Chapter 412: Goodbye My Youth, Goodbye My Love (22)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

When Lu Jinnian drove up to the intersection ahead, he suddenly felt flustered. He didn't know where he should go.

He was now on his own again.

His father didn't want him, his mother had passed away, and the woman he loved just left him. He was back to the old days. Living alone.

It had been a long time since he felt lonely. In that instant, he was buried underneath it.

Lu Jinnian aimlessly drove for who knows how long, but in the end, he drove back to Mian Xiu Garden.

Rays of sunlight bathed the white mansion with the red roof, making it look particularly beautiful. He stopped the car and walked into the house. He looked around the entire mansion. It was no different from usual, but it felt notably empty.

The dining room’s door was wide open. He saw that the breakfast Qiao Anhao had made was still on the table; it hadn't been tidied away. He could almost envision the two of them there, eating breakfast.

The bottom of Lu Jinnian's eyes flared up, and he hurriedly went upstairs. He pushed open the bedroom door and saw her dressing table. It was usually full of make-up products, but now completely empty. The pain in his heart grew even more.

He staggered over to the bathroom, where her face cleanser, shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner were all gone. She even cleared out her toothbrush, cup, and toothpaste. Also, the cabinets in the changing room were half empty. All that was left were neat rows upon rows of men's clothing.

She left, just like that... as though she had never even existed in his world... as though those eight months were all a dream... The reality of waking up was far too cruel.

Lu Jinnian felt that his breathing was unstable. He quickly left the bedroom in a panic and flew down the stairs, and out of the mansion. He got in the car and felt that his heart was slightly more comfortable.

They had just split up thirty seven minutes and forty eight seconds ago, and he already missed her inextricably.

He couldn't stay here. If he did, it would only cement his longing for her.

Lu Jinnian fumbled as he started up the car and left. He drove carelessly for a long time, until the night was approaching. He stopped then at a flower shop, got out, and bought a bunch of chrysanthemums. Then he got back into the car and drove out of the city.

About two hours later, he drove to a cemetery. He drove along the winding road and half-way up the mountain, then stopped, got out, and walked to a lonely gravestone. He placed the chrysanthemums in front of it and knelt down. Looking at the black and white photo, after some time, he said, "Ma... I'm here to visit you."

The howling of wind halfway up the mountain responded. Lu Jinnian raised his hand and gently rubbed the black and white photo. He spoke again in a low voice. "Ma... Do you know... I really do love that woman... I've mentioned her to you before. She's called Qiao Anhao... 'Qiao' as in an arbor tree, and 'Anhao' as in to be at peace. What a nice name, right?

"She has a beautiful smile. You don't even know... Besides you, she's the only woman in the world that has wished me a happy birthday... But, Ma... She's Jiamu's fiance... You'd definitely tell me to not do anything to let Jiamu down, right?

"So, Ma... right now, I'm on my own again."

As Lu Jinnian said this, he suddenly covered his face with his hand, and quietly knelt there in front of the gravestone. His shoulders started to tremble ever so slightly.

After two hundred and fifty-one days of being reunited, they had to split up again. The anguish was far more intense than imagined.

Chapter 413: Silent Companionship (1)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

As Lu Jinnian said this, he suddenly covered his face with his hand, and quietly knelt there in front of the gravestone. His shoulders started to tremble ever so slightly.

After two hundred and fifty-one days of being reunited, they had to split up again. The anguish was far more intense than imagined.

Every moment of these two hundred and fifty-one days gradually replayed in his mind in slow motion, one frame at a time.

They were cold as strangers when they were pretending to be husband and wife. To draw himself closer to her, he removed all but one beds in the mansion. Finally, he got what he wished for. With her lying beside him in bed, it actually felt like torture. Night after night, he was unable to sleep.

He still clearly remembered the first night. Whilst she was asleep, she unknowingly stuck to his arm. It was like a bolt of lightning had shocked his entire body, and he pushed her off the bed...

In his mansion in Mount Yi, she looked after him when he was sick... Shooting scenes with her on "Alluring Times", singing that song "There was You in My Youth" with her at the Royal Palace, going to watch a movie together, the streets they've walked together, the restaurants they'd eaten in, the words they said...

And the secrets that she didn't know. The "paper, scissors, rock" confession for her, the gift brand "Shmily" that he personally created for her, the note hidden in the porcelain doll he gave her, the song "What a Pity" he sang for her...

The memories that accompanied him... They were like a hand that ruthlessly grasped tightly onto his heart. The pain made his entire body shiver, causing uncontrollable tears to fall through the crack between his fingers. Tear-by-tear, they crashed onto the gravestone in front of him.

Lu Jinnian stayed by the grave for most of the night. Besides his eyes that were slightly red, his expression looked as calm and cold as usual. He sat in the car for quite some time after, then casually turned some the music in the car. A mellow song came on.

"Miss you, not only because of loneliness. In the end, I didn't lie to you, there's really love.

"I dare make the whole world my enemy. For you, I have suffered the utmost. These sufferings, I would even accept...."

Lu Jinnian's throat rumbled up and down a few times. He slowly stepped on the accelerator, as he turned the steering wheel down the mountain.

"What a pity, to have lost you in the end. Sorry, I tried my best.

"I never gave up, I just stopped seeing you. I thought this would mean I won't be hurt..."

In the dead of the night, there wasn't a single person on the suburban streets, just Lu Jinnian's speeding car.

"What a pity, we can't go back. The sad tears grow more intense.

"I have always gracefully declined other people's love, all because of your uncertainty..."

He stared straight at the road ahead, tears flowing down his face once again. His lips moved, but no sound came out. He slowly mouthed the lyrics along to the music,

"I have always gracefully declined other people's love, all because of your uncertainty.

"Actually, in my heart, I want to beg you not to leave..."

-

The day after Qiao Anhao left Mian Xiu Garden and flew to Milan with Zhao Meng, she shot the cosmetics commercial that Lu Jinnian had previously helped her get.

The commercial was just over ten seconds long, but the shoot was quite demanding. It needed to be shot in five locations; Milan, Paris, Rome, Athens, and the Vatican city.

Qiao Anhao stayed in Europe for almost half a month until she finished the shoot. Her ticket was booked for a next day return from Paris to Beijing.

Chapter 414: Silent Companionship (2)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Paris is a shopping haven. Since the first day Zhao Meng landed in Paris, she had been crying about going shopping. However, because work was so hectic, Qiao Anhao had to wait for their schedule to free up to be able to go shopping. That happened to be the day before they had to fly back to Beijing.

Zhao Meng drafted a shopping list before they went out As they walked out the door, Qiao Anhao looked at Zhao Meng's very long list of items and complained that she was impulsive when she had money. In the end, whilst shopping, Qiao Anhao, who hadn't originally planned on buying anything, actually went crazy with shopping, and bought more than Zhao Meng.

Eventually, when she bought more than she could carry, she got Zhao Meng to help her carry her bags. Zhao Meng looked at the big and small bags they were carrying, and noticed that eighty percent of those bags were Qiao Anhao's. She couldn't help but use her friend’s earlier complaints back at her. "Qiao Qiao, you had the decency to say that I'm impulsive when I have money. I see now that that's you!"

Zhao Meng then shook her head and said with an envious tone, "But there's no helping it. Who said you had to have a rich husband like Mr. Lu!"

