Chapter 318: Chapter 316: Uninvited Guest
"So, it seems you’ve already discussed with your lover how to scheme against me?" Si Yuhuan said lightly, as if discussing the weather.
Jian Xi’s lip curled. "Don’t talk nonsense." She then poured him a glass of water.
Si Yuhuan glanced at it and pushed it away. "I dare not drink it."
Jian Xi flew into a rage. "What? Did you think I’d poison you?" As soon as she said it, she felt a pang of guilt. She had indeed added a little something to the cup.
"Then you drink it, let me see," Si Yuhuan pushed the glass back to Jian Xi.
Jian Xi hesitated, her eyes darting. "I’m not thirsty, why should I drink it?"
Si Yuhuan raised an eyebrow, took the glass, and examined it carefully, suspicion gleaming in his eyes. "So, this water really does have a problem?" He called out to Huang Ying, who was tidying up the room nearby, "Come here for a moment."
Huang Ying approached, puzzled.
Si Yuhuan instructed, "Drink it for her."
SMACK!
Jian Xi swatted the glass away. Water splashed all over the floor.
Si Yuhuan’s expression progressively darkened, becoming terrifyingly cold. He slowly lifted his deep-set eyes, and a furious glint flickered within them.
Jian Xi clenched her fists, lifted her chin defiantly, and showed no fear. "It’s just a mild sleeping pill. I thought if you fell asleep, I could gain my freedom and leave this postnatal care center. Being locked up here by you every day like a prisoner, I have no freedom at all."
"Just a sleeping pill?" Si Yuhuan rose and advanced on Jian Xi step by step. She retreated with each step, growing more nervous, her teeth beginning to chatter.
"Yes!" She clenched her jaw and nodded.
He suddenly seized Jian Xi’s chin, looking down at her imperiously. "What’s the rush? I never said I wouldn’t set you free!"
Jian Xi’s racing heart calmed somewhat. Did he actually believe her ridiculous story?
"Focus on your recovery and don’t try any more petty tricks. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that a thief always has a guilty conscience?"
Jian Xi felt breathless with fury. To think she was being looked down upon by this damned man!
"Do you think everyone is like you? Able to commit terrible deeds and still stand here talking and laughing so righteously?"
A violent emotion flickered in the depths of Si Yuhuan’s eyes. Jian Xi pushed him away and returned to her room.
Huang Ying approached him and said earnestly, "Director Si, this is no way to pursue a woman."
Si Yuhuan shot her a sharp glare, and Huang Ying fled in haste.
Yan Qing entered, witnessed the scene, and cleared his throat. "Director Si, if you genuinely want to win Madam Jian back, you’ll really need to employ some clever romantic tactics. Huang Ying is a psychologist; perhaps she could offer some sound advice."
"Shut up." Si Yuhuan’s expression darkened further. Pursue her? She’s already had another man’s child. The thought caused a sharp pang in Si Yuhuan’s heart. "Have you found any leads on what I asked you to investigate?"
Yan Qing shook his head. "This person definitely has help, and their accomplice must be formidable—their abilities are no less than yours. All traces have been erased too cleanly."
"Increase the reward. With enough money, there will always be results. I promised her one month, and one month it is. If the child isn’t found, don’t bother returning."
Yan Qing broke into a sweat. "We’ll find him, we definitely will."
What a mess! If the child isn’t found, Director Si will be unfairly blamed. And where is the child’s father? Is Zhang Yaxuan just a coward, hiding away? He still hasn’t shown his face.
Si Yuhuan was even more vexed than Yan Qing. Zhang Yaxuan’s continued absence was a source of both dark satisfaction and intense irritation to him. That damned man only knows how to sleep with women! He despised such men the most.
Back in her room, Jian Xi slapped her own hand hard. "Useless! It was just a mild sedative, what was there to be so nervous about! If you hadn’t failed me, I would have gotten his phone by now and found my son!" Her hand was red after just a few slaps.
