Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
In this world, there wasn’t anything that could hurt Lu Jinnian.
She had never intended to hurt him.
However, in the end, she had hurt him the most.
Qiao Anhao felt like she was stabbed in the chest by a knife. The twinge of pain swept in wave by wave, forcing her to finally not be able to hold it any longer. She pinched Lu Jinnian’s phone whilst crouched on the ground, and started to sob.
After a moment passed, she stopped crying and climbed up from the floor in a panic. She ran back to the bedroom, and found her phone among the mess. She called and waited, but no one picked up. Then, the memory of going through Lu Jinnian’s calls subconsciously reminded her that the phone she was calling could be switched off. She then suddenly remembered that, at that moment, Lu Jinnian was on a plane.
Qiao Anhao dropped her arm, disheartened, standing in the bedroom for a while with the phone in her hand. She then went to the study room and crouched again in front of the drawers. Seeing that there was only a marriage certificate and a folder, she hesitated for a moment, then picked up the folder.
She opened it to find an inheritance allocation document. Huan Ying Entertainment and shares of other companies would go to her, and the beneficiary to the Xu Enterprise was to go to Xu Jiamu.
This inheritance allocation document was signed before New Year’s eve, and the lawyer used was Lu Jinnian’s usual lawyer.
Which went to say that he had returned to the country before New Year’s eve… Qiao Anhao counted the days in her mind, and realized that he had signed the document around the time she was shooting the final scenes for “Heavenly Sword”.
In that case, when she was in trouble on the set of “Heavenly Sword”, that was really him!
Xu Jiamu fell out with him over his acquisition of Xu Enterprise… She and him had parted ways because of Han Ruchu’s meddling, yet he saw it as her abandoning him.
He clearly knew that she and Xu Jiamu had given up on him, but he still left them with something beautiful.
The rims of Qiao Anhao’s eyes reddened again as she placed down the inheritance allocation document.
Lu Jinnian… in your heart, besides me, you actually really care about your little brother, Xu Jiamu, don’t you?
Even though you never said it, you really want that ‘blood is thicker than water’ kind of family-love, don’t you?
Since you want it, then we want it.
You’ve done so much for me, now it’s time for me to do something for you.
Because of you, I was able to feel the warmth and happiness of someone silently taking care of me. I want you to feel that for once as well.
At that thought, Qiao Anhao stared at the inheritance allocation document, and a pang of determination suddenly flashed across her eyes.
–
Xu Jiamu had called to invite Qiao Anhao to the gala. He said it was a charity gala, but it was actually a pleasant sounding excuse to hold a party for the rich and noble families.
Since the age of sixteen, Qiao Anhao had attended these types of parties with Qiao Anxia, uncle Qiao, and aunt Qiao.
This party looked like a charity event to gain donations, but in actual fact, it was an event to show off – for men to show off their wealth while women their looks.
Back then, Qiao Anhao only attended these type of parties a few times. She had stopped going after being tortured by young wealthy women comparing their looks.
On the contrary, Qiao Anxia’s personality was naturally cheerful and belligerent. She would dress up gorgeously every time to attend these events, and every time, she would be the belle of the ball. So much so, in earlier years, Qiao Anxia was rated the most exceptional lady for several years.
The gala was called “The Beijing Gala” and was organized by a club. When Qiao Anhao arrived, the entrance was filled with various types of luxury cars.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anhao stepped into the clubhouse and handed her invitation to the service attendant, before they escorted her into The Crystal Palace themed hall. The gala was filled with glistening lights and gentle piano music in the background. All the prominent families of Beijing were in attendance, dressed in luxury, as they mingled cheerfully with familiar acquaintances.
Qiao Anhao wore a peach-colored strapped long dress under a jacket, which she handed to the attendant. Clutching her handbag, she stood at the entrance, scanning the room from left to right. Eventually, her line of sight fell on a group of wealthy ladies. She walked elegantly in her high heels towards Mother Qiao, who was chatting and laughing away.
