Qin Jinhai’s eyes were piercing as he stared at the other man, spitting the blood from his mouth.
Bloodstains on his lips made his features seem even more resolute and severe. Dangerous as a malevolent spirit.
"You don’t dare. You’re afraid that the Qin Family will fall by your hands. You have no confidence in Qin Jinmo. You can’t do without me!" Qin Jinhai suddenly turned vicious, a short knife appearing in his hand, which he plunged without hesitation into Qin Sheng’s lower back.
Qin Sheng, hurt and enraged, kicked Qin Jinhai away.
Qin Jinhai rolled powerlessly down the stairs, his gaze utterly fearless.
Qin Sheng felt a numbness at that unflinching stare.
With his chest heaving violently with anger, Qin Sheng said, "How could the Qin Family have produced such an unfilial descendant as you?"
"The ancestors lacked virtue; this is the retribution the Qin Family deserves!"
At that moment, a voice came through the earpiece Qin Jinhai was wearing.
"Brother Han, there is one last password."
Upon hearing this, Qin Jinhai’s energy drained, and he collapsed to the ground.
It seemed he was going to suffer another beating.
Li Yuan ran to the window. Seeing both Qin Jinhai and Qin Sheng injured, she screamed uncontrollably.
"Qin Sheng, if you dare to hurt Jinhai, I will make sure you get my corpse!"
Enraged to the point of a headache, Qin Sheng kicked at Qin Jinhai’s wound.
"Teach the Second Young Master a lesson."
New bodyguards rushed in, lifting Qin Jinhai from either side and dragging him to another building.
All the color drained from Li Yuan’s face.
Seeing in Li Yuan those same unyielding eyes as Qin Jinhai, Qin Sheng said sternly, "I can only promise he won’t die."
Li Yuan raised her hand and slapped Qin Sheng across the face.
"You don’t deserve to be a father!"
"He shouldn’t have fallen for Fu Bing!"
"Apart from her background, in what way is Fu Bing not worthy of the men of the Qin Family?"
"You will understand in the future."
"The future? Why must you make something so simple so complicated? He cares about Fu Bing’s background, not because her current status is unworthy of him, but because he wants to know where she comes from, whether her parents are alive or dead. It’s that simple what he wants to know. Why do you have to make things difficult for your son time and again?"
"If Fu Bing’s background were that simple, do you think he couldn’t have figured it out?"
Li Yuan’s expression blanked for a few seconds. "What do you mean?"
"Figure it out yourself," Qin Sheng said before returning to his study.
Li Yuan, in her anger, smashed several antique vases.
Li Qing and Li Hua experienced the most difficult and desperate night of their lives.
Su He would not let the paramedics enter the yard, so Li Qing could only half-support, half-carry Li Hua out.
After a night of intense effort, Li Hua’s condition stabilized.
Only then did Li Qing dare to cover her face and cry.
She had such a good hand to play, so why did it end up so miserably?
Qin Sheng ignored her. She turned to the Su Family, but they also ignored her.
Stirred by Li Qing’s crying, Li Hua woke up and said, "What’s the use of crying? Think of a way to get your revenge."
"Sister, you’re awake. Are you feeling any better?"
"Go find Su Kexin. She must hate Fu Bing to the bone by now. She’s the best person to make trouble for Fu Bing."
Li Qing, moved that her sister was still thinking of standing up for her even at this time, said, "Sister..."
"What are you crying for? If we don’t deal with Fu Bing, Su He will eventually take a fancy to her, and then what good will come to us? Right now, we and Su Kexin are grasshoppers on the same string. We need to get rid of Fu Bing first; only then can we slowly deal with the rest."
Li Qing’s confused mind cleared up for a moment. "I’ll go find her right away."
Li Hua looked at her as if she were watching a fool. "I told you to foster a few genuinely loyal people around you, but you were too stingy with your money and reluctant to maintain those relationships. The moment trouble arises, everyone around you scatters. You envy Fu Bing, but there’s one thing you can’t compare to her. She knows how to deal with people and relationships."
Li Qing, looking displeased, said, "So what if she’s capable? She still ended up in jail."
"If you keep thinking like that, you’ll never beat Fu Bing in your life. Fu Bing isn’t in jail because she isn’t strong enough, but because somebody up there couldn’t stand her. If it weren’t for those higher-ups disliking her, she’d still be the brightest star in the entertainment industry. As long as she’s in the industry, no other female star can overshadow her. Even if she went to jail, after a period of silence, she could still make a comeback."
Li Hua only had one sister; even if she was foolish, she had to teach her.
People you nurture, no matter how close, are not as dear as a real sister.
With this blood relationship, she and Li Qing could never be separated.
She could only slowly cultivate Li Qing.
Seeing that Li Qing was unhappy, Li Hua continued, "The biggest difference between you and her is that once you’re down, you never rise again. But Fu Bing can start over."
Li Qing, unconvinced, said, "What’s this about starting over? She’s still grovelling at the feet of the Su Family."
Li Hua, holding back the urge to curse, continued to explain, "There are so many people who grovel at the feet of the Su Family; have you seen the Su Family take any of them seriously? She saved three members of the Su Family, do you think just anyone can do that? After last night’s banquet, Fu Bing is not only the hottest actress in the entertainment industry but also a new-found miracle healer. The title of miracle healer is more valuable than that of a female star. Do you know what rich people fear the most?"
"Fear of being poor?"
"Fear of death!" Li Hua’s eyes held jealousy. "Fu Bing can solve that problem. What do you have to compete with her?"
Li Qing felt discontented but couldn’t find the words to argue back.
Things shouldn’t be this way; Fu Bing had already hit rock bottom, so why was she able to bounce back?
Was Fu Bing not just relying on her pretty face?
But even with that face, what of it?
Didn’t she still spend the hardest days of her life in jail?
Li Hua said, "Think carefully. Don’t let others always push you around. They take the risks while you reap the benefits. When there’s trouble, you want to come out clean. Where in the world do you find such a good deal?"
Li Qing knew her sister was unhappy. "Sis, I didn’t do it on purpose."
Li Hua responded with a cold laugh. She knew exactly what Li Qing was thinking with just one glance.
Only willing to enjoy, never willing to give.
She didn’t possess transcendent beauty, nor irreplaceable intelligence or status.
Who would be willing to indulge her forever?
Right now, Fu Bing might not have the time to deal with her; otherwise, she would be finished sooner or later.
Li Qing left the sickroom, her face flushed with shame.
She sat in the corridor for a long time, then made a phone call.
"Help me kidnap someone!"
Xiaomei hadn’t left the Imperial Garden for the past few days and had stopped going to the construction site as well.
Her sister had been sleeping for twenty hours a day lately, only waking up to eat, and then falling back to sleep right after the meal.
Aunt Ning came over to feel her pulse a few times, saying there was nothing wrong.
She said her sister was just tired and wanted to relax for a few days, telling her to stay by her side dutifully.
Xiaomei stayed by her side without moving an inch.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of something falling outside the door.
Xiaomei was startled.
Thinking of Fu Bing upstairs, she immediately grabbed a mop and rushed out.