Qiao Anhao, who was at the Chanel counter choosing necklaces, heard Zhao Meng's words, and the necklace dropped straight onto the counter from her trembling hands. She apologized frantically to the sales staff with an unnatural expression on her face. Then she pointed at the two necklaces she had her eye on for the sales staff to wrap up.

The last stop for Zhao Meng and Qiao Anhao was Hermes. Way before Zhao Meng arrived, she had already chosen a men's wallet for her boyfriend on the internet. When she asked the sales staff to help her wrap it up, she casually asked Qiao Anhao, "Qiao Qiao, do you want to choose a present for Mr. Lu?"

Qiao Anhao, who stood aside, paused for a very long time, then shook her head. It was difficult for anyone to read what she was thinking. She lowered her eyes and didn't make a sound.

When the two of then emerged out of Hermes, they had already used up all their energy, so they found a cafe to rest.

Zhao Meng got her phone out and took two photos of her conquests from the afternoon. She posted them up on the Moments, then looked at Qiao Anhao, who was looking out the window in a daze. She brought her phone up and took a photo, then casually handed it to Qiao Anhao, saying, "Look! Qiao Qiao, I took a good photo of you, right? You can post it up on Weibo."

After a pause, Zhao Meng added, "Qiao Qiao, as your agent, I feel like I’m obligated to remind you that you haven't updated your Weibo in a long time."

Qiao Anhao looked away but took her phone. She looked at the photo Zhao Meng had taken. It looked fine, so she uploaded it onto Weibo with the caption: France, Paris, Finish.

After she posted it on Weibo, out of habit, Qiao Anhao wrote in the two words, "Lu Jinnian". Just as she was about to click search, her finger slightly curved, and in the end, she exited Weibo.

Qiao Anhao stared at her phone for a long time, then opened her photo album. She clicked onto the photo she had secretly taken when Lu Jinnian was sleeping.

As she was busy with work for half a month, and she'd been avoiding some people who she didn't want to be in touch with, it made her feel like everything was normal. However, suddenly hearing his name from Zhao Meng's mouth on her day of relaxation, it made her realize that the feeling of missing someone was deep-rooted in her blood and bones.

Chapter 415: Silent Companionship (3)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Zhao Meng called Qiao Anhao's name a few times but didn't get a response. Her friend had her head raised, staring deeply at her phone. Wanting to pull a prank, Zhao Meng quietly got up and walked in front of Qiao Anhao, looking at her phone screen.

She whispered gently into her ear, "Qiao Qiao, what are you looking at that's got you so hooked?"

Qiao Anhao shivered in shock, then quickly reacted by flipping her phone over and putting it onto the table.

It was a shame though, Qiao Anhao had fast reactions, but Zhao Meng had already seen everything on her phone screen. She looked over at Qiao Anhao with a lovey-dovey expression. "Tut tut tut". She asked mysteriously, "What? Qiao Qiao, did you fall for Mr. Lu? Are you eager to go home now? Do you really want to go see him?"

Qiao Anhao lowered her eyes, not saying a word.

Zhao Meng couldn't see that anything was out of the ordinary, so she continued to say, "Tomorrow we can go back to Beijing. We'll reach Beijing International Airport by the following day, at seven in the morning. If you really miss him like crazy, we could first go to Huan Ying Entertainment..."

"Zhao Meng," Qiao Anhao suddenly interrupted her friend’s words.

Zhao Meng paused, but she still wore a mischievous smile on her face as she stared at Qiao Anhao. Qiao Anhao pursed her lips, tightly gripping her phone. Then she lifted her eyes, looked over, and said in a serious voice, "Zhao Meng, I broke up with Lu Jinnian."

Zhao Meng's eyes shot open. She stared at Qiao Anhao with a look of disbelief.

Qiao Anhao curved her lips into a smile. "Sorry for not telling you for so many days..."

It had already been half a month since they weren't husband and wife. Remembering it again, Qiao Anhao's eyes still flared up. She turned her head and stared out of the window at the local scenery of the foreign country, then slowly added, "… Lu Jinnian and I are no longer husband and wife."

Zhao Meng was completely stunned for five minutes, before she murmured, "Wasn't everything just fine before? Why so sudden?"

Qiao Anhao didn't make a sound, but tears began to roll down from the corners of her eyes.

That's right, everything was fine before. She even fantasized that after Xu Jiamu woke up, they would still be friends, and they would still have a future. However, all of a sudden, everything changed. She could no longer be with him, nor would she ever have any fantasies about him, or see him ever again.

He was just a higher up of a filming company that she was signed up with. He was just the man of her youth she loved for thirteen years, who wore a white shirt and stood under a roof with a callous expression when they avoided the rain together. From now on, he would be deep in her heart, in a dream that would never be touched.

-

Lu Jinnian sat at the window seat on the fifth floor cafe of the Four seasons hotel. Beside him, his assistant kicked his leg under the table for the eighth time. Then, with an apologetic expression, he smiled at the two people sitting opposite them and said, "Sorry, just a moment."

It seemed like the two of them wouldn't sit still for any longer, but they remained calm, forcing a smile back at him.

Then, the entire table fell silent again for a long time. As time slowly went by, Lu Jinnian's assistant was a little uncomfortable in his seat, and became a little anxious.

A proposal was put in front of Lu Jinnian. They wasted two whole hours of the partners’ time. Even with the reminder, Lu Jinnian still had no reaction, just staring blankly at the contract.

Chapter 416: Silent Companionship (4)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

After half an hour passed, the assistant kicked Lu Jinnian again. The man still stared unwavering at the contract without any reaction at all, treating everything around him like air.

The two partners before him had clearly grown restless.

Seeing as Lu Jinnian hadn't said a word, the assistant coughed heavily. In the end, all he could do was smile at the two partners. "I'm so sorry. How about this... We'll take this proposal back with us to have a good look. When we reach a decision, I'll contact you both. What do you think?"

The two of them looked at each other, and one of them nodded their head, saying "All right."

The assistant then hurriedly got up, politely seeing both of the partners out. When he came back, Lu Jinnian eyes had already pulled away from the proposal and he looked out the window with an intense expression.

In the past half a month, this was the fifth time he met partners to discuss a possible cooperation. In the end, after they met, Mr. Lu would keep his silence. No matter what the other person said, or how someone prompted him, he didn't react at all.

To be more exact, ever since Qiao Anhao and Mr. Lu had broken all ties, Mr. Lu had become silent. Before, Mr. Lu didn't speak much either, but now it was so to a frightening degree. Often during business meetings, he wouldn't utter a word throughout. When he did speak, it would be two simple words, "Let's begin", or "Meeting adjourned".

Mr. Lu had always been antisocial, but now, he was even more antisocial than before. Sometimes, he would attend mandatory events, but whenever he went, he would always find a quiet corner alone.

Qiao Anhao's split with him seemed like it had little effect on him. His temper was normal, emotions were normal, but, he was very clearly even more distant and difficult to get close to.

Quite a few people at the company also noticed him acting strange. Some said that Mr. Lu had become even colder, others said that Mr. Lu was even more condescending, but only he knew that he'd lost someone who he could talk to, so he didn't want to talk at all.

The assistant shook his head, walked forward, and looked at the same page and words in the proposal that had left Lu Jinnian in a trance. In the end, his eyes landed on the word "Hao". If that was the case... It was something that appeared often, a most ordinary word, and yet, because the word was in that woman's name, every time he saw it, he would end up like that...

