyin nodded.

“I feel unwell.”

Her body didn’t actually hurt anymore, but her heart hurt terribly.

She could only look at Liu Qiu through the small phone screen.

Liu Qiu sighed.

“Jinyin, once I get that ring, everything will be fine. No one will be able to make you feel bad anymore.”

She didn’t suggest that Fu Jinyin go to the hospital. Fu Jinyin wasn’t human—going to a hospital would be far too risky.

Fu Jinyin raised a finger and gently touched the screen. The surface felt cold and hard.

“Liu Qiu.”

“I’m here,” Liu Qiu replied.

“Liu Qiu.”

“Mm?”

Fu Jinyin said her name again.

“Liu Qiu.”

Liu Qiu understood.

Fu Jinyin simply wanted to call her name. She didn’t actually need a response.

Maybe she just lacked a sense of security.

Thinking of this, Liu Qiu propped the phone up with something and lay down beside it.

“Jinyin, let’s not hang up tonight.”

“You can keep looking at me.”

“That way… it’s like we’re still together.”

Fu Jinyin clutched the phone tightly, unwilling to look away.

“But I can’t hug you.”

“So it doesn’t… count as being together.”

Liu Qiu blinked and patiently comforted her.

“It’s okay. I’ll come back in a few days.”

“Very soon.”

Fu Jinyin fell silent.

A few days.

Could she really come back?

Night gradually deepened. From the other side of the screen came Liu Qiu’s soft breathing.

Fu Jinyin couldn’t close her eyes.

Liu Qiu was in someone else’s home, not with her.

The room was silent.

Fu Jinyin didn’t dare take off her hearing aid. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to hear Liu Qiu’s voice anymore.

Through the screen, she traced Liu Qiu’s face again and again.

The tears she had held back all day finally fell in the middle of the night.

“Liu Qiu… I feel so wronged.”

A surging, unfamiliar emotion filled her heart until it was completely full.

It wasn’t happiness.

It felt like the emotion she had experienced when she saw Liu Qiu kissing the woman in the car that day.

Like the feeling when she saw Liu Qiu kissing Duan Fan.

Even more like the feeling when Liu Qiu said she didn’t like her and was considering divorcing her.

The weight of it made it hard for her to breathe.

Fu Jinyin curled herself into a ball while holding the phone.

In the darkness, the cold white light from the screen illuminated her face, making it look pale as paper.

Her thin lips parted slightly, and her voice was so hoarse it was almost a breath.

“Liu Qiu… this feeling… I don’t know how to handle it.”

Liu Qiu didn’t answer.

She was already asleep.