His confident tone made it seem as if he had uncovered all her secrets.
“Dr. Jian, you’re being presumptuous.”
Displeasure flickered across Li Qiao’s brows.
She carried the oranges back into the house.
Li Shaoxing asked, “Qiao, are you just going to leave him like that?”
“He’s just a client to me.” Nothing more.
It was clear that Li Qiao had no interest in Jian Lanfeng. Li Shaoxing had already formed his own suspicions—out of all the men around, Qiao only showed special favor toward He Jingnian.
And yet she still claimed she didn’t like him?
So frustrating!
He had to protect his precious little cabbage!
Outside, Jian Lanfeng stood frozen, his gaze deep and unreadable. He didn’t even snap out of it when Li Shaojing appeared.
“Lanfeng, come inside for a bit.”
“No, I have matters to attend to at the hospital.”
After leaving the Li residence, Jian Lanfeng headed straight for the hospital—only to get into a car accident along the way.
The entire Jian family rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news.
When Jiang Feng found out, she immediately sent Li Qiao a message.
[A car accident?]
Li Qiao frowned.
[Yes, Master… Will you go see Lanfeng?]
[No.]
With doctors around, Jian Lanfeng would be fine.
Jian Lanfeng was his mother’s most beloved son. When she learned that Li Youwei was behind the incident, she immediately had her seized.
“You vile woman, why did you harm my son?”
Li Youwei was forced to tilt her head back, struggling to breathe. “Let—let go—cough—”
Madam Jian ignored her, tightening her grip.
Li Youwei thrashed, but her weakened body quickly left her gasping for air.
Jian Lanxin arrived just in time to stop her mother.
“Mom, don’t do this.”
Li Youwei collapsed to the floor, clutching her throat as she coughed violently.
Her eyes burned with hatred as she glared at the Jian family. “He deserved it, and so do all of you! Hmph, you ruined everything for me. What’s wrong with arranging a ghost marriage for the dead? You all deserve to die for interfering!”
The crowd’s expressions darkened instantly.
Madam Jian’s fury erupted. “A ghost marriage? You used my son for a ghost marriage?”
“Hah! Yes, I did! Too bad I was one step short. He should die, and all of you should die with him!” Li Youwei shrieked hysterically, as if she were the one who had suffered unbearable injustice.
Shock rippled through the room, followed by outrage.
“Li Youwei, have you lost your mind?” Madam Jian snapped.
Li Youwei smirked, her chilling gaze locking onto Jian Lanxin.
A sudden, overwhelming dread seized Jian Lanxin, her heartbeat erratic as fear wrapped around her like a suffocating shadow.
“Why so quick to curse me, Madam Jian? Your precious daughter was the one who helped me arrange it. If you want to blame someone, blame her.”
Li Youwei’s lips curled into a cold sneer.
“Explain yourself!” Madam Jian demanded, eyes wide.
Jian Lanxin trembled as she defended herself. “I—I was tricked!”
A ghost marriage—one meant to kill Jian Lanfeng—had crossed the Jian family’s bottom line.
Jian Fengchun, the family patriarch, arrived just then, his icy stare fixed on Li Youwei. Beside him, Jian Lanxin frantically explained everything.
The one who had saved Jian Lanfeng was Li Qiao!
A faint smile tugged at Jian Fengchun’s lips. “That girl is a good one.”
But Madam Jian shot him a glare, which he promptly ignored.
Right now, the priority was deciding Li Youwei’s fate.
“I’m a member of the Li family! You can’t touch me!”
Li Youwei lifted her chin defiantly.
She had already considered the consequences when she first set her sights on Jian Lanfeng.
“Who do you think you are? The Li family is nothing to us!”
Jian Lanxin screamed, her hatred for Li Youwei so intense she could strangle her on the spot.
How could such a vile woman exist? She had tried to murder her own brother!
“Dad, we can’t let her go!”
Jian Fengchun nodded, then ordered the bodyguards, “Take her away.”
“Wait—” Panic flashed across Li Youwei’s face. “I’m a Li! You dare lay hands on me?”
She kept threatening, but Jian Fengchun remained unmoved.
“The Li family is insignificant.”
With that, he turned away.
Li Youwei froze, her face draining of color.
The Jians truly weren’t afraid!
Desperate, she spat, “The Lis are backed by the He family! If you move against us, the Hes will never let you go!”
The He family—the He Corporation!
Jian Fengchun’s brow furrowed.
In the business world, one couldn’t afford to make reckless enemies.
Li Youwei had rammed her car into Jian Lanfeng deliberately. Because of him, the Zhao family had complained to the Lis, and she had been cast out. Her hatred ran deep—though she kept those details to herself.
“So what? Take her!” Jian Fengchun commanded coldly.
Unable to hold back any longer, Jian Lanxin lunged at Li Youwei, clawing at her.
Li Youwei seized the chance to scream, “Help! Someone help! The Jians are assaulting me!”
Slap!
A sharp blow split Li Youwei’s lip.
She clutched her swollen cheek, teeth gritted. “You’ll regret this!”
“You bitch! You hurt my brother, framed me, and now you’re threatening us? You deserve to die!”
Jian Lanxin grabbed her collar and rained down slaps.
Slap!
Another stinging blow landed.
Li Youwei’s face burned with pain.
She had never suffered like this before.
But she had to escape.
“Please, let me go,” she sobbed. “I won’t harm Young Master Jian again.”
“You think I’d believe you?” Jian Lanxin sneered. “Take her away!”
Two bodyguards dragged Li Youwei off.
She screeched, “The Jian family will die horribly!”
Slap!
Jian Lanxin struck her again.
“You dare curse us?”
“May the Jians perish!”
Li Youwei continued hurling curses as she was hauled away.
Before disappearing, she shot Jian Lanxin one last venomous glare.
A shiver ran down Jian Lanxin’s spine—something felt wrong.
No, she had to deal with this wretch personally.
…..
Li Youwei was locked in a pitch-black room.
Her clothes were torn, her body covered in grime.
“What do you want from me to let me go?” she asked.
“You tried to kill my brother and still beg for mercy?” Jian Lanxin’s voice was icy, each word a hammer to Li Youwei’s heart.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head.
“You want me dead? Fine, I’ll die now. But remember this, Jian Lanxin—you killed me, and I’ll return as a vengeful ghost to haunt you!”
With a ghastly grin, she sprinted toward the wall—
BANG!
A deafening crash.
Li Youwei collapsed, blood pooling beneath her, the metallic stench saturating the air.
Jian Lanxin stood frozen, then let out a bloodcurdling scream.
She crumpled to the floor, clutching her head in terror.
People burst in, their faces paling at the sight of Li Youwei’s corpse.
Everything had happened too fast.
When Jian Fengchun at the hospital was informed, he simply said, “Dispose of it properly.”
But Jiang Feng found it strange. He went to check on Jian Lanxin.
Inside the room, he took one look at Li Youwei’s body—and his frown deepened.
His gaze locked onto her leg.
A sinister symbol was carved into her skin, grotesque and unsettling.
Jiang Feng quickly snapped a photo and sent it to Li Qiao.
After one last glance at the dead woman, he bolted.