The assistant gently sighed in relief, put the proposal away, and then said in low voice, "Mr. Lu, it's getting late, shall we leave?"

Lu Jinnian stayed quiet for some time, but in the end, he nodded without a word. He then stood up, and the assistant hurriedly called the service staff for the bill. He followed Lu Jinnian out.

After he got in the car, Lu Jinnian still didn't say a word. He sat there in the back on his own and pulled out his phone. Who knew what he saw, but he stared dazed for a long time. He abruptly raised his head and said in a cold, flat voice, "To Mian Xiu Garden."

After Qiao Anhao moved out of Mian Xiu Garden, Lu Jinnian had never went back to there Madam Chen was originally hired for Qiao Anhao. Now, she had already been given a big sum of money to leave.

The assistant was in a daze for a moment. He didn't say a word, but followed Lu Jinnian's orders and changed the route in the navigation.

Chapter 417: Silent Companionship (5)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian leaned back into his car seat with his eyes shut. His phone screen lit up with the post Qiao Anhao has just uploaded on Weibo.

He didn't ask his assistant to drive in, but to stop at the entrance of Mian Xiu Garden's neighborhood. He got out of the car, alone, and walked in.

The gates of the mansion were locked. He searched his pocket for ages before he pulled out a set of keys. They were the keys Qiao Anhao had left him in the car on the day she left. He still clearly remembered when he gave her the keys, when they weren't that close. He had tried hard to appear distant, afraid that he would reveal the excitement he felt inside.

He unlocked it and pushed open the steel doors, stepping in. Without Madam Chen, the courtyard hadn't been swept for half a month already. The day Qiao Anhao left, the entire courtyard was filled with blooming flowers, but now, they were all withered on the floor.

Lu Jinnian stood on the fallen flowers at the entrance of the mansion. He entered the passcode, pushed the door open, and walked in.

The mansion was empty inside, just like his heart. He walked up the stairs, towards the bedroom. It was the same as the day Qiao Anhao left. The windows were shut. A few days ago, there was a storm, which left strokes of mud marks from the rain.

The silent room stifled Lu Jinnian's heart. He looked at the bag on the floor of the changing room, and thought of what Qiao Anhao had said to him before she left: Inside, there were clothes that she didn't want.

Lu Jinnian paused for a moment, then walked over. He opened the bag and pulled out each item of clothing. He took the coat hangers from his clothes and hung her's up.

In the bag, there were also Qiao Anhao's cleaning products. He put them under the shower and washed them. Then, he placed them back in their original places.

Once he had tidied up everything, Lu Jinnian's heart felt the slightest bit better. By putting the things she didn't want back in their places, it felt like she was still living with him in the mansion.

-

After Xu Jiamu was discharged, he was stuck in the Xu family estate for the entire half a month without going outside. He wasn't even allowed to take a walk in the courtyard, as the housekeeper or Han Ruchu would make a huge fuss and order the servants to follow behind him, afraid he would get into an accident.

Though he was clearly living an enviable life of luxury, Xu Jiamu felt like it was a prison. He felt incredibly oppressed. One day, he finally snapped and sneaked out of the house when Han Ruchu was at the company and the housekeeper was cooking.

Before sneaking out the front door, Xu Jiamu had called for a taxi in advance. Once he got in the car, he tried to call his close friends to come out with him.

As Xu Jiamu couldn't drink, he thought about it again. In the end, he decided to hold the party at Mian Xiu Garden, where he promised everyone to cook a lavish dinner.

Before he went to Mian Xiu Garden, Xu Jiamu personally took a trip to the supermarket and bought a bunch of ingredients. He casually left the address and sent the food off for delivery.

The Xu family would send someone over to Mian Xiu Garden to clean the mansion. Within two minutes of Xu Jiamu's arrival, Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang had already come over. Xu Jiamu called them over to sit anywhere. Before he could even pour them two cups of water, the doorbell rang. It was the supermarket food delivery.

Xu Jiamu pointed at the water dispenser as a signal for Qiao Anxia to help herself. He then pulled the door open, standing there to check his order with the delivery men. That was when he saw Lu Jinnian standing on the balcony of the mansion next door.

Chapter 418: Silent Companionship (6)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Xu Jiamu paused for a moment and turned his head towards the delivery man to continue listening to him rattle on. "A pound of celery, a bag of star anise, soy sauce, vinegar, a bag of salt, two pounds of chili...

"Sir, this is everything you've ordered," the delivery man said as he handed Xu Jiamu the list. "Could you please sign here?"

Xu Jiamu took the pen and signed. After the delivery man left, he stood at the door for half a minute before ignoring the boxes next to him and striding over to the mansion next door.

He pressed the doorbell with the other hand in his pocket. After waiting for a while, the door opened, and Xu Jiamu smiled, calling out, "Bro."

When Lu Jinnian heard the doorbell, he wondered who it could be. As he opened the door, he saw Xu Jiamu's beaming smile. He slightly paused, then gently nodded at him.

Xu Jiamu was long used to Lu Jinnian's personality, and so didn't mind it. He continued to smile and said, "Bro, I invited Anxia and them to dinner tonight. Do you want to join?"

Lu Jinnian looked over at Xu Jiamu's mansion and thought back to Qiao Anhao, who he’d seen dragging her suitcase into the house next door when he drew the curtains in the morning. After a while, his lips squirmed, and he replied with only one word, "All right."

-

Even though Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu said they would divorce, for now, they were still married in name. After moving out of Lu Jinnian's mansion, she definitely couldn't live back with the Qiao family, nor was she willing to move into the Xu family’s estate because she would then have to share a room with Xu Jiamu. Once she thought about it for a while, she decided to move back into Mian Xiu Garden. However, this time, not in Lu Jinnian's mansion, but Xu Jiamu's mansion.

But because she was in a hurry to film the commercial abroad, she had only put her suitcase in Xu Jiamu's mansion. Then she hastily rushed off to catch her trip.

The flight from Paris to Beijing completely exhausted her out, so when she reached Beijing this morning, she went straight to Mian Xiu Garden to catch up on some sleep.

When she woke up that afternoon, she heard the faint sounds of talking coming from downstairs. At first, she thought it was a dream. She turned around, shut her eyes, and continued to sleep, then she realized that the rowdiness became clearer. So she climbed out of bed and ran out of the room and down the stairs in her pajamas, where she saw several people in the living room chatting and laughing away.

Qiao Anhao was a little dizzy from the rowdy scene before her. Before she snapped back to reality, she heard Qiao Anxia make a fuss about nothing. "Qiao Qiao, did you just wake up?"

Qiao Anhao furrowed her brows. "Sis, how come you're all here?"

"Jiamu said he'd cook everyone dinner." Qiao Anxia pointed at the entrance, where Qiao Anhao then saw Xu Jiamu crouched down next to a cardboard, arranging all types of vegetables and fruits.

Xu Jiamu had a box of tomatoes in his hand. He turned his head and glanced at Qiao Anhao. "Qiao Qiao, you're back from France? How was the commercial?"

"Great..." As Qiao Anhao said that, the doorbell rang. Xu Jiamu, who was just about to stand up to open the door, was beaten to the punch by Qiao Anhao, who walked over. "Let me."

She didn't look through the peep hole to see who it was and pulled the door open. When she raised her head, she saw Lu Jinnian's breathtakingly handsome face.

Chapter 419: Silent Companionship (7)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao was abruptly stunned on the spot.