“Auntie.”
When Mother Qiao heard her voice, she immediately turned around. Seeing that it was Qiao Anhao, she affectionately held her hand. “Qiao Qiao, you’re here?”
“En.”
Qiao Anhao picked up a wine glass from a tray carried by an attendant next to her. She then obediently stood by Mother Qiao’s side, and after each and every one of the ladies finished introducing themselves, she immediately greeted them with a raised glass.
Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang were in Japan, so they couldn’t attend tonight’s gala. Despite this, Qiao Anhao was in attendance, and though she wasn’t as flamboyant as her sister, she was sweet-tempered. In addition to this, Qiao Anhao released two dramas with high ratings, and so Mother Qiao received never-ending compliments from the wealthy ladies.
Even though Qiao Anhao wasn’t Mother Qiao’s biological daughter, but after taking her in for over ten years, her mouth hung open in delight from other people’s compliments.
Qiao Anhao wore a smile on her face as she stayed with Mother Qiao for a while, surveying the area around her. Finally, she found Han Ruchu in the midst of a casual conversation. She whispered in Mother Qiao’s ear, “Auntie, I’ll go say hi to Aunt Xu.”
Mother Qiao gave a kind laugh and quick nod.
Qiao Anhao gave a friendly smile and nod at the wealthy ladies beside her and said “Excuse me”. Then she turned around and rushed towards where Han Ruchu stood.
Though Lu Jinnian had the largest amount of shares in Xu Enterprise, the beneficiary was actually Xu Jiamu. In the past five months, Xu Jiamu had slowly accumulated more shares in the company, so he had been gaining increasingly more authority. Presumably so, to console Han Ruchu, who had ran the company to the ground.
It had been almost over a month since Qiao Anhao and she had last seen each other. Her complexion looked a lot better than when she had seen her last on her birthday.
Qiao Anhao speculated that by now, Han Ruchu had probably already used her scheming ways to clear the conflict she’d created in their mother-son relationship back then.
… Which was normal.
Qiao Anhao never really hoped that what had happened that night could break their mother-son relationship. After all, blood is thicker than water. Even if Han Ruchu committed the worst of mistakes, Xu Jiamu would still be softhearted.
However, misunderstandings can be remedied, but the divide can never be wiped away.
Yet, tonight, she was going to drive an even deeper wedge in their mother-son relationship!
At that thought, a cold flash of light crossed Qiao Anhao’s eyes. It was only for a split-second, and she instantly regained her usually soft and warm glow. She took a few steps towards Han Ruchu, and opened her mouth to call her as intimately as possible, “Aunt Xu.”
When Han Ruchu heard Qiao Anhao’s voice, her smiling expression whilst chatting with other guests clearly froze. After about ten seconds, she looked over at Qiao Anhao, and smiled with the least bit of warmth, “Qiao Qiao.”
After last year’s birthday fiasco, surely she must think she’s wretched!
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
After last year’s birthday fiasco, surely she must think she’s wretched!
She was certainly someone who had experienced turbulent winds and waves. Having bumped into her again, she pretended like nothing has happened at all!
But, that was fine. Even if she pretended, she had ways to make her so angry she’ll cough up blood!
Qiao Anhao wore a bright and gentle smile on her face when she walked up to Han Ruchu, as though she’d met an elder she trusted. She reached her hand and linked arms with her as she sweetly said, “Aunt Xu, so here you are. I’ve looked for a good half a day for you. I have something to tell you…”
Qiao Anhao drew closer to Han Ruchu’s ear and said in a low voice, which only the two of them could hear, “After wishing you a happy birthday, l haven’t even wished you a happy New Year yet!”
It’ll be fine if Qiao Anhao hadn’t mentioned the birthday, but as soon as she did so, she could feel Han Ruchu’s body stiffen up. To keep the smile on her face, she became a little tense. Qiao Anhao shot a beaming smile then drew away from her ear, as though she had just whispered the sweetest thing. She waved her arms and said, “Aunt Xu, are you happy!”
