Chapter 108: The Scheme - Extra for the Diamond Edition

Xia Qi weakly let go of my hand. Seeing her tear-streaked face, I was terrified and immediately embraced her. "Xia Qi, Xia Qi, listen to me. It’s really not what you think."

Suddenly, she pushed me away and turned to enter the room.

I couldn’t calm down and followed her inside, only to be stunned by the scene before me.

On the hotel’s round, pink bed, Li Wanqiu sat there barely covered by a thin layer of clothing, while Jiang Chenghuan and Wen Yuan were fighting on the floor.

Xia Qi took a couple of steps back, collapsing against me. I hurriedly supported her, my mind in utter confusion.

Where was Wang Keying? Where was she?

Xia Qi trembled violently, then let out a scream and rushed forward, grabbing Li Wanqiu by the hair and pulling her to the floor.

“Bitch, bitch! I’ll beat you to death, I swear I will!”

Li Wanqiu neither fought back nor cried; she just sat there with disheveled hair, enduring Xia Qi’s blows and insults.

At last, I understood what had happened. Without a second thought, I rushed forward, grabbed Xia Qi, and pleaded tearfully for her to stop.

Then Li Wanqiu spoke: “Lanshan, this isn’t your concern. Step aside.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Qi’s fury boiled over. She kicked Li Wanqiu’s stomach, still not feeling satisfied. She dragged her up and slapped her fiercely across the face.

Meanwhile, Wen Yuan, bloodied from fighting Jiang Chenghuan, saw Li Wanqiu being struck and immediately attacked Xia Qi.

Xia Qi’s full attention was on Li Wanqiu, leaving her completely unguarded against Wen Yuan’s strikes, and she took two hits to the face.

Wen Yuan helped Li Wanqiu to her feet, took off his jacket, and draped it over her. He raised his hand to fix her hair, but just as he was about to touch it, his hand drooped helplessly.

Jiang Chenghuan, panting heavily, saw Xia Qi being hit and rushed over as well.

He grabbed Xia Qi, shielding her behind himself, and pointed at Wen Yuan. “Try touching her again, see what happens.”

Xia Qi didn’t appreciate the gesture. She pushed Jiang Chenghuan away, her fingers and voice trembling with anger and shock. “Jiang Chenghuan, don’t touch me. I find you disgusting.”

Li Wanqiu, who had taken blows and insults without retaliating, couldn’t stand it any longer. She pointed at Xia Qi. “Who do you think is disgusting?”

Xia Qi shot back, “I find him filthy! Sleeping with you, how could he not be?”

Suddenly, Li Wanqiu lunged forward, slapping Xia Qi hard, then grabbing her hair. “How dare you say he’s filthy? Who do you think you are?”

The two women tangled again, with Wen Yuan focused on helping Li Wanqiu and Jiang Chenghuan determined to protect Xia Qi.

In the end, Jiang Chenghuan pulled Li Wanqiu back, Wen Yuan held onto Xia Qi, while the two women continued hurling insults.

This abrupt, tangled love quadrangle—along with Wang Keying, whose role remained unclear—made me feel utterly hopeless. I could only do my best to stabilize the chaotic scene. “Let’s calm down and talk this through properly, okay?”

Xia Qi shook off Wen Yuan’s grasp and pointed at Li Wanqiu, demanding, “Lanshan, you choose: her or me?”

I never expected the question to come back to me. For a moment, I was speechless. Since middle school, the three of us had ruled the world together. As my father once said, we were like a nest of snakes and wolves with wild ambitions. I never imagined we would one day face such a painful choice.

Seeing me silent, Xia Qi sneered and backed toward the door. “Fine, fine. I wish you all a friendship that lasts forever.”

She turned and ran. I instinctively gave chase, but by the time I reached the elevator, I only caught a glimpse of her face disappearing.

It was as if all my strength had been drained. I collapsed to the floor, powerless, until someone crouched in front of me.

I looked up to see Li Wanqiu, her face bloodied, smiling. “Satisfied now?”

I slapped her suddenly. “Li Wanqiu, how can you be so shameless? Stealing your best friend’s man—is that even human?”

She looked at me and smiled. “Lanshan, haven’t you already made your choice? In your heart, Xia Qi will always be more important than me.”

I sobbed uncontrollably, grabbing her collar. I wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, I pushed her to the ground.

Xia Qi’s phone was off. Afraid something had happened to her, I rushed downstairs as fast as I could, only to see her get into a taxi.

A car stopped in front of me. Shu Congxuan rolled down the window. “Get in.”

Without hesitation, I climbed in and shouted for him to chase.

Shu Congxuan’s car was fast. I kept calling Xia Qi’s phone, but there was no response. Suddenly, Shu Congxuan spoke. “Stop calling. Xia Qi has been stalking for a week, waiting for this moment.”

We fell silent. When I finally snapped out of my chaotic thoughts, I realized we were already on the highway to Kang City, tailing the taxi tightly.

I reviewed everything from start to finish but still had no clue.

When did Jiang Chenghuan start seeing Li Wanqiu? How did Xia Qi and Wen Yuan know they were checking into a hotel? And what was Wang Keying’s role?