When Lu Jinnian saw who opened the door, his pupils clearly widened. As he finally went back to normal, he stared straight at Qiao Anhao. However, it was like his stare had frozen over, giving off a cold feel.

It had only been half a month without seeing each other, but Qiao Anhao felt like it had been as long as a century. His complexion was still outstanding, but his expression looked even colder than before. Between his brows, the heartlessness and remoteness was as thick as the fog.

"Bro, you're here?"

Xu Jiamu's words suddenly woke Qiao Anhao up, and she realized that Lu Jinnian was staring at her chest. She was wearing a strappy nightdress, which completely revealed her delicate collar bone.

Her face grew hot. She lowered her head and quickly opened the door. Then she said to Xu Jiamu in a low voice, "You take care of them, I'll go up and change."

As she said this, Qiao Anhao turned, and ran all the way up the stairs.

Lu Jinnian stood at the entrance, without moving an inch until Qiao Anhao disappeared around the corner of the stairs. Then he swept his eyes over to Xu Jiamu's cardboard boxes. Besides vegetables, fruit, and other ingredients, there were a few boxes of condoms. In that instant, it was like his whole body was struck by an electric shock, and his body shook.

"Bro, why are you just standing there? Come and sit!" After seeing Lu Jinnian standing at the door for so long, Xu Jiamu couldn't help but remind him.

It was like Lu Jinnian didn't hear Xu Jiamu's words, as he stared transfixed at the small colorful square boxes.

Xu Jiamu furrowed his brows and called out, "Bro?"

Lu Jinnian snapped back to reality in a blink. His hands silently balled up into fists. Practically using all the power in his body, he forced himself to calmly stride over to Xu Jiamu's side. As he walked over to the living room full of familiar faces, he responded to their greetings with an absent-minded nod. Then he found a armchair and sat down.

People in the room were happily chatting away and laughing, but Lu Jinnian sat aside and never said a word. His eyes stared outside the window, as though he was in a daze, until Qiao Anhao came back down after getting changed. His pupils then hovered over her body.

With Lu Jinnian in the living room, Qiao Anhao felt a little uncomfortable. She chit-chatted a little with Qiao Anxia and the others, then went into the kitchen to see if she could help Xu Jiamu.

She came out twice, once carrying a pot of tea, and once carrying a plate of fruit.

She even poured everyone a cup of tea. As she handed Lu Jinnian a cup, he spoke his first words since entering the house, "Thank you."

Qiao Anhao lowered her eyes, and didn't even look at him. She just gently twitched the corner of her lips and walked back into the kitchen.

-

Even though Xu Jiamu was a young master who lived a life of luxury, he had learned how to cook a table full of dishes during his university years.

Even though Qiao Anhao was in the kitchen, she couldn't really do much to help. At best, she helped peel the garlic and wash a plate, all whilst Xu Jiamu repeatedly complained about her being in the way.

In the end, Xu Jiamu couldn't take it any longer and turned the fire off. He pushed Qiao Anhao by her shoulders towards the kitchen door. He was about to kick her out when Lu Jinnian walked head on into them.

Chapter 420: Silent Companionship (8)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu's footsteps stopped at the same time.

Xu Jiamu smiled and he asked, "Bro, what's wrong?"

Lu Jinnian's expression ran cold and he looked away when he saw Xu Jiamu's hands on Qiao Anhao's shoulders. He handed him the house phone and said in lonely and cold voice, "You've got a call."

Xu Jiamu pulled his arms from Qiao Anhao's shoulders and took the phone. He glanced at the caller id, raised his hand, and rubbed his nose. He picked up the call, and cried, "Ma... I'm fine... I was just bored like crazy at home. Qiao Qiao is with me..."

Xu Jiamu passed Qiao Anhao the phone, shrugged with a helpless expression, and said, "Mrs. Han would like to speak with you."

As Qiao Anhao took the phone, Xu Jiamu pointed at the soup he was cooking in the kitchen and walked over to it.

Qiao Anhao put the phone to her ear and said, "Aunt Xu."

"Qiao Qiao, you're back from France?"

Qiao Anhao gave a gentle "mm", then Han Ruchu's voice was heard again. "Jiamu turned his phone off. I called you, but you didn't pick up."

Qiao Anhao then remembered that her phone was upstairs, and she hurriedly said in a soft voice, "I don't have my phone on me. Is there something you need?"

"Nothing much... just to look after Jiamu. He's only just been discharged. Though his condition is good, he's still not very nimble. Don't let him drink alcohol..." Han Ruchu rambled into the phone, leaving many tasks for Qiao Anhao.

Qiao Anhao patiently responded to every one of them.

Even though Lu Jinnian didn't know what Han Ruchu had really said, but he could take a guess what it was. His heart instantly darkened.

"Don't you worry. I will definitely watch out for Brother Jiamu and take good care of him." Qiao Anhao's tone was soft and gentle, as she slowly finished what she had to say. Then she hung up the phone. As she was about to put the phone on the dock, Lu Jinnian, who stood nearby, pulled his arm out and said, "Give it to me."

Qiao Anhao raised her eyelids up at Lu Jinnian's serene eyes. His beautiful pupils were silently cold and carried no emotions. She hesitated for a moment, then handed the phone to Lu Jinnian. "All right, I'll leave it to you."

Lu Jinnian didn't make a sound when he took the phone with a calm expression. He calmly turned around and walked back into the living room. His back looked cold and arrogant, but no one knew that his heart was bleeding.

-

Xu Jiamu's dinner was exceptionally grand. The group sat surrounding the dining table. They hadn't lifted their chopsticks to taste the food yet, but just by looking at the table the dishes were very presentable and smelled wonderful. That's when everyone started to say all sorts of compliments.

"Jiamu, are you sure that you got someone to fix your face and not your not cooking skills?"

Long before Xu Jiamu had woken up, the Xu family revealed that they had contacted the world's best plastic surgeon to restore Xu Jiamu's face, so that the real Xu Jiamu could smoothly handover from Lu Jinnian's fake "Xu Jiamu" facade.

Not to mention, Jiamu's face had recovered well. He looked no different from before, and there was no indication that he'd been in a car accident.

"This is truly a full recovery. Before, when you were disfigured, the young master Xu avoided being seen, practically never leaving the house, and never letting anyone come to visit!"

"Come come come now! Let's raise a glass to our glowing young master. Cheers!"

Chapter 421: Silent Companionship (9)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

The entire table raised their wine glasses, ready to down their drinks. Qiao Anhao, who sat beside Xu Jiamu, reached out and took glass from his hands in exchange for a cup of water. She then politely explained to the table full of people, "Brother Jiamu still can't drink alcohol yet. "

Assuming that Xu Jiamu had only just finished his cosmetic surgery, everybody didn't force him to drink.

Qiao Anxia teased Qiao Anhao with a bright smile, "Qiao Qiao, you sure are protective of Jiamu."

Xu Jiamu smiled wordlessly, and downed his cup of water with everyone.

The harsh alcohol ran down Lu Jinnian's throat with a hint of raw bitterness.

Xu Jiamu's dishes tasted superb. Everyone around the table assumed Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao were husband and wife, so they couldn't help but start teasing. "Xiao Qiao, you're so lucky to be able to eat young master Xu's exotic dishes everyday."

After one person started the teasing, others started to chime in as well. "That being said... Jiamu, your wedding ceremony back then with Xiao Qiao was far too sloppy. You didn't even invite some of us here. Now that your face has recovered, isn't it about time that you hold a bigger wedding ceremony?"

