Su Chaoxi shook her head, "I just don't want the blood of such a person to dirty your hands, a bastard, a rapist, to even have you personally punish him would be giving him too much honor."
A disdain that couldn't be hidden made Xie Tianchen's face turn pale.
He couldn't believe that the woman who once loved him as if it were her life now filled his heart with a dull pain.
Even if it was just a temporary measure to protect him.
But was this act going too far?
Xie Tianyin, however, felt utterly comfortable listening to her.
The hostility within him seemed to dissolve in an instant; he turned around and embraced Su Chaoxi in his arms.
Su Chaoxi knew that he was very satisfied.
She wrapped her arms around Xie Tianyin and said to the others, "Since everyone is in denial, then let's call the police."
Su Zhiguo's face drastically changed, "Chaoxi! Why involve the police for such a trivial matter!"
If they called the police, neither the Su Family nor the Xie Family would be able to save face!
"A trivial matter?" Xie Tianyin, holding the warm and soft beauty in his arms, scoffed, "Does President Su think it's a small matter that your biological daughter was almost raped, or that the young mistress of the esteemed Xie Family was schemed against by your 'foster daughter' is just a trifling issue?"
He emphasized 'foster daughter', and Su Zhiguo's body stiffened.
With Xie Tianyin speaking himself, Su Zhiguo knew that today he had to give a satisfactory answer or else it wouldn't end well.
Su Nuannuan stepped forward, sobbing, "It wasn't me, how could I..."
"Shut up!" Su Zhiguo shouted angrily and turned his head to deliver a heavy slap to Su Nuannuan's face without hesitation.
This slap was even heavier than the one Su Chaoxi had given.
Caught off guard, Su Nuannuan was sent tumbling to the ground.
Her head buzzed; the entire world darkened and spun around her.
Incredulous, she looked up at the father who had always doted on her, and tears fell swiftly, "Dad..."
"Don't call me dad!" Su Zhiguo bellowed, "To introduce a wolf into the house and scheme against your sister; I didn't think you capable of such deeds!"
Su Zhiguo, gripping her hand, dragged her in front of Su Chaoxi, "Aren't you going to apologize to your sister?"
Su Nuannuan was even more shock beyond measure!
In the past, no matter what wrong she had done.
Wasn't it always Su Chaoxi who would lower her head first in the end?
Such a small matter today; with a few days of cold violence towards Su Chaoxi, she would naturally come back, tail wagging, begging for her forgiveness!
But why...
Su Nuannuan couldn't stop her tears, crawling towards Su Zhiguo, "Dad, Dad..."
After all, she was the darling he had raised himself.
Su Zhiguo's heart ached so much that he wished he could just hold his daughter and give Su Chaoxi a fierce slap, forcing her to kneel and kowtow three times to Su Nuannuan!
But Xie Tianyin, he dared not provoke!
Su Zhiguo forced himself to look away, suppressing the reluctance in his heart.
Su Nuannuan cried out in despair, clutching at Su Zhiguo's trouser leg and then with a roll of her eyes, she fainted.
Su Zhiguo finally couldn't contain himself, his face changing drastically, "Nuannuan!"
Xie Tianchen too was startled and rushed over to her, "Nuannuan!"
Yang Yingrong hurried over and upon seeing her daughter with a pallid face, fainting, immediately burst into tears, "Nuannuan!"
Su Chaoxi looked at the whole family's anguished expressions, feeling both familiar and strange.
Familiar because Su Chaoxi herself was often beaten and forced to apologize on her knees.
Now, it was the pampered and cherished Su Nuannuan who was in that position.
Strange because, after each beating, Su Chaoxi would always be locked up alone to reflect upon her mistakes.
Only after she had thought things through and came out to apologize would her family deign to cast a glance her way.
But for Su Nuannuan...
Su Chaoxi gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Xie Tianyin caught every bit of envy and self-mockery in her eyes.
His gaze darkened, and he wrapped his arms around his wife, "It seems that Miss Su the Second is not going to have the chance to apologize to my wife today."
Su Zhiguo and Yang Yingrong both turned sharply to look at Xie Tianyin.