“Madam Xu, this is?” asked a smiling middle-aged woman, who had been chatting with Han Ruchu.
Han Ruchu secretly tugged her own arm, wanting to pull away from Qiao Anhao’s hold, however, it only made Qiao Anhao hug tighter. A burning flame rose endlessly in Han Ruchu’s heart, and she used all her strength to suppress herself. After using an enormous amount of energy, she finally forced out a composed smile. She looked at the middle-aged woman, and retaining her calm tone of voice said, “This is the Qiao family’s daughter.”
“Hello, I’m Qiao Anhao.” In comparison to the nestling fire in Han Ruchu’s heart, Qiao Anhao felt extremely carefree. She reached her arm out and touched her glass against the middle-aged woman’s in front of her, then elegantly took a sip of red wine.
“Qiao Anhao, I know. The supporting actress on Alluring Times.”
“So you’ve watched my drama…”
Hearing Qiao Anhao and the woman, who Han Ruchu was originally having a casual conversation with, start to chat enthusiastically, somehow randomly agitated Han Ruchu. She raised her glass and downed her drink. Then she shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to shoot a warm smile at Qiao Anhao. “Qiao Qiao, your auntie is over there, have you said ‘hello’ to her yet?”
How could Qiao Anhao not know Han Ruchu wanted to send her on her way, but what a shame… she would never let her get what she wants!
Not only did she not leave, she was ready to stifle her even more!
“I’ve only just said ‘hello’ to Auntie.” Qiao Anhao blinked as though she’d just thought of something. Then she suddenly said, “Oh, that’s right. Aunt Xu, I forgot I have something else to tell you…”
With that, Qiao Anhao drew closer to Han Ruchu’s ear, then said in a low voice only the two of them could hear, “Last year’s Chinese Valentine’s day, does Aunt Xu know why I could of possibly fallen down the stairs at the Xu family estate?”
“Has Jiamu told you?” asked Han Ruchu as if from a conditioned reflex as soon as she heard Qiao Anhao’s words.
In truth, Qiao Anhao hadn’t known why she had fallen down the stairs back then: was it an accident or someone’s scheme.
The reason she mentioned it was because of the thoughts that rose in her mind after scouring through Lu Jinnian’s drawer.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anhao had only casually asked to disturb Han Ruchu for no reason, never imagining that the wily, old woman in love with scheming that she was, she would actually slip up!
From her words, she had really been deliberately set up to fall down the stairs… On Han Ruchu’s birthday, Qiao Anhao hadn’t planed on Xu Jiamu overhearing this… Which went to say, Xu Jiamu knew his mother had tried to harm her…
“Madam Xu, Miss Qiao, what are you both talking about?” Since the middle-aged woman saw Han Ruchu’s expression become full of obvious agitation, she couldn’t help but ask in curiosity.
Han Ruchu quickly calmed down, suddenly remembering that she was at a gala. Just as she was going to find an excuse to mask how she forgot her manners, Qiao Anhao deliberately spoke first, suppressing her.
“Why would Brother Jiamu tell me these things? I was just casually trying my luck. I never imagined that you’d actually let slip the truth. Aunt Xu, you have to be careful now… Don’t go accidentally shooting your mouth off about killing other people’s children like that too…”
When Qiao Anhao said those words, the sweet smile on her face never wavered. To people around them, she looked like a girl whispering secrets to her mother.
When Han Ruchu heard those words, “killing other people’s child”, she tried her hardest to stay calm. Yet Qiao Anhao could clearly feel her pulling her arm away in reflex.
In truth, Han Ruchu’s swing back wasn’t wide at all. It wasn’t something people could detect, but Qiao Anhao deliberately slid along with her movement Then she ripped her arm away from hers, silently gritted her teeth, and fell to the ground with a scream.
