"Anything else?" Qin Guan inhaled deeply, swallowing his erupting fury as he stared coldly at Qi Min. "Xu Ruyi told you about my childhood. What else?"
"That's all!" Qi Min shook her head. "I kept waiting for her to scold me, but she never did. It was so strange—why would she come just to chat? She must have known about us."
"Even if she knows, it doesn't matter. My job's unimportant, my reputation worthless." She rose, gazing at Qin Guan with feigned devotion. When he remained stone-faced, she tentatively stepped closer, reaching to embrace him with a pout. "But you're different. So... for your sake, I confessed to her."
Her voice quivered. "I said, 'I'm sorry. It's my fault. I couldn't resist loving you. I seduced him. I ruined your family...'"
Touching her cheek, she continued, "She didn't speak. Just stood up and slapped me before leaving." The physical sting had faded, but the shame of being "the other woman" lingered in her bones. She'd endured it silently then, and refrained from badmouthing Xu Ruyi now—all to preserve her chances with Qin Guan.
She'd gambled that this "noble sacrifice" would move him. A mistress willing to fall on her sword for his reputation surely deserved hefty compensation.
But Qin Guan seized her arm again. "That's it? Finished fabricating?"
"Let me tell you what really happened!" He twisted her wrist, ignoring her yelp of pain. "First you set that lakeside villa trap during our 'business trip'—almost fooled me, but it failed. No three million for you. So you cooked up Plan B: hiding from Li Yang, playing dumb with the police, all to target Xu Ruyi!"
Spittle flew as he roared, "You called her over! You and your mother beat her bloody!"
"Bloody? Who's bloody?!" Qi Min struggled against his grip. "If I'd beaten her, there'd be blood on me! Check my clothes!"
"Check your clothes?" He barked a laugh. "You think I'd trust such an obvious setup? Should I believe Xu Ruyi broke her own nose? Shattered her own face?!"
Only then did Qi Min grasp the truth. Qin Guan hadn't believed a single word.
"She... she was really attacked?" Her voice shook. "You think I did it? But why would I?!" Backed against the wall, her mind raced uselessly. "Killing her won't make you marry me!"
She immediately spat, "No! I don't want her dead! I had no reason—"
"Lying to me—is this fun?" Qin Guan's control snapped. He slammed her against the wall, their once-passionate gesture now冰冷. "You said she talked about my childhood? Let me educate your pathetic script!"
Pinning her wrists, he hissed like shards of ice: "My father was a drunk who beat my mother into dementia. They never cared about my grades—they didn't let me study! Made me work for liquor money!"
His laugh turned grotesque. "I'm the son of a madwoman and a brute. No winter coats—just rags tied with wire. Kids laughed as wind cut through. Starving, I chewed cotton. Try swallowing that! Stole sweet potatoes, broke playmates' legs..."
"Why... why tell me this?!" Qi Min paled, trembling.