Chapter 108: No

Liu Qiu got out of the car and closed the door behind her.

The privacy glass made it so she could no longer see Duan Liming’s face the moment the door shut.

Only then did Liu Qiu truly feel completely relieved. She wouldn’t have to face Duan Liming again.
Inside the car, Duan Liming could still see Liu Qiu’s face, including her expression, which had become relaxed.

She had an impression of Liu Qiu from only a few encounters.
She was a cold child, equally capable. Being able to start her own company and expand it was enough to prove Liu Qiu was outstanding.

And among the genes she had screened, Liu Qiu’s weren’t the most exceptional.
But she had the highest compatibility with Duan Fan.

All things considered, Liu Qiu was the most suitable candidate.

Now, after two encounters, Duan Liming discovered that Liu Qiu wasn’t actually cold at all.
Her emotions were always hidden in her eyes, allowing anyone to see to the bottom at a glance.

Perhaps whatever was inside Liu Qiu’s body had changed her. Duan Liming didn’t mind; on the contrary, she was satisfied.
This meant Liu Qiu’s personality had great potential for change, and therefore she would also agree to her request.
It was just that she had been too impatient and hadn’t given Liu Qiu room to understand.

“Drive. To Guanlan Mansion.”
The black car started moving smoothly. Duan Liming looked out the window, her fingers lightly tapping on her leg. This matter shouldn’t involve her personally, but someone else.

“Su Chang, it seems you don’t understand young people’s tastes very well either.” Duan Liming’s expression was always calm, as was her voice—completely flat, which made it sound exceptionally cold.

The bodyguard in the passenger seat responded: “I apologize for that mistake.” She had chosen the drink. She rarely went to such shops either and only knew that young people liked sweet things, so she had asked for extra sugar. She never expected Miss Liu to find it unpleasant.

Duan Liming hummed softly and said quietly: “Next time, have someone make her a good-tasting one.”
“Yes.”
After receiving the response, Duan Liming stopped talking. She took out her phone, opened an app, and searched.

The small phone screen immediately showed an account with only a single-digit number of followers.
If Liu Qiu were here, she would definitely know who owned this account.

Duan Liming gently swiped the screen, lowering her gaze to examine it carefully.

[Miss Qiu isn’t very happy. Miss Fan is causing trouble this way. Miss Qiu doesn’t want to cry, but she feels a little wronged.]

In the simple illustrations, each little figure had its own characteristics.
Miss Qiu had curly hair and big eyes.
Miss Fan had short hair, with two red earrings hanging by her ears.

Duan Liming raised her hand and lightly pressed her finger against her lips. So Liu Qiu drew these kinds of things.
Suddenly, Duan Liming grew curious: would Liu Qiu draw her?
Looking at the empty comment section, Duan Liming slowly typed.

LI: Nice drawing. Very cute.

***

Liu Qiu didn’t go straight home but went to a nearby supermarket instead.

Not long after Duan Liming left, the payment for the suit arrived in full. Now she had several thousand more in disposable funds.

So Liu Qiu generously spent two hundred yuan, buying beef and sashimi.
Fu Jinyin liked these things. When she got home, the sky was at that point where it was about to turn dark but hadn’t yet.

Liu Qiu drew today’s events in her notebook. This activity was currently the only thing she enjoyed doing.

There was Fu Jinyin, Duan Fan, and Duan Liming.
Liu Qiu didn’t leave anyone out.

[Miss Silver doesn’t like to brush her hair. She’s like a little kid.]

…

[Miss Ming has too much presence. Miss Qiu is a coward. Miss Ming hasn’t done anything bad to Miss Qiu, but Miss Qiu is still very scared.]

After finishing the drawings, it was nearly nine-thirty. Liu Qiu found a good angle and took clear photos of the pages.
Even though she didn’t draw every day, posting today would bring the total to five posts.
She felt a small sense of accomplishment.

Liu Qiu opened her account and found that she had gained six new followers.
And there was a new comment.

LI: Nice drawing. Very cute.

Liu Qiu opened her mouth slightly. [System, that’s amazing.] She hadn’t expected so many people to see her drawings.