The series of events that just unfolded looked as though Han Ruchu had pushed Qiao Anhao to the ground.
It instantly drew the attention of quite a few people around them.
“What’s going on?”
“Yeah, why did you all of a sudden push someone over?”
“Yeah…”
The kindhearted people nearby stepped forward to help Qiao Anhao up, and thoughtfully asked, “Are you all right?”
Xu Jiamu, who wasn’t too far away, noticed that something was strange, and looked over at his mother in confusion as to what was happening. He turned to the people he was having casual conversations with and said “Apologies”, then quickly sped over there. He furrowed his brow when he saw someone supporting Qiao Anhao up, then passed through the crowd to reach her.
Qiao Anhao shook her head at the people who helped her up and said “Thank you”. She then saw Xu Jiamu thread through the crowd of spectating people. She lowered her eyelids and pretended to be totally oblivious. Turning her head, she looked over at Han Ruchu with an innocent expression on her face. “Aunt Xu, did I say something wrong? Why did you suddenly push me?”
In her entire life, Han Ruchu had never suffered such anger, for Qiao Anhao had turned her usual elegant and generous self into a joke.
Just then, the aggrieved look on Qiao Anhao’s face undoubtedly made Han Ruchu so incredibly agitated that her face turned red, and the words ruthlessly jumped out from her mouth. “You’re talking nonsense! When did I push you…”
It’s a shame that before Han Ruchu could finish lashing out, Xu Jiamu abruptly grabbed her wrist.
She was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked over at her own son. Her mouth gaped in panic, as though she had to explain something to him.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Before Han Ruchu could even make a sound, she was dragged out of the gala under everyone’s eyes.
When she and Xu Jiamu returned, the charity auction was just about to start.
The host stood on the stage, holding the mic, and gave an official introduction.
Qiao Anhao took her seat beside mother Qiao Anhao, while she saw Xu Jiamu and Han Ruchu sit down together. The mother and son duo looked like they had been in an argument, as the expressions on their faces looked awful.
Since the people were participating in this charity auction, they naturally looked like they were going to bid for a good cause.
In truth, it wasn’t that there were no good items in these charity galas, but people would go for the final item. Of course, only the noblest of families would bid for it.
The earlier items up for bid weren’t considered particularly expensive. They were mostly jewelry, gems, and decorative items.
The process of an auction was always the same. Qiao Anhao didn’t know just how many times she’d seen it. With her eyes shut, she knew what would happen next.
About over an hour later, it was time for the most important event of the charity gala. The audience, who was half asleep, finally livened up. Even the host went wild, raising his microphone and introducing he next item for bid with witty and charming words.
“Up next, we have a wardrobe named Miracle. Thirty carpenters spent six years to make this rare and valuable product. The starting bid is one billion, two thousand million RMB. Now, let us take a look at the wardrobe, Miracle…”
After the host’s words, the black curtains were unveiled to reveal a dark green wardrobe filled with embedded multicolored gems. Under the lights, the wardrobe was dazzling to the eye.
“It’s really miraculous, right? Now, let’s proceed with the item up for auction. Let’s start the bidding—”
Thirty seconds after the host said his final word someone made the first bid. “One billion, two thousand, three hundred million RMB.”
“One billion, two thousand eight hundred million RMB.”
“One billion, three thousand million RMB.
—
In the span of twenty minutes, this Miracle wardrobe rose to two billion RMB. As the guests continuously made bids, it didn’t look like they were planning on stopping any time soon. It was not until after the price shot up to three billion RMB that there were only two or three families left. The price then rose to two thousand million and there was only the Qiao family at the top.
“Three billion two thousand million, going once.”
“Three billion two thousand million, going twice.”
Just as the host was ready to cry ‘sold!’, Han Ruchu, who had remained silent, suddenly cried, “Three billion four thousand million.”
The entire audience roared.
Who present didn’t know that the Xu family was far from what it once was after the acquisition of the Xu Enterprise.