The look in her eyes contained well-suppressed resentment and ferocity.
Xie Tianyin did not care at all, maintaining his usual condescending attitude. He said mockingly, "Then wait until you have sincerity. Come and beg my wife for forgiveness whenever that may be. For today, I shall take my leave."
After speaking, he bent down and directly scooped Su Chaoxi into a bridal carry.
Su Chaoxi herself felt extremely dizzy, and being lifted up only made her feel like the world was spinning, and her vision went dark.
The couple, Su Zhiguo and his wife, were so enraged by that entitled attitude that they were gnashing their teeth in anger!
Only when the others were far away did Yang Yingrong dare to cry out, whispering, "Our Nuannuan has never suffered like this, sob sob... This Su Chaoxi is truly detestable! I knew she was an ungrateful wretch we could never truly tame. We should never have taken her from the orphanage in the first place!"
Su Zhiguo's eyes also reddened with regret, saying, "She wasn't like this before. How did she become like this now?"
Yang Yingrong wept bitterly, "And whose fault is that? It's all because you insisted on marrying her to Xie Tianyin, giving her such excessive wealth. If Nuannuan had been the one to marry Xie Tianyin, would we still have to suffer this humiliation?"
Full of regret, Su Zhiguo picked up Su Nuannuan and said with a choked voice, "Enough, have someone prepare the car..."
He turned around, carrying Su Nuannuan downstairs, only then realizing there was a trail of fresh blood.
Drip by drip, it fell to the ground.
It was a startling sight.
This was... Su Chaoxi's blood.
Indeed.
How could he have forgotten that Su Chaoxi was injured too?
Su Zhiguo instinctively looked back towards the room. He was momentarily dazed by the large pool of bright red blood.
"What are you standing there for, hurry up!"
Only then did Su Zhiguo snap back to reality, saying, "I'm coming."
-
Su Chaoxi was carried out of the Su Family Villa by Xie Tianyin.
Having been forcing herself to stay strong until now, she felt quite tired.
Now, leaning against Xie Tianyin's chest, she fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up again, she was in the hospital getting an IV drip.
The nurse was dressing the wound on her leg. Noticing she was awake, the nurse said, "Don't move, your wound is very deep and needs proper care."
Su Chaoxi then realized she wasn't wearing any pants.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Su Chaoxi flinched, instinctively reaching for the blanket to cover herself.
The nurse got annoyed, "What are you doing? I told you not to move!"
The man who entered was tall and imposing. Noticing Su Chaoxi's slight movement, his eyes darkened slightly.
Turning to see Xie Tianyin, the nurse hesitated before asking Su Chaoxi, "Isn't he your husband?"
Su Chaoxi, a bit embarrassed, fiddled with the blanket before saying, "Yes..."
"Then what's there to hide? Haven't you seen everything between husband and wife? Don't move!"
Su Chaoxi then shamefacedly put down the blanket, her cheeks turning a fiery red.
Although they were husband and wife.
But during their nights together, the lights were always off.
Su Chaoxi had never been seen like this before.
Xie Tianyin, however, seemed completely indifferent, walking over and nonchalantly placing his hand on her forehead, "The fever has gone down."
Su Chaoxi only then realized, "I had a fever?"
"Yes, but thankfully, it's just a mild one. It's nothing serious," the nurse finished bandaging, "Alright, keep the wound dry for the next few days and don't walk around too much. An injury on the thigh can be serious or minor; it would be troublesome if it affected a nerve."
"Thank you," Xie Tianyin said coldly yet politely.
The nurse couldn't help but take another look at Xie Tianyin, then gave Su Chaoxi an envious glance.
Su Chaoxi became even more embarrassed and asked, "Don't you need to go back to the company?"
Xie Tianyin casually tossed a stack of documents, with a hint of mockery, "If I'd gone back to the company, how could I have witnessed such an exciting scene?"
Su Chaoxi's heart sank.
What was inevitable had still come.
Su Chaoxi opened the document bag, which contained a business proposal.
In her previous life, Xie Tianchen had risen from a manager to the person in charge of a multibillion-dollar project because of this business proposal.