The system praised her: [Host, you draw very well. You’ll definitely be seen by even more people. That’s so great.] This time it wasn’t fake followers it had created; real people had actually seen the host’s work.

Liu Qiu’s cheeks flushed. Her eyes sparkled, and joy spilled from her gaze.
Staring at that single comment, she couldn’t help but reply.

qiuqiu: Thank you.

After replying with those two words, Liu Qiu wondered if she was being too cold, so she quickly added a grateful emoji.
After replying, Liu Qiu posted the drawings she had just made.
This was truly delightful.

Liu Qiu couldn’t help smiling, falling back onto the bed and burying her face in the pillow. [System, this is so wonderful.] So this was the joy of having one’s work appreciated.
The system simulated the sound of clapping in Liu Qiu’s mind. [So impressive!]

After calming down for a moment, Liu Qiu remembered that Chaoyue had messaged her. She quickly opened their chat and replied.

After waiting a few minutes, she received a call from an unknown number.

Staring at the string of digits, Liu Qiu hesitated about whether to answer. There was no contact saved in the original owner’s phone.

The ringing went on for a long time until it stopped.

Liu Qiu chose to answer.
After the call connected, the other end was completely silent. Liu Qiu frowned slightly and spoke first: “Hello, may I ask what this is about?”
The voice on the other end said, “Liu Qiu, have you caused enough trouble yet?”
“It’s been two years. Aren’t you ready to come home yet?”

Liu Qiu’s breath caught. This person—was the original owner’s mother?!
She gripped the phone tightly and, mimicking the original owner’s cold demeanor from her memories, spoke icily: “Ms. Liu, we have nothing to say to each other.”
“I was never causing trouble. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” Before the other side could respond, Liu Qiu abruptly ended the call.

Liu Qiu remembered that back then, the original owner had fallen out with her family spectacularly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up completely estranged from them.

Family members would undoubtedly be extremely familiar with the original owner and might see through her, an impostor, at a glance.
She couldn’t engage with them.

This call dampened Liu Qiu’s joyful mood.

At ten-thirty in the evening, Fu Jinyin returned.
Liu Qiu greeted her simply. Seeing Fu Jinyin’s cold expression, Liu Qiu rallied her spirits and took out the fish and beef from the refrigerator.

“Jinyin, please eat.” She couldn’t bring her negative emotions to Fu Jinyin.
“I bought it this evening. It should still be fresh.”

Liu Qiu had bought bread for herself and had eaten when she got hungry.

After saying these two things, Liu Qiu noticed Fu Jinyin didn’t react at all, just stood rigidly by the dining table.

Liu Qiu lifted her head to look more closely, scanning from the tip of Fu Jinyin’s nose to her mouth. Fu Jinyin’s bangs were long, vaguely covering her eyes, making it hard to see her expression clearly.

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together, reached out, and pinched the hem of Fu Jinyin’s clothes, gently tugging. “Jinyin, what’s wrong?”
Fu Jinyin stiffly turned her head, her gaze falling on Liu Qiu’s wrist where she held her clothes. Suddenly, she gripped it tightly and said in a hoarse voice: “Don’t touch me.”

The moment Fu Jinyin spoke, Liu Qiu caught a strong smell of alcohol.
Drunk?
Fu Jinyin’s grip was quite strong. Liu Qiu felt the pain in her wrist, frowned, and tried to pull her hand free.
“Jinyin, let go of me first.”
“If you’re drunk, go rest.”

Fu Jinyin was holding on too tightly. Liu Qiu pulled several times but couldn’t break free.
With no other choice, Liu Qiu used that position to guide Fu Jinyin toward her room.

“Don’t touch me. Disgusting,” Fu Jinyin said in a low, hoarse voice.
Liu Qiu responded: “I’m not touching you.” She really did seem drunk. If Fu Jinyin were sober, she would probably shake her hand off instead of holding on like this.
And she was obediently following behind her.

After leading Fu Jinyin into her room, Liu Qiu looked at her tightly held hand and grew distressed.
She couldn’t break free, and Fu Jinyin wouldn’t let go.
“Jinyin, can you hear me?” Liu Qiu raised her voice, looking up at Fu Jinyin. “Can you let me go?”