"Yeah, Jiamu. You didn't even have a wedding ceremony. Did you do right by Xiao Qiao, did you do right by us?"

Even though Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao knew that the ceremony they were crying about would never come true, the two of them agreed to not let it slip in the slightest before they got the divorce finalized. To do this, Xu Jiamu even played along with everyone, smiling and saying, "Definitely, I'll definitely make up for the wedding ceremony to Qiao Qiao."

From start to end, Qiao Anhao kept a gentle smile and didn't say a word. When Xu Jiamu said those words, she couldn’t help but glance over at Lu Jinnian from the corner of her eyes. His expression was cold and distant as usual as he silently drank his wine, as though the conversations at the table had nothing to do with him.

Qiao Anhao couldn't help but tightly clutch her chopsticks. Though she said she wouldn't love him again, whilst others were egging her on with another guy, it still pained her heart to see him so nonchalant.

"Not only make up for the wedding ceremony, make up for the proposal! Xiao Qiao, let me tell you... If young master Xu doesn't propose, by all means, don't agree to anything!"

"They're already married, what can't she agree to?!"

"She can't agree to have kids!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, don't agree to have kids!"

"Xiao Qiao, when he proposes, remember to call upon us. We'll help you see if he's sincere enough. Until then, you mustn't give young master Xu a child."

Give him a child... Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu's child... Lu Jinnian instantly thought about his own unborn child who was killed in the belly... His hand couldn't help but grip harder onto his wine glass.

He couldn't hear what was so funny about what they just said, but everyone around the table laughed cheerfully. His eyes calmly waited for everyone to change the topic, then when no one noticed, his eyes silently fell on Qiao Anhao. She had her head down, quietly chewing on a piece of chicken thigh that Xu Jiamu had picked up for her with his chopsticks.

Lu Jinnian only looked for five seconds before looking away. Then he raised his head and downed another glass of wine, stood up, and left for the living room.

Chapter 422: Silent Companionship (10)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian stood alone in the living room. The sound of laughter blared from the dining room. It sounded like the atmosphere was very lively, but his whole body was shrouded heavily with a sense of loneliness that wouldn't dissipate.

He didn't know just how long he stood there for. When the dining room doors opened, he masked his loneliness by hurriedly pulling out his phone from his pocket and pressing it against his ear, pretending to be on the phone.

Xu Jiamu called out, "Bro". Seeing as Lu Jinnian was on the phone, he instinctively shut his mouth, pulled open the communal restroom doors, and walked in.

Lu Jinnian only put his phone back into his pocket when he heard the sound of flushing from the restroom. Xu Jiamu came out, drying his hands with tissue. Seeing as Lu Jinnian was off the phone, he said, "Bro, you finished up?"

Lu Jinnian gently nodded his head.

Someone from the dining room called Xu Jiamu's name, to which he replied back in a high pitched voice. He chucked the paper into the bin and turned to Lu Jinnian. "Come in and eat."

Lu Jinnian stood on the spot, motionless and cold. "I have to go, there's some business I have to attend to."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Xu Jiamu's eyes, but he didn't press on. "All right, if you have time later, I'll come find you for a meal."

Lu Jinnian made a "mm" sound and glanced at the dining room door. He didn't say anything, just stood there quietly for two seconds, then strode out.

The temperature at night had already dropped. It wasn't as hot as it was during the day, as a matter of fact, it was quite soothing.

Lu Jinnian held a cup of tea and stood in his balcony as he quietly stared up at the stars.

He only agreed to go to Xu Jinnian's dinner after seeing her enter the mansion in the morning.

He knew that by going over, he was simply asking to be tortured by things he saw and heard.

Yet, there was no helping it. God only gave him a chance to be with her for two hundred and fifty-one days. Even though he got this opportunity by acting as Xu Jiamu's substitute, now, all he could do was torture himself to get closer to her.

A single dinner was more torturous than he ever imagined, but that was all right, he was still able to see her. He even spoke twice to her, did he not?

The two conversations: the first was when he said "Thank you" when she handed him tea, the other was when he said "Give it to me" as she hung up the phone on Han Ruchu. But it was all worth it, was it not?

Lu Jinnian stood there all the way up to ten something at night, until there was movement at the neighboring mansion. Perhaps two people had drank a little much, for when they got into their car, they screamed incoherently, which triggered the neighbor's dog to bark endlessly.

The car lights shone endlessly in the courtyard as they left one-by-one.

Under the faint yellow lights, Lu Jinnian, who stood on the second floor, saw Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao at the gates of the courtyard. They walked back into the mansion and shut the doors, completely silencing the entire world.

Only the two of them, Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao were left in the mansion next door...

Lu Jinnian’s mind wandered to the boxes of condoms he’d seen as part of Xu Jiamu's shopping earlier, when he went over for dinner, and instantly didn't want to think more.

After about half an hour, the lights in the mansion next door were out. Lu Jinnian's hands trembled, and his cup shattered into pieces which fell to the ground.

Chapter 423: Silent Companionship (11)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

The hot tea splashed onto Lu Jinnian’s body, leaving pale yellow stains.

Lu Jinnian retreated back into the bedroom in a fluster. His steps were a little erratic as he walked over to the washroom, turned on the tap, and wildly splashed water onto his face.

That night, he clearly didn't drink a lot, but in that very moment, his stomach was churning like the sea. It was extraordinarily painful. At that moment, he couldn't take it any longer and suddenly rushed over to the bathroom. He knelt down and started vomiting.

Lu Jinnian vomited for a long time. He vomited until his stomach was hollowed out, but his insides were still burning in pain.

They'd clearly ended it half a month ago, but he was still a bit slow. He still thought that she would come back to his mansion every day, and would sleep with him in his bed. Now that he thought of her actually living with Xu Jiamu in his mansion, and that there was the possibility of something actually happening between them, like what happened with himself, he couldn’t accept that...

The more Lu Jinnian thought about it, the more he panicked. In the end, he climbed off from the wooden floor. Despite the dirty tea stains on his clothes, he went straight up to Xu Jiamu's door, raised a hand, and pressed the doorbell.

His movements were brash as he pressed several times.

After the lights in the mansion lit up, Xu Jiamu's voice reached him. "Who is it?"

Then the doors were open.

Xu Jiamu was already in pajamas. He was probably lying when someone had suddenly woken him up. His expression wasn't good, but as soon as he saw Lu Jinnian outside the door, his mood immediately became better and he cried out, "Bro?"

Then Xu Jiamu saw Lu Jinnian's dirty clothes and furrowed his brows. "Bro, what happened to your clothes?"

Lu Jinnian shook his head. "It's nothing, I accidentally spilled some tea."

"Oh." Xu Jiamu yawned. "Bro, did you come find me for something?"

With Xu Jiamu’s question, Lu Jinnian only then realized that he'd been a little impulsive earlier. He was dazed out for a second, when he randomly made up an excuse. "A few days ago, I took a few photos at a charity event, do you want go pick two out?"

Xu Jiamu covered his mouth and yawned again. Then he mumbled, "Another day. It's late, and I'm a little sleepy. And, Bro, you have to look after yourself. Don't always sleep so late."

Lu Jinnian oddly twitched the corner of his lips. "So... You should go get some rest."

"Mm," Xu Jiamu responded. He then said to Lu Jinnian, "Goodnight".