And not long after, he had successfully replaced the president of the subsidiary, Xie Tianyin.
And this document was copied by Su Chaoxi from Xie Tianyin's computer.
Xie Tianyin bent down and pulled her beneath him.
The intense pressure made Su Chaoxi's heartbeat race.
She was forced to look up at him, "You..."
"Almost, I was nearly deceived by you," he said.
Xie Tianyin stroked her chin, speaking deliberately and mockingly, "That slap must have hurt, didn't it?"
His hand followed her snow-white jawline downward, gently rubbing her slender neck.
It was as if he could snap her neck at any moment.
Su Chaoxi's heart thudded wildly.
She feigned composure and said, "Xie Tianyin, what do you mean?"
Xie Tianyin's eyes were full of mockery, as if challenging her to make an excuse.
Su Chaoxi met his gaze defiantly and taunted, "Are you suggesting that today's events were all staged by me? That I conspired with Xie Tianchen, Su Nuannuan, including Su Zhiguo and Yang Yingrong, they all cooperated with me to put on a show?"
The Su Family's treatment of Su Chaoxi was clear to Xie Tianyin.
They only ever held Su Nuannuan in their hands.
Xie Tianyin's eyes darkened as he stared at her, "I'm not talking about today's events!"
"That slap just now wasn't it from today's events?" Su Chaoxi's eyes brimmed with ridicule, "As for that slap, I only regret not hitting you less hard. Believe it or not, I hate Xie Tianchen, and I wish he were dead!"
"As for this document..."
Su Chaoxi picked up the document bag in front of her, and looking at him resolutely, said, "Haven't you realized that I only gave him an incomplete version? I know, the detailed data is in another disk, and I didn't copy it fully to him, did I?"
A glint passed through Xie Tianyin's eyes as he studied her intensely, his brows furrowing.
She knew?
Su Chaoxi's heart raced.
In her past life, she didn't know that Xie Tianyin's business proposal was incomplete.
It wasn't until Xie Tianchen found it incomplete and approached her again for the specific data.
Only then did Su Chaoxi realise something was missing.
This time, she absolutely couldn't give Xie Tianchen the remaining data, but it gave her a chance to argue her case.
Su Chaoxi continued, "If I wanted to help him, I could have given him all the complete data. Why didn't I do that?"
Of course, it was because she hadn't discovered it.
After all, Xie Tianyin saved the files in two unrelated places with file names that had no apparent connection.
In her previous life, if Su Chaoxi hadn't searched them out one by one, she would never have found them.
But now, Su Chaoxi could only maintain her strong facade.
Xie Tianyin stared at the woman before him, sneering, "Your ability to make excuses has improved."
He jerked her chin up, grinding his teeth, "It seems Xie Tianchen is not as foolish as I thought, to notice so quickly that the data is incomplete?"
Su Chaoxi struggled to breathe and argued, "How could he possibly notice? If he had, would he dare to promote it so boldly?"
She reached up to stroke his face, speaking softly, "You also know, only if he climbs higher can he fall harder."
Xie Tianyin's gaze tightened, and he threw her onto the hospital bed, exasperatedly saying, "Stop putting on airs in front of me — Su Chaoxi, you're not qualified enough to manipulate me!"
Xie Tianyin abruptly withdrew and looked down at her coldly, "I don't care what you're up to, remember your place. I've warned you, I don't take back garbage here!"
With that, Xie Tianyin turned and left.
Su Chaoxi gave a wry smile.
It seemed that gaining Xie Tianyin's trust was going to be a long journey.
Just then, her mother-in-law, Wen Jingshu, rushed in anxiously, saying, "Oh, Chaoxi, why on earth did you end up in hospital? How is it, does it hurt?"
Su Chaoxi noticed that her mother-in-law was holding a paper bag.
Quickly explaining, the mother-in-law said, "Tianyin told me your leg was injured, so I brought some loose clothes for you. I picked out two sets, which one do you want to wear?"
Su Chaoxi's heart warmed, and she gratefully took her hand, "Thank you, Mom."