Frustrated, I stared at a point ahead and asked Shu Congxuan, “When do you think Li Wanqiu and Jiang Chenghuan got involved?”

He paused. “Not sure. Maybe recently, maybe earlier.”

I laughed bitterly. “How is it that human relationships are so fragile?”

He glanced at me. “What, no faith in the future between you and Luo Ange?”

I didn’t know how to answer. Even I had no answers.

Shu Congxuan sighed. “Lanshan, remember what I said that day? Someone like Luo Ange has no heart. Sooner or later, he’ll consume you down to the bone.”

Just then, my phone rang. Seeing the flashing name made my scalp tingle, but I knew not answering would only make things worse. So I picked up.

Luo Ange’s voice was weary. “Is it done?”

I forced myself to tell him I was on the highway to Kang City. He was silent for several seconds. “With whom? Shu Congxuan?”

I instinctively asked, “How do you know?”

He suddenly chuckled. “Lanshan, was this all planned by you? You’ve been plotting this day for a while, haven’t you?”

I knew it would be like this—this man.

I patiently explained what had happened, and he sneered. “No wonder you kept borrowing Fourth Sister’s phone. You and Shu Congxuan must have conspired long ago, just waiting for tonight’s drama to play out so you could finally leave me. Lanshan, if you want to leave, just say it. Why make it so complicated?”

For some reason, hearing that hurt me. I didn’t want this kind of conversation between us. I didn’t want him to speak so coldly. I wanted him to believe me.

“Luo Ange, you’re not me. How do you know I want to leave? Do we have no trust left? Was all the kindness you showed me just a lie?”

His voice turned cold. “Whether my kindness was genuine, Lanshan, do you even have a heart?”

I knew I had said the wrong thing. Despite everything we’d been through, we were at the most fragile point in our relationship, like a vase already cracked—one careless touch and it would shatter.

No matter how hard I tried, the cracks remained.

I took a deep breath. “Luo Ange, please don’t talk to me like this. I’m scared.”

Maybe my concession eased him. He asked, “Is it only you and Shu Congxuan?”

I told him the situation. He suddenly asked, “Are you stupid? Shu Congxuan is always calm and composed. Would he go crazy enough to follow you and your wild friends all the way to Jingnan to catch a cheating scandal?”

Suddenly, I realized something. “Right, how do you know I’m with him?”

He asked back, “What do you think?”

I couldn’t help but tease him, “Tell me, please? I want to know, okay?”

He didn’t answer but said, “When you get back to Kang City, stay put in the courtyard. If I don’t see you when I return, you know the consequences.”

The call ended, but I was still pondering that question. Shu Congxuan saw me about to get tangled in my thoughts again and asked, “You’ve been in Jingnan for days. Do you know the Yuan family there?”

I shook my head. With Luo Ange restricting my freedom every day, I barely remembered what my own parents looked like, let alone the Yuan family in Jingnan.

“Why?”

He paused, then shook his head. “Nothing, just suddenly thought to ask.”

I had a feeling Shu Congxuan’s visit to Jingnan wasn’t so simple. I sensed he was hiding something from me, at least from me. But before I could ask, I saw Xia Qi’s taxi take an exit off the highway.

Shu Congxuan hurried after it, but strangely, the taxi that we had been tailing closely disappeared without a trace.

We circled back and forth many times but found no sign of it. With no other options, we had to return to Kang City.

By the time we arrived, it was past eleven. We went straight to the Xia family home. The door was open. I stepped inside but found no one.

I went straight to the third floor, pushed open Xia Qi’s bedroom door, and saw her unharmed, standing on the balcony. Only then did my heart finally settle.

I walked over. She didn’t look at me but asked, “Am I really that foolish?”

I shook my head. “Xia Qi, I really didn’t expect this. When Li Wanqiu told me, I thought…”

I broke down, unable to continue. I honestly thought Wang Keying was Jiang Chenghuan’s mistress.

Xia Qi smiled faintly. “It’s okay. How could this be your fault? You should leave. I want to be alone.”

I feared she might lose hope. Proud people are the most vulnerable.

She saw through my worry. “You should go, Lanshan. Jiang Chenghuan isn’t yet worth me killing myself over.”

I knew she was pretending to be strong. I refused to leave, and finally, she lost her temper, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me out of her room.

I held her wrist tightly, begging to stay, even if just to keep her company, pleading not to be sent away.

Xia Qi was calm. “He’s like the frostbite on my hand. It’ll heal after winter.”

She looked at Shu Congxuan. “Shu Congxuan, take her away. Don’t bother me anymore.”

On the way back to the courtyard, I finally realized how irreparably serious the situation had become. A sudden, inexplicable sorrow washed over me—like the death of a rabbit mourning the fox’s fate. It felt like an invisible cage trapped me, suffocating me.

I curled up in a corner, gazing at the dazzling nightlife of Kang City, inexplicably nostalgic for the flame trees of Jingnan and everything in Luo Ange’s villa.

Seeing my mood, Shu Congxuan said, “While you were missing, your family has been looking for you, especially your grandfather. When you have time, contact them to ease their worries.”

I nodded but said nothing.

Before we reached the courtyard, I spotted the familiar SUV—and, of course, the man standing beside it, and Ah Jiu at his feet.