"Goodnight," Lu Jinnian replied as he turned to leave. Half-way through the courtyard, the lights in the house behind him switched off. Lu Jinnian's footsteps paused for a moment, and the urge to pry the door open and take Qiao Anhao away came over him.

If he had just the tiniest right, as he was now, then he would definitely take her... But he had no right to do so. Xu Jiamu was Qiao Anhao's fiance, and him? To her, he was nothing.

Lu Jinnian formed fists, shut his eyes, and his tensed body paused for a moment. In the end, he turned away and walked out of Xu Jiamu's courtyard with heavy footsteps.

He didn't go back to his own mansion but went back to the 24-hour convenience store at the gates of the neighborhood. He bought a few boxes of cigarettes, stood under the lamppost outside Xu Jiamu's mansion, and smoked all night.

That night, it was the longest and most grueling night of his life.

Chapter 424: Silent Companionship (12)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

That night, it was the longest and most grueling night of Lu Jinnian’s life.

Nobody knew what kind of frame of mind he used to survive every second of every minute of that night.

Nor did anyone know, just how many glances he took at Xu Jiamu's mansion.

Furthermore, no one knew how many times the rim of his eyes had turned red.

That night, his heart was restless, it was bone-piercingly painful, hopelessly depressed... He'd sampled all sorts of emotions in one go.

If he could, he never wanted to relive the emotions he’d lived through that night.

It was only when the first ray of sunshine reached the horizon that he felt the exhaustion of that night. His footsteps staggered him back to his own mansion. Behind him, he left a ground full of cigarette butts.

-

Even though Xu Jiamu was well and healthy, he hadn't completely recovered. It was easy for him to grow tired. That night, he had cooked a table full of food, and then chatted with his friends for a long time. In the end, he was sufficiently tired out. On top of it all, he had left the Xu family estate in a hurry, so he didn't bring his car keys and slept on the sofa of Mian Xiu Garden. He woke up at eight in the morning the next day, called a private car, and left straight away.

Qiao Anhao, who had finished shooting the commercial, was completely free. In the following week, she was staying in Mian Xiu garden, sleeping and watching movies.

Xu Jiamu’s and Lu Jinnian's mansions were divided by just a fence. In the courtyard of one mansion, you could clearly see the what was going on in the other.

Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian never bumped into each other again for a week after that day at Xu Jiamu's mansion when they’d seen each other for the first time after their split.

Occasionally, when Qiao Anhao would lay on the balcony reading, she would pay attention to the mansion next door. Every time she looked over, the big doors were shut tight. The courtyard had a floor full of tree leaves and flower petals, but no one tended to them.

She bumped into Lu Jinnian again on the first day of the next week.

Qiao Anhao was a signed artist under Huan Ying Entertainment. Usually, she didn't really need to go into the office, but when Monday came around, she had to go in.

She slept very late the day before, so the next day when she woke up, it was already afternoon. Zhao Meng was busy that day, so she couldn't pick her up, but she also had her car, and so Qiao Anhao had to call for a private one. She found a place to eat, and then went to Huan Ying Entertainment.

Qiao Anhao stayed alone in the office, bored, so she pulled out her phone and played a game. Half-way through it, she received a message on WeChat.

She exited the game, clicked on WeChat, and saw that the notifications had come from the group chat.

That WeChat group didn't have many people in it; just the few regular people who liked to get together. About half an hour ago, Qiao Anxia had sent a message about treating everyone tonight to karaoke at the Royal Palace.

Qiao Anhao immediately ignored the WeChat group. At first, she hadn’t seen the message and didn't respond, but now she saw it after Qiao Anxia just @'d her. She replied with, [I don't have a car today. It's not convenient for me to go.]

Then Qiao Anxia @'d Xu Jiamu. Xu Jiamu immediately asked, [Qiao Qiao, where are you?]

[At the office.]

After a while had passed, Xu Jiamu then said in the group, [Quickly get off work. I'll come pick you up.]

Qiao Anhao didn't reply. She clicked back into her game and continued to play.

-

Xu Jiamu stopped downstairs of Huan Ying Entertainment before he called Qiao Anhao to tell her that he had reached the office.

Chapter 425: Silent Companionship (13)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

After Xu Jiamu hung up the phone, he coincidentally saw Lu Jinnian and his assistant coming out from the office block. Xu Jiamu paused for a moment, then pushed open the car door and waved over at his friend.

Lu Jinnian’s eyebrows twitched when he saw Xu Jiamu and he walked over. "How come you're here?"

Xu Jiamu called out "Bro", then replied to the question Lu Jinnian had just asked, "I'm here to pick up Qiao Qiao."

Lu Jinnian's assistant, who stood next to Lu Jinnian, shuddered a little, and hurriedly greeted Xu Jiamu in an attempt to change the topic, "Mr. Xu, long time no see."

Xu Jiamu politely smiled at Lu Jinnian's assistant, then turned his head to sincerely invite Lu Jinnian. "Bro, Qiao Anxia is treating everyone to karaoke at the Royal Palace, are you free? If you're not doing anything, let's go together."

Lu Jinnian's expression and tone was as calm as water when he spoke. "I have to go to a dinner tonight."

Even though Han Ruchu often told Xu Jiamu to stay away from Lu Jinnian since he was young, but in his heart, he really liked his brother. He loved to call his brother out whenever he did something.

When he heard this, a hint of disappointment crept into his heart. "Oh, right. Bro, tend to your business, it's more important."

Lu Jinnian's car stopped by the roadside, and Xu Jiamu personally opened the car door for his brother. When Lu Jinnian got in, Xu Jiamu ordered his assistant, "Don't let my bro drink too much."

"Don't worry, Mr. Xu."

Xu Jiamu nodded as he bent down, and said to Lu Jinnian, "Bye then, Bro."

When he saw Lu Jinnian nod back, he closed the door and stepped back two steps.

"Goodbye, Mr. Xu," the assistant said with his windows rolled down. He stepped on the accelerator and slowly drove off.

Xu Jiamu stood by the road until Lu Jinnian's car drove into a main road, then he turned around to see if Qiao Anhao had arrived yet. As a result, when he turned his head, he saw a familiar figure come out from Huan Ying Entertainment's office block.

All of a sudden, the muscles in Xu Jiamu's entire body involuntarily seized up.

Song Xiangsi walked out of the building in ten centimeter heels, furious, with her assistant and manager trailing behind her. She said to her manager slightly annoyed, "I've told you many times, don't sign me up for dinner parties. Don't accept them on my behalf. I wanted to go home to sleep tonight, but now, great..."

At the sight of Xu Jiamu at the foot of the stairs, Song Xiangsi suddenly stopped talking and so did her footsteps.

The assistant and manager behind her also stopped walking and looked over at her, a little confused. As they followed her line of sight, their eyes landed on Xu Jiamu.

The manager and assistant looked at one another but didn't say a word.

On the main street, there was the endless noise of of cars driving past.

In two short minutes, quite a few people entered the Huan Ying Entertainment block, and quite a few people also left it.

There were five meters between Song Xiangsi and Xu Jiamu as they both stared at each other.

After about a minute, when Song Xiangsi assumed Xu Jiamu would walk over to say something, he pulled open the car door behind him and sat inside.

Chapter 426: Silent Companionship (14)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Xu Jiamu acted as though she were a complete stranger.

Song Xiangsi's hand suddenly tightened, as she stared at Xu Jiamu's car for just a second. Then, as though nothing had happened, she continued to arrogantly trod on in her heels towards her own car that was parked to one side.