But her mother-in-law was too concerned to notice her feelings, asking, "Where is the injury, let Mom see."
Su Chaoxi revealed her bandaged wound and said, "It's just a minor injury, I'm fine."
"What do you mean 'fine'? Injuries on the leg can be serious or minor!" the mother-in-law disapproved with a frown, "You should stay in the hospital longer and not rush to be discharged. You can't just walk around on that foot, you know?"
Su Chaoxi was somewhere between laughter and tears but still insisted on being discharged.
When it was time for discharge, her mother-in-law even prepared a wheelchair for her.
Su Chaoxi was dumbfounded, "Mom, isn't this too much?"
"Not at all. You can't walk around carelessly with that leg; it might not heal properly. Listen to me, please sit down."
Su Chaoxi covered her face but couldn't stand up to her mother-in-law.
So her mother-in-law pushed Su Chaoxi into the elevator like that.
Just as they reached the first floor, Su Chaoxi caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
That figure was slim and graceful, not at all like the mother of a child in his twenties.
This was Xie Tianchen's mother, Cheng Meifen.
Cheng Meifen was well-maintained; she now clung to an old man's arm, laughing like a little girl.
And that man...
Wasn't he the disgusting husband of the mother-in-law, Xie Tianyin's biological father, Xie Changzheng?
The moment she saw Xie Changzheng, Wen Jingshu's hand gripping Su Chaoxi's wheelchair tensed.
Su Chaoxi noticed the anomaly in her mother-in-law and whispered, "Mom, let's go."
But Wen Jingshu kept staring at the couple, her lips tightly pressed, as if she hadn't heard Su Chaoxi's words at all.
Su Chaoxi sighed inwardly, realizing she still couldn't let go.
Suddenly, Cheng Meifen seemed to feel their gaze.
She turned her head to look over and appeared momentarily taken aback at the sight of Wen Jingshu.
Then she smiled provocatively, covered her flat abdomen with her hand in a defiant gesture, and nestled closer to Xie Changzheng's embrace.
Su Chaoxi knew that the reason Cheng Meifen and Xie Changzheng were at the hospital was because Cheng Meifen was pregnant.
Cheng Meifen's current actions and behavior were an unabashed provocation!
Wen Jingshu's knuckles grew white with tension.
As if masochistically, she watched them until they entered the gynecology clinic, then let out a self-deprecatory laugh, "The status of this mistress is really secure, isn't it."
Su Chaoxi felt conflicted.
How could it not be secure?
Willing to humble oneself.
Not asking for status or money.
Just demanding to be by Xie Changzheng's side.
With this meek attitude, she monopolized another person's husband.
No matter how Xie Changzheng indulged in luxuries outside, she had been his constant companion for decades.
What a crafty tactic.
Wen Jingshu remained silent all the way home.
Today's incident seemed to be just a minor episode.
Xie Tianyin had been away on business for three days in a row.
During these three days when Su Chaoxi had some free time, she would open her computer to write.
The rest of the time was spent with her child, doing homework and playing games.
With these three days of companionship, her daughter clung to her even more, insisting on sleeping cuddled up with 'mommy'.
Only Xie Xunzhi remained the same, guarding against her at every turn.
Su Chaoxi knew not to rush things, so she maintained a calm mindset.
While Su Chaoxi took a laissez-faire approach, her mother-in-law couldn't seem to sit still any longer.
She came to Su Chaoxi with a troubled look, hesitating for a long time before finally saying, "Chaoxi, have you and Tianyin had another fight?"
Su Chaoxi was caught off guard by the question. "Mom, why would you ask that?"
Wen Jingshu's face was full of worry, "Are you still keeping things from me? Tianyin hasn't been home for several days. What happened at your parents' house the other day?"
Su Chaoxi felt a warmth in her heart and was about to explain when Wen Jingshu added, "Chaoxi, I've seen in the past few days that you really have the intention to change and return to caring for the family."
"But in a family, it's not just the elderly and children that matter, Tianyin is the pillar you can rely on."
Wen Jingshu spoke with a deep meaning, "Sometimes, we women need to take the initiative too, don't you think?"
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