Fu Jinyin was over half a head taller than her. Whenever Liu Qiu got close to Fu Jinyin, she always had to tilt her head up slightly.
It seemed Fu Jinyin was somewhat sober now, her gaze landing on Liu Qiu’s face.
That gaze was exceptionally hot, and Liu Qiu pressed her lips together uncomfortably.
“Fu Jinyin, you—”

“Liu Qiu.” Fu Jinyin suddenly spoke, cutting Liu Qiu off.
Liu Qiu stopped talking, her long lashes fluttering slightly.
She saw that Fu Jinyin’s eyes had somehow become slightly red.

“Liu Qiu.”
A second call. Liu Qiu responded, “I’m here.”
Suddenly, a tear slid down from the corner of Fu Jinyin’s eye, then another, and another… An endless stream of tears left tracks on Fu Jinyin’s pale face.
Liu Qiu saw it, and her whole heart clenched.
Had Fu Jinyin been wronged?

“Jinyin, what’s wrong?” Liu Qiu’s clear eyes were filled with concern.
Fu Jinyin suddenly released Liu Qiu’s hand, wrapped her arms around herself, and hunched over, the pain on her face unmistakable. “So disgusting.

I’m so disgusting.” Fu Jinyin was still conscious, but she couldn’t control her body or her mouth.
She was in agony. Even at the company, she kept remembering the scene of assaulting Liu Qiu.

She had heard that human alcohol could make troubles disappear. She had drunk a lot.
But it didn’t work. She couldn’t forget.
She was even more disgusting than Liu Qiu.

Liu Qiu was truly starting to panic. Fu Jinyin was usually so cold and detached. Why was she crying like this today?
She hadn’t even cried when she was bullied. Could something even more disgusting than bullying have happened?

Ignoring Fu Jinyin’s earlier words of “don’t touch me,” Liu Qiu reached out and gently cupped Fu Jinyin’s cheeks. “Jinyin, what happened?”

“Can you tell me about it?” Only upon touching that pale skin did Liu Qiu realize that while Fu Jinyin’s face didn’t look drunk, her skin was already quite hot.

Fu Jinyin’s tears fell cool against her hand. Liu Qiu remembered those images from her memories and let out a quiet sigh. She really couldn’t stand seeing Fu Jinyin cry.
“Did I upset you?”
Liu Qiu didn’t realize that whenever she spoke to Fu Jinyin, her tone carried a hint of coaxing—her low voice soft and gentle, sounding tender.

[System, did I say something wrong? Why is Fu Jinyin crying even harder?]
The system looked down on Fu Jinyin and disparaged her openly: [Host, she’s just petty. Let’s ignore her. It’s late, host. Let’s go back to our own room.]
Liu Qiu exhaled. It seemed the system really did hate Fu Jinyin.

Someone so tall yet so thin—Liu Qiu couldn’t help but find her pitiful.
“Liu Qiu.” Fu Jinyin’s voice was even hoarser now. Liu Qiu responded, “Mm, I’m here.”
Fu Jinyin lifted her eyelids. Her tear-soaked eyes were hidden behind her bangs. She opened her mouth and slowly said: “Liu Qiu, I assaulted you.” If one listened carefully, they could hear the tremor in her voice.
“So disgusting.”
“Liu Qiu, it’s so disgusting.”

Liu Qiu froze, thinking carefully. She had no memory of doing anything with Fu Jinyin, but yesterday she had been drunk, and when she woke up this morning, her body had felt uncomfortable.
Combined with what the system had said, Liu Qiu slowly widened her eyes, her face paling.

No wonder Fu Jinyin was crying. Perhaps yesterday, she had forced herself on Fu Jinyin.
Fu Jinyin hated her so much and hated s*x.
But she had been forced to serve her. She must feel disgusted and wronged.
Was that why she was crying?

Liu Qiu released her hold on Fu Jinyin’s cheeks. She wanted to say something but opened her mouth and closed it again.

Looking at Fu Jinyin’s tear-streaked face, Liu Qiu slowly said: “You didn’t assault me. We’re married. If we did have s*x, it would be normal.” For now, she needed to correct Fu Jinyin’s thinking.

Drinking really was troublesome. Fu Jinyin must be utterly disgusted.

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