As she walked, she continued to scold her manager, "Tonight, I have to go to the Royal Palace to entertain. It's not like you didn't know that each and and every one of those capitalist are like dogs. Every single one of them are bad from their very bones!"

With these words, she had already opened the driver's door and sat inside.

The manager hurriedly said, "Sis Xiangsi, let me drive..."

Song Xiangsi didn't even wait for her manager to finish speaking when shot back, "What are you two stupidly standing there for? Are you going or not?"

As she said this, Song Xiangsi stepped on the accelerator, scaring the manager and assistant into quickly pulling the car door’s open. They crawled in, but before the assistant could close the car door, Song Xiangsi stepped on the accelerator. The door brushed Xu Jiamu's car, caused it to suddenly jump.

In the driver's seat, Xu Jiamu looked as though he was staring straight ahead, but from the corner of his eyes, he was looking Song Xiangsi up and down through the rear view mirror. In that split second when her car brushed his, a burning rage hastily erupted in his eyes, and he abruptly tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

-

When Qiao Anhao got Xu Jiamu's call, she was in the restroom. Once she had gathered her things into her bag, left the restroom, and come downstairs, about ten minutes had passed.

The moment she came out of the Huan Ying Entertainment office’s block, she saw Xu Jiamu's car and waltzed over. She pulled open the passenger door, sat inside, and called, "Brother Jiamu?"

Without any reaction, Xu Jiamu stared in the direction of Song Xiangsi's car that had driven away a long while ago.

Qiao Anhao lifted her hand up and waved it in front of Xu Jiamu, whilst half-jokingly saying, "Brother Jiamu, you can't be mad at me for making you wait ten minutes, right?"

Xu Jiamu's pupils shifted for a bit, before he pulled himself back and gently chuckled, as though he’d heard a funny joke. "What the hell are you saying? What's there for me to be angry about?"

"You're really not mad?" Qiao Anhao looked like she didn't believe a word of it. She tilted her head and smiled at Xu Jiamu. "But your expression just now didn't look too happy. Did something happen?"

Xu Jiamu didn't say a word, but started the car up and steadily drove off.

-

The atmosphere in the car was extremely tense. While driving, the assistant glanced over to check on Lu Jinnian in the rear view mirror, twice.

The man didn't say a word as he gazed out the window at the surging traffic. He wasn't angry nor sad, but after working as Lu Jinnian's assistant for so many years, he could still feel the gloomy mood.

When the car was almost at the Bejing hotel, Lu Jinnian, who hadn't really moved since he got in the car, finally moved. He diverted his attention from outside the window to his assistant at the wheel, then said, "After dinner, didn't they say they were going to find a place to play cards?"

Lu Jinnian only asked a single question, but his assistant instantly understood everything. He intuitively answered, "Yes, Mr. Lu. Where do you guys want to go to play cards at night? The Capital Club, or the Royal Palace?"

Chapter 427: Silent Companionship (15)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Naturally, the assistant knew what was going through Lu Jinnian's mind, and so he didn't even wait for him to choose. He paused for a while, and then continued, saying "Mr. Lu, you had a little clash in the past at the Capital Club with Chief Lin who you are meant to have dinner with tonight, and so would you like to go to the Royal Palace?"

Though the assistant had clearly said the words on Lu Jinnian's mind, his face didn't reveal a hint of happiness. Instead, after listening to the assistant's words, he remained silent for a while, then gently nodded as though he didn't care.

Of course, the assistant didn't dare expose Lu Jinnian's hypocrisy and went on with official business, pulling out his phone and booking a booth at the Royal Palace.

The car fell silent again, but the atmosphere didn't feel as tense as before.

Through the rear view mirror, the assistant looked over at Lu Jinnian again. His head was turned again as he stared out the window. However, the gloom that accumulated between his eyes for the past few days seemed to have dissipated a little.

Because of Lu Jinnian's overly good skills at masking his criticism, the assistant randomly felt a hint of sadness just now.

He clearly didn't like places like the Royal Palace, nor did he like to play cards. Above all, he hated women who he didn't know throwing themselves at him. Yet, tonight, because that woman will be at the Royal Palace, he was going too.

Even if they were clearly in the same place, the two of them might not even bump into each other, but just by getting closer to her, even like this, improved his mood.

The assistant had studied science and technology, a serious degree with incredibly technical language, but at that moment, for some reason, his mind boggled over Eileen Chang's famous tragic but beautiful quote, "Loving somebody is being humbled to the dust, and then from there blooming into a flower."

But Mr. Lu has been humble for so many years now. How has the flower not bloomed yet?

Just what could be going through his mind? After all these years... Clearly there isn't the least bit of hope, how could he hold on like this?

The assistant thought about it over and over again, and started to get depressed. Then, he started to shout at himself - For god’s sake! As a mother f*cking grown man with a wife and kids, an awesome salary, who was living the life, did he really have nothing else to do but to be THIS fucking sad.

-

Qiao Anxia booked a combo room with a card room and an additional small KTV booth.

A row of people who excitedly hugged the microphone, screaming, then ran over to play cards. Qiao Anhao, who wasn't at all interested, sat on her own and watched the TV.

Qiao Anxia's luck must've been good. Every now and then, her excited screams could be heard.

Xu Jiamu sat opposite Qiao Anxia. Perhaps it was because he hadn't played in such a long while, he wasn't in the right condition tonight; he lost every round. In the end, he let someone else spectating behind him take his place.

Xu Jiamu brought a bottle of beer to his mouth, lifted his head, and drank half the bottle. Then he saw Qiao Anhao, who was sitting on her own on the sofa and hugging a pillow, immersed in the television. He strode over and sat next to her.

Qiao Anhao was watching an old movie which starred Song Xiangsi as the leading female. At the time, Song Xiangsi was still quite young, and though her acting skills weren't as refined as they were now, there were hints of those beloved skills that everyone supported her for.

Xu Jiamu stared at the screen with raised brows, and felt his mood thwarted.

Chapter 428: Silent Companionship (16)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Of all people, Song Xiangsi’s calm voice was coincidentally heard from the television. "Let's break up..."

Suddenly, Xu Jiamu tightly grasped his beer bottle, bending its top until it exploded and splashed all over his hands. Completely unaware, he stared at the television screen with riveting emotions, then raised the remains and downed them. He casually put what was left of the bottle on the coffee table, got up, and then walked out of the room.

When Xu Jiamu came out of the restroom, the door to room 1005 opened, and Song Xiangsi, who wore a skin-tight mini-dress, stepped out. The two of them exchanged looks for no more than one second, before they looked away as though they hadn't seen each other at all. The two of them looked straight ahead of them, brushing past the other with arrogance and calmness.

Xu Jiamu heard the "Ta ta ta" of heels behind him fade away. His footsteps suddenly stopped, and he stood on the spot for a while. He pulled out his phone, made a call, and waited a while. The door of room 1005 behind him opened. A man in an ashy silver suit popped out, "Young master Xu, over here."

Xu Jiamu followed the guy in the ashy silver suit into room 1005 with no emotions on his face.

The private room was filled with debauchery and corruption. There sat quite a few men and women. Two women were in a maid outfits and were sitting around a middle-aged man with a large stomach, who was singing. That middle-aged man was clearly off-tune, but he sang into the microphone with an expression as though he was deeply engrossed in the song.

