"Meiyun, why are you up so early?"
"What's cooking? It smells so good!"
Around seven in the morning, the door to the adjacent bedroom opened, and a woman with a lazy posture and a graceful figure descended from the second floor.
She yawned as she spoke, as if she hadn't slept well the night before.
However, her movements quickly froze, her gaze fixed on a figure busy in the living room, wearing an apron.
"Sister, you're sober now. Come down quickly, wash up, and have breakfast!"
"I made your favorite eight-treasure lotus seed soup."
"And the fresh shrimp dumplings I just bought."
Qin Chuan looked up and smiled at Li Ya, who was standing by the stairs.
Although he was acting as if nothing was wrong, his subtle expressions revealed his deep-seated nervousness.
"Li Ya, Qin Chuan has been busy all morning preparing this breakfast. Hurry, wash up and eat!"
Ye Meiyun, sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a newspaper, also said with a smile.
At the top of the stairs, Li Ya stared intently at the man nervously watching her. Her pretty face was a mix of emotions, and her full chest rose and fell with agitation.
Suddenly, she turned and ascended the stairs at top speed.
"Sister!!"
Qin Chuan called out, but Li Ya had already vanished.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry upstairs!"
Ye Meiyun urged in a low voice.
After snapping back to his senses, Qin Chuan frantically took off his apron and ran upstairs.
Once Qin Chuan's back disappeared, the smile on Ye Meiyun's elegant and noble face gradually faded, replaced by a deep worry.
"What is all this!"
"Ahhh, what should I do now?"
Ye Meiyun slumped onto the sofa in frustration, yet somehow, images from the previous night inexplicably surfaced in her mind.
That feeling, it had been so long since she had experienced it, Ye Meiyun thought, her face growing redder and redder.
"Oh my, Ye Meiyun, you shameless woman!"
"Have all the men in the world died that you're thinking about those shameful things, especially when the other person is your best friend's man..."
"Last night was a mistake. You should just forget him!"
However, the more she thought about it, the clearer those shameful images became, as if branded onto her soul.
It had been almost two years since her husband's accident.
As a mature beauty in her prime, how could she not have needs?
When the house was quiet late at night, Ye Meiyun also wondered.
Her family had also advised her to find someone else while she was still young, as the dead cannot return to life, and one must move forward.
But in this small county of Yongnan, where could she find a suitable match?
She hadn't expected that last night, through a twist of fate, she and Qin Chuan had ended up in that situation...
"Are they going to fight?"
Suddenly, Ye Meiyun sat up from the sofa, hesitated, and tiptoed towards the second floor.
At the top of the stairs, Ye Meiyun peered around and saw Qin Chuan standing outside the bathroom.
The bathroom door was closed, and the entire second floor was very quiet, with no signs of an argument.
But the quieter it was, the more it indicated a calm before the storm.
Just then, Qin Chuan turned and noticed Ye Meiyun. Before he could speak, the closed bathroom door opened, and Li Ya emerged.
"Sister..."
Qin Chuan called out, but Li Ya seemed to ignore him and walked directly into her bedroom.
Qin Chuan immediately followed her.
In the bedroom, Li Ya sat in front of the vanity mirror, skillfully applying makeup. Qin Chuan stood awkwardly, like a student who had made a mistake.
Finally, he gathered his courage and said, "Where have you been all this time? I've been looking for you for so long."
Li Ya remained focused on her makeup.
"Sister, I know I was wrong. That incident hurt you deeply."
"But I swear, I truly, truly love you. I can't live without you!"
"I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime..."
"If you can forgive me, I'll do anything!"
Li Ya, who had been meticulously applying makeup, finally stopped. She slowly turned around. Her newly made-up, large eyes fluttered with long eyelashes, as if they could speak.
Her delicate face had skin that was supple and radiant, comparable to an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl. Her lips, touched with lipstick, were full and glossy, making one want to bite them.
One could hardly tell she was twenty-seven years old; at most, she looked twenty-one or twenty-two. Standing with Qin Chuan, they were a perfectly matched couple.
"Qin Chuan, I sold the garment factory!"
Li Ya finally spoke, but her first words startled him.
"What did you say?"
It took Qin Chuan a long moment to react, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Sister, wasn't the Butterfly Garment Factory your lifeblood, your father's dying wish? How could you just sell it?"
Li Ya's expression was remarkably calm.
"It's nothing. I just don't want to stay in this small county anymore."
Li Ya continued unhurriedly.
"My father's dying wish was only that the garment factory not fall into the hands of villains. Actually, I already fulfilled that wish for him long ago."
"No, I don't agree!!"
Qin Chuan shouted, "I'm also a shareholder of the Butterfly Garment Factory. I don't agree!"
"Don't worry, I only sold my own shares. I didn't touch yours."
Li Ya's tone was extremely cold.
"Of course, if you want to sell, I can help you sell them too!"
Seeing that the situation was far more serious than he had imagined, Qin Chuan was truly panicked. He rushed forward and tightly grasped Li Ya's hands. "Sister, let's not be impulsive, okay? I know I've wronged you. This is all my fault."
"I apologize to you. I'll do anything to appease you..."
Looking at the extremely anxious Qin Chuan before her, Li Ya's eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion. She stared directly into Qin Chuan's eyes: "You'll do anything?"
"Then fine, I want you to break up with that woman, and have no contact with her ever again. Can you do that?"
Qin Chuan immediately froze, motionless.
"Heh heh!!"
"Hahaha..."
Li Ya looked at Qin Chuan's reaction, first with a light chuckle, then with a burst of laughter. As she laughed, tears uncontrollably streamed down her face, ruining her freshly applied makeup.
"Qin Chuan, in your eyes, have I always been a fool, someone you... no, to be precise, someone your entire Qin family could knead and deceive at will?"
Qin Chuan hurriedly shook his head. "No! Absolutely not!"
"No?"
Li Ya's face was full of mockery. "Then let me ask you, do your parents and your elder brothers know about you and that girl named Yang Zimo?"
Qin Chuan was struck as if by lightning again.
"Heh heh, I was truly too foolish, deceived by all of you, like a monkey in a park, being watched for entertainment!"
"All this time, in my heart, Auntie and Uncle were the most respected people. Because my parents passed away early, I even treated them as my own parents."
"And in the end, all I got was deception!"
"If you alone deceived me, it would be one thing, but your whole family has been deceiving me, deceiving me!!"
Li Ya became more agitated as she spoke. She grabbed cosmetics from the vanity table and hurled them at Qin Chuan, her actions becoming frenzied. The accumulated resentment in her heart erupted at this moment, and Qin Chuan made no move to dodge.
*Bang!!*
A hard cosmetic bottle hit Qin Chuan on the forehead. Crimson blood flowed down his cheek, staining his neck and collar.
"Qin Chuan!!"
Outside the bedroom, a gasp was heard. Ye Meiyun rushed in, panicked.
"Li Ya, he's bleeding!!"
Li Ya, who had been venting her anger, finally stopped. When she looked up, she saw a face covered in blood. The figure stood there foolishly, motionless, his eyes filled with endless guilt and pity.