Unbidden tears streamed down Jian Xi’s face. She could endure hardship, but her son absolutely could not suffer. She truly had no idea how her son was doing.
After a video call with Suoya and seeing her daughter, the tightness in her chest eased slightly. Suddenly, a knock came at the door. She immediately ended the call.
"Who is it?"
Huang Ying’s voice came from outside. "Miss Jian, are you asleep yet?"
"No." Jian Xi went to open the door.
Huang Ying held a bowl of snow jelly and bird’s nest soup. "Director Si had this prepared for you. Eat a little before you sleep." She kept glancing back over her shoulder.
Jian Xi glanced past her and called out, "Does Director Si have instructions for me?"
Si Yuhuan walked over and stood at the doorway, pointedly keeping his distance.
Jian Xi couldn’t help but roll her eyes. He keeps his distance because he thinks I had another man’s child, yet he can’t stop himself from approaching. Just how conflicted can this man be?
"You’re clearly the one in the wrong, so why are you acting as if I’ve wronged you? Jian Xi, don’t you have any shame at all?"
"None," Jian Xi replied, eating the snow jelly and bird’s nest soup. She decided to treat herself better; she needed to regain her strength to fight this devil. It tastes really good. He probably hired those top chefs to make it.
"You...!" Si Yuhuan gave an exasperated laugh.
Jian Xi glanced at him. "I’ve eaten. You can go now."
Si Yuhuan’s gaze shifted to Huang Ying.
Huang Ying immediately stood up. "I’ll leave."
The moment she departed, Si Yuhuan strode straight in. His expression was thunderous, like a man who’d been cheated out of billions, radiating deep-seated resentment.
"Jian Xi, is it true that you and Zhang Yaxuan don’t have deep feelings for each other? Was having a child together an accident?"
Jian Xi paused, stunned. "You came all this way, this late, just to put on this show and ask me that?" She placed the bowl of snow jelly and bird’s nest into his hands. "Our relationship is excellent."
This was getting troublesome. Choosing such an unreliable fake father who never showed up... it was no wonder someone as perceptive as Si Yuhuan would notice the discrepancies. Jian Xi lied without batting an eyelid. "He’s not allowed to come; I forbade him. Or should I let my child’s father watch me being endlessly pestered by another man?"
Si Yuhuan was rendered speechless. His face turned as black as the bottom of a pot as he suppressed his rage and left.
Another round survived unscathed.
「The next day.」
As soon as Si Yuhuan left, Jian Xi received an unexpected visitor: Fu Shengyuan had come calling.
The once-spacious postnatal care center seemed to shrink with his arrival. The man’s imposing aura was overwhelming, leaving the Maternity Matrons and other staff utterly star-struck. Jian Xi was long accustomed to the fangirl effect these powerful figures elicited.
Fu Shengyuan settled onto the sofa as if he owned the place and asked casually, "How’s your recovery coming along?"
Jian Xi detected no emotional inflection in his voice; he was like an unfathomable abyss. Every time she neared him, a chill ran through her entire body.
"It’s alright." She had first deceived his affections, using him to get close to Luo You. Later, she had poached Luo You and seized all of Luo You’s patents. Given their history, they should have been like bitter enemies meeting, eyes blazing with resentment. Yet Fu Shengyuan acted as if nothing was amiss, a faint smile on his gentlemanly, handsome face.
"Then I’m relieved," he said, his eyes sweeping over Jian Xi. "I brought you some nourishing supplements. I hope your postpartum recovery goes smoothly. You look to be in good spirits. The postnatal care center Si Yuhuan found for you is excellent."
Jian Xi’s lips twitched into a semblance of a smile. "Is there something you need, President Fu?" She highly doubted there was any affection left between them to reminisce about.
"Have you recently been scheming to acquire the Salsi Group?"
Fu Shengyuan’s single sentence sent a jolt through Jian Xi, as if every pore on her body had flown open in shock. Her operations with her elder brother were conducted in utmost secrecy; even Si Yuhuan hadn’t detected anything. How on earth did Fu Shengyuan find out?!