"You are my little apple, I can't love you enough..."

Ever since Xu Jiamu was little, he mingled in Beijing’s business circles. Han Ruchu started to take him to various types of events from a young age, for him to better get to know more people. Though when he grew up it all became a little fake, Xu Jiamu knew how to conduct himself.

He wouldn't say that he knew the hundred percent of the rich people in Beijing, but at least ninety for sure There was a total of five men in this private room, and he knew all of them. Two of the five were self-proclaimed actors. After being unconscious for eight months, Xu Jiamu didn't recognize them.

On seeing him enter, the man who was singing stopped and put down his microphone to greet the manager of the Royal Palace.

Even though Xu Jiamu hadn't been here for several months, the manager didn't dare to neglect him in the slightest, politely lining up all the pretty girls in the shop in front for him to choose.

Xu Jiamu laid down nonchalantly on the sofa, glancing a few times over several girls. Yet, in the end, he had no intention of saying a word, as though he was waiting for something.

The manager stood to one side with a smile but didn't dare press him.

The man sitting next to Xu Jiamu, who was hugging a cute woman, moved closer to his side and pointed twice. He gave his opinion. "This one, and this one, aren't bad..."

"Oh really?" asked Xu Jiamu nonchalantly.

Before his voice dropped, the door opened. It was Song Xiangsi, who had just came back from the restroom after finding an excuse to avoid drinking. The moment she pushed the door open, she gritted her teeth tightly, and complained deep down inside on how she wouldn't be here to entertain at all if it didn’t pay so well.

Then she suddenly saw Xu Jiamu sitting in the center of the sofa. A flash of hostility flashed across her eyes, and before she could speak, Xu Jiamu suddenly raised his hand, waved it around, and landed it on her, "Then this one."

Chapter 429: Silent Companionship (17)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

The entire private room instantly froze. The man sitting next to Xu Jiamu swiftly explained, "Young master Xu, you've got it wrong. Miss Song is our business partner, not one of the girls."

Manager promptly said, "That's right, Young master Xu. Miss Song is our guest."

In the face of every one's comments around him, Xu Jiamu had no intention of changing his mind. He still chose Song Xiangsi. The words from his mouth seemed as though they were directed at the manager but were in fact meant for Song Xiangsi to hear. "Name a price. How much will it be to go out for supper?"

Song Xiangsi, who was originally a little bewildered, completely understood what was happening in that very moment. Her brows didn't move, she calmly stood her place and stared back at Xu Jiamu.

"Ermm... that's..." The manager didn't dare offend Xu Jiamu or Song Xiangsi, so he only said these two words. He glanced over at both parties, then smiled with a troubled look and said, "Young master Xu, take a look at these pretty girls I brought. They're new. Which do you like? You can also take them out for supper."

"To go out for supper with this girl, five thousand. What? Won't this price cover this girl?" Xu Jiamu effectively disregarded the manager's words. On his own accord, he looked back at Song Xiangsi, and after a while, he asked, "Could it be that you want five million?"

Xu Jiamu purposefully emphasized the words "Five million". A hint of temptation clearly appeared in Song Xiangsi's eyes.

Xu Jiamu curved his lips into a smile, as his eyes fell on the manager, yet his words were for Song Xiangsi to hear. "You won't agree to five million? Then fifty million? Five hundred million..."

The manager carefully said, "Mr. Xu, this isn't something I can decide."

When he finished speaking, the manager glanced over at Song Xiangsi, who was standing to one side.

This time, Xu Jiamu absolutely didn't give Song Xiangsi any time to react at all, by directly adding, "Unless you don't want money, you want something else? If it's not face..."

Before Xu Jiamu could finish, Song Xiangsi suddenly shot a bright smile and said, "It's just supper, right? I'll go."

In the entertainment circle, Song Xiangsi practically never ate alone with a man. No matter how high the price, one couldn't take her out. At most, she would attend an event like this one tonight under the pretense they were business partners. And so, when she said those words, everyone in the room stared blankly for a moment.

Song Xiangsi always did things her way. In the face of everybody's doubts, she didn't have the slightest intention of explaining herself. Instead, she hastily walked out of the private room first, stood outside, and waited for Xu Jiamu.

Xu Jiamu got up and threw at the manager, "Put the bill for this room under my name". Then he bid everyone farewell and walked out without even a look at Song Xiangsi, who waited at the door outside. He took big strides towards the exit.

The two of them didn’t speak to each other all the way to the car park. Xu Jiamu opened the car door, glanced at Song Xiangsi, and got in the car fist. He waited for her to get in before abruptly stepping on the accelerator, and his car jumped out.

The car was silent. From the very start, Xu Jiamu never looked directly at Song Xiangsi. When they were about to reach Gui Street, Song Xiangsi asked, "Young master Xu, where are we going for supper?"

Xu Jiamu didn't make a sound. Rage surged beneath his eyes, and he drove faster.

In the end, Xu Jiamu turned the car into a high-end apartment block in the city. Song Xiangsi's expression grew pale.

Chapter 430: Silent Companionship (18)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

The car stopped in the underground car park. Xu Jiamu got out of the car and went ahead and pressed the elevator button. He stood at the entrance waiting for Song Xiangsi to get in before he stepped in. Then he pressed the floor number.

The elevator door opened when it reached the right floor. Xu Jiamu walked over to the left door, entered the passcode, and pushed open the door. As usual, he watched as Song Xiangsi entered first, then followed behind.

Xu Jiamu closed the door and threw the car keys randomly by the entrance. He stared directly at Song Xiangsi without a word, then suddenly raised his hand, slapping her brutally across the face.

That slap came out of nowhere and was sufficiently hard. Song Xiangsi, who was completely caught off guard, fell to the ground from it's sheer force.

-

Eleven o'clock. Everyone had left.

Xu Jiamu left the private room at ten and never came back.

Other people drank quite a lot, so they called a car. Whoever had a ride, got picked up. Qiao Anhao called fro Chen Yang, who had coincidentally just finished work, to pick up Qiao Anxia. Then, she pulled out her phone and called Xu Jiamu. After a few times, he still didn’t pick up.

When Lu Jinnian's assistant came out of the restroom, he saw Qiao Anhao at the lobby of the Royal Palace and greeted her, "Miss Qiao."

Qiao Anhao put her phone away and nodded at the assistant.

Seeing that Qiao Anhao was on her own, the assistant was slightly confused, so he nosily asked, "Miss Qiao, didn't you come here with Mr. Xu? Why are you here alone?"

Qiao Anhao wondered how Lu Jinnian's assistant knew.

The man added, "I coincidentally bumped into Mr. Xu waiting for you downstairs at the office."

Qiao Anhao understood and pursed her lips into a smile, then said, "I don't know where he is. I'm waiting for him."

The assistant made an "oh" sound in sudden realization. Then politely said, "Miss Qiao, I have some business to attend to, so I'll be off now."

Qiao Anhao smiled gently and nodded.

-

The assistant pushed open the door and glanced at Lu Jinnian over at the mahjong table.

There were three other players, one of whom had a young girl in his lap, then there he was - far removed and alone.

The assistant silently walked over to Lu Jinnian and glanced at his tiles. There was nothing he could say, his tiles were incredibly lucky. He waited for Lu Jinnian to throw out a two dot tile, then bent down, and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Lu, on my way back from the restroom just now, I saw Miss Qiao in the corridors."

Lu Jinnian's expression didn't change, but his fingