“Qi, I can see that Linhan has been treating you rather well, so are you really not going to tell him?”
Han Xueyou then continued in a harsher tone, “Are you not bold enough to do that? If you really can’t bring yourself to say it, how about I tell him on your behalf?”
She had said that tentatively as the seed of evil had germinated in her heart and was growing out of control.
Shen Qi was shocked when she heard Han Xueyou’s offer. Before it could be processed by her brain, she already blurted out subconsciously, “Don’t do that.”
The hope in Han Xueyou’s eyes was dashed at once.
Once again, the two plunged into silence.
None of them spoke as they were both deep in thought.
Staring at Shen Qi who sat opposite of her, Han Xueyou clenched her fists tighter under the table.
She believed in the beginning that Shen Qi would be delighted when she heard the news as Shen Qi had been quite close to Ye Linhan lately after all. Why didn’t she just have a relationship with him instead? Why was she still pestering Ye Moxuan?
Sometimes, Han Xueyou felt that Shen Qi was too selfish and greedy for having two men and refusing to give any one of them up.
Han Xueyou had completely forgotten about the fact that she was actually an impersonator, and the fact that she had deceived Shen Qi.
Then, the two parted ways and Han Xueyou returned home in a bleak mood. When she passed through the gate, she was surprised to find that her brother’s car was there. Slightly bewildered, she asked the housemaid, “Did my brother skip the office today?”
The housemaid replied to her respectfully, “It seems like Sir is not feeling well today, hence he is working from home.”
Han Xueyou was taken aback by what she said. “My brother is not feeling well? I’m going to check on him.”
The housemaid immediately caught up to her and said, “Miss Han, Mr. Han has already instructed that no one is to disturb him.”
“What are you talking about? I’m his sister. Is my visit also considered a disturbance? I’m just going to visit my sick brother so don’t make too much noise.”
Han Xueyou looked intimidating and fierce.
Because of that, the housemaid lowered her head, not daring to utter a word more.
Han Xueyou made her way upstairs directly and headed toward Han Qing’s room.
In the end, she found that his room was actually unlocked and somebody else was inside.
“President Han, these are all the information regarding Miss Shen that you’ve instructed me to gather.”
It was Su Jiu’s voice. Quickly, Han Xueyou leaned against the door frame quietly as she peeked at what was taking place inside the room.
“Okay, just put it there.” Han Qing’s deep voice was croaky; he sounded like he was really sick.
Su Jiu continued, “President Han, why on earth did you ask me to investigate Miss Shen? Is it just because she is Miss Xueyou’s friend? According to my investigation, the girl named Shen Qi is a rather nice girl in terms of personality as well as other aspects. The only thing is… her life is rather unfortunate.”
In fact, Su Jiu was not supposed to make such comments as she would usually be ignored by Han Qing, and also because she was already accustomed to conveying everything to him succinctly.
Yet, as Su Jiu could see that Han Qing had been very interested in Shen Qi’s matter in the past two days, she could not help but elaborate on the subject.
After a brief silence in the room, Su Jiu cleared her throat. Just as she believed that her comment was unwanted and was about to stop, Han Qing asked in a deep voice, “Unfortunate?”
“Exactly.” Su Jiu nodded. “Her ex-husband was unfaithful to her right after they got married but Miss Shen was kept in the dark for two years. One day, her ex-husband struck the lottery and just as Miss Shen thought that that would be the beginning of her comfortable life, they ended up divorcing each other, and her ex-husband’s lover who was pregnant with his child took her place. In the end, Miss Shen received nothing.”
Han Qing instinctively put on a frown as he echoed, “She got nothing?”
“Yes. In fact, Miss Shen’s sister, Shen Yue, was supposed to be the one involved in the marriage between the Shen family and Ye family. But once Miss Shen’s mother found out that the man she was going to marry was a handicap, she cooked up the arrangement to have Miss Shen replace her sister to marry into the Ye family as she happened to be a divorcee at that time. I suppose what we saw at the conference room that day shows how she’s faring currently.”
After listening to Su Jiu, Han Qing remained silent. Only the sound of his slender fingers tapping the desk could be heard. Despite the fact that he remained expressionless, Su Jiu knew that he was slightly angry judging from his actions.
But… Why is he angry?
It has only been a short while even since he met Shen Qi. Did he fall in love with her at first sight?
But that’s unlikely. Although one would easily sympathize with Shen Qi’s ordeal, I think she isn’t so gorgeous that she could actually make one fall in love with her at first sight.
That’s not right either. Being gorgeous is not the most important ingredient of love at first sight. After all, Han Qing is different from other men and he has never been too preoccupied by appearances.
He might have fallen in love with her at first sight, but she is already a married woman.
At such thought, Su Jiu felt the urge to remind Han Qing out of kindness but at the sight of his intimidating face which looked as invasive as a sharp blade, she stopped herself.
Forget it. This man knew what he was doing and she thought better than to meddle in his business.
Han Xueyou who was eavesdropping on their conversation by the door caught everything they said. When the conversation inside the room died down, color had already drained from Han Xueyou’s face and she turned as terrifyingly pale as a piece of paper which had just been fished out from a pool of water.
Had her brother actually asked Secretary Su to gather Shen Qi’s information?
Why did he do that? Moreover, he had also done something unusual—he had actually asked questions about Shen Qi’s matter, and it seemed like he cared about her a lot.
At the thought of how she had impersonated Shen Qi, Han Xueyou felt weak and feeble. Was the reason why her brother had been treating her coldly because he was still having doubts about her identity?
Or was it because he had never accepted her as his sister right from the beginning?
He had immediately carried out an investigation on Shen Qi as soon as he caught sight of her.
No, things couldn’t go this way…
She had worked very hard to obtain this identity—Miss Han from the Han family. She had many who fawned over her, she ate well everyday, she stayed in a huge mansion which many would die for, and she bought all sorts of luxury perfumes, bags, cosmetic products, and clothes. Many women out there were green with envy of her life.
As she had already tasted how it was like to lead a lavish life, she could not afford to lose it.
What should I do? Han Xueyou was so panicked that her eyes became red-rimmed. The conversation inside the room began again.
Su Jiu said, “President Han, if you have no other instructions for me, I shall head back first.”
“Okay.”
Thereafter, some footsteps were heard. Han Xueyou was pulled back to reality and she realized she was still standing by the door of her brother’s room and Secretary Su was about to reach the door any minute.
She could not let Secretary Su find out that she was eavesdropping on them.
Quickly, she turned on her heels and left.
Hiding herself in a corner, she saw Su Jiu walking out of her brother’s room before striding off downstairs.
On her way down, Su Jiu turned around and took a glance in the direction of where Han Xueyou was hiding as though she had sensed something. Han Xueyou was so frightened that she immediately backed up and started breathing rapidly.
Su Jiu was his brother’s secretary whom he trusted a lot. If her presence was discovered by her…
Fortunately, the click-clacks of her high heel faded away. Han Xueyou found herself drenched in cold sweat out of shock, and she slumped to the ground weakly as she leaned against the wall.
What should she do? Her brother had already begun an investigation on Shen Qi. Would he find out that Shen Qi was the genuine daughter of the Han family? If the truth was unveiled, what should she do?
She did not feel like returning to her previous life which was bleak and hopeless.
Things could not go this way. She needed to come up with a solution…