Han Ruchu calling out ‘Three billion four thousand million’, it suddenly attracted everyone’s attention.
Qiao Anhao had been waiting all night for this very moment.
This bid was actually something that had inadvertently come up in conversation with Qiao Anxia.
She told Qiao Anhao that since the Xu family was far from what it once was, the Qiao family had to help them this year to get the final part of the auction. It was all to tell everyone that though the biggest shareholder of Xu Enterprise was replaced, the Xu family still had money. They could still invest, and although it looked like a large sum of money was spent, the Xu family would still have gained a lot of benefits.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
The reason why it was the Qiao family and not the Xu family who made bids at first was because the Qiao family were flourishing for the past two years.
If the Qiao family appeared as though they were determined to win, then many people would give up their fight. On the other hand, since the Xu family asked for such a favor, they would save a large sum of money.
If Han Ruchu wanted Qiao family’s help even after the way she treated Qiao Anhao… Don’t count on it!
To make the Qiao family’s aid seem less conspicuous, Father Qiao deliberately made two counter bids after Han Ruchu’s bids.
“Three billion, six thousand million going once!” big numbers in Chinese aren’t the same as English. For example, 10,000 = 1 million (Written in Chinese characters but actually 10 thousand in English) and 1,000,000,000 = 10 billion (Written in Chinese characters but actually 1 billion in English). I didn’t convert the Chinese numeral system into English, considering it’s in Renminbi. I figured ah… foreign currency = foreign concept of numbers, so perhaps I should keep it’s cultural significance there. To my knowledge, no other culture counts numbers the way Chinese people do, so I thought that I should keep it true to the culture…
“Three billion, six thousand million going twice!”
“… and sold!! At three billion, six thousand million RMB!”
With a slam of his hammer, the host said, “Congratulations Mrs. Han Ruchu of Xu Enterprise for winning the final item up for bid this year.”
The audience erupted in applause when Han Ruchu stood up with a smile on her face and walked over to the stage.
Qiao Anhao pulled her phone out, wrote a simple text with the two English letters ‘ok’, and sent it to Zhao Meng.
The host first shook Han Ruchu’s hand, then handed her the microphone with which she calmly and generously gave a few simple words to the crowd. The presenter smiled, retrieved his microphone, and said, “Now let’s welcome our master of ceremonies with the contract up on stage for Mrs. Han Ruchu to sign in front of everyone. Then Miracle wardrobe will officially belong to her.”
After the presenter’s speech, music broke out.
The master of ceremonies, who was dressed in a pink qipao, carried a tray to the stage, where the presenter personally handed Han Ruchu the pen. As she was just about ready to sign, the music in the background suddenly stopped playing.
The host looked down backstage in confusion and held the microphone up. It looked as though he was asking “Why”, but since the microphone wires were cut off, the audience below couldn’t hear a word she said.
The entire hall erupted in whispers.
The host said something to the people backstage, then turned around to the audience and gave an apologetic bow. Han Ruchu stood with a straight posture when, suddenly, the words “Why did you do it? You…” filled the auction hall.
“Will you even be able to look at Jiamu, who once saved your life? In all these years, he has treated you so well, have you forgotten? Do you even have a heart!”
The first sentence was from a woman, and the second was a man’s.
Everyone thought that the voice sounded quite familiar, but they couldn’t quite make out who it was. With stunned expressions overtaking the people’s faces, the whispers eventually died down.
Even the host up on stage was a little astonished.
But because the voices mentioned the name “Jiamu”, one-by-one, everyone turned their heads towards Xu Jiamu.
He furrowed his brows in bewilderment, without a clue of what was going on.
But before everybody could snap back to their senses, the sound of the same man’s voice from earlier, drifted in. “Mrs. Han, was this all you wanted to say?”
Mrs. Han… Jiamu… At that instant, everyone’s gazes moved from Xu Jiamu to Han Ruchu.
So the woman’s voice belonged to her.
“I can tell Xu Jiamu everything I did with a clear conscience! What about you? Mrs. Han, could you do the same? As a mother, could you honestly say that you’ve done things with a clear conscience?” said the male voice. Although you could only hear the voice, the man sounded elegant, yet with a hidden forcefulness present as well.
Big numbers in Chinese aren’t the same as English. For example, 10,000 = 1 million (Written in Chinese characters but actually 10 thousand in English) and 1,000,000,000 = 10 billion (Written in Chinese characters but actually 1 billion in English).
I didn’t convert the Chinese numeral system into English, considering it’s in Renminbi. I figured ah… foreign currency = foreign concept of numbers, so perhaps I should keep it’s cultural significance there. To my knowledge, no other culture counts numbers the way Chinese people do, so I thought that I should keep it true to the culture… Hope this clears up any misunderstandings!
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Though everyone watched TV, most of the time, Lu Jinnian’s voice was dubbed, so very few people recognized that it was his voice.
Yet Xu Jiamu could still make out that it was him. The stunned expression on his face turned intense.
The recording being broadcasted seemed to have been meddled with for there was a long moment of rustling noises, followed by the clear words from the man’s voice, “You murderer!”
When Han Ruchu heard those words on stage, she finally remembered when the audio was recorded. Her complexion instantly turned paper-white, and her usually calm and graceful self, who was rather good at containing anger, came to reveal a look of shock and panic.
Qiao Anhao sat calm and composed in her seat with her lips curled into a neutral smirk. She was admiring Han Ruchu’s expression at that very moment.
The people below the stage had already lost the mood to pay attention to the auction long ago. Everything stopped there for a long while, before the sudden uproar of conversations born from those few words.
“Murderer? What is the meaning of this?”
“Who is a murderer? Did he mean Madam Xu?”
“Oh my god… what on earth happened?”
Soon after that though, the sound of Han Ruchu’s quiet, evidently lacking confidence voice rang through the hall. “What do you mean by that?”
The sound of the man’s voice followed closely behind her’s. “I wonder, if Jiamu knew that his own mother’s hands were so stained with blood they didn’t even show mercy to a two month old baby… Just with what kind of eyes do you think he would look at this kind of mother?”
“Ah…” The entire audience repeatedly cried in shock for as long as half a minute.
Even Qiao Anhao, who sat beside mother Qiao, let out a low gasp.
Then Han Ruchu’s voice was heard again. “So you knew.”
“What happened?”
“Those words are clear proof that Madam Xu admit to it.”
“She actually killed an unborn child?”
The sounds of astonished gasps turned to increasingly louder discussions.
Han Ruchu stood on stage with a face turned white from distress.
The host who stood next to her glared at Han Ruchu with a look filled with uncomprehending disbelief.
Xu Jiamu’s face looked calm, but his hands had already quietly balled into fists. Because of sheer force, the knuckles were protruding.
Everyone heard the sound of the man’s voice again. “Yes, of course I knew. Qiao Anhao’s miscarriage was all thanks to your sleeping pills in her swallow’s nest. Mrs. Han, you made such careful preparations, but what a shame, you slipped up and revealed a flaw in your plan.”
This time the entire hall was dead silent.
And it was a type of silence that lasted for a good long minute and caused the atmosphere to get out of control.
“Qiao Anhao? Isn’t that the Qiao family’s daughter?”
“Yeah… She was married to Xu Jiamu, then later got divorced. It seemed like it was an amicable divorce, which didn’t affect their two family’s relationship.”
“Isn’t this far too shocking? Qiao Anhao married Xu Jiamu, was pregnant with his child, and then Han Ruchu aborted the baby?”
“What the hell? That is one heartless bitch. She even laid hands on her own flesh and blood?”
Mother Qiao, who sat by Qiao Anhao’s side, was speechless when she heard the news. After a while, she turned her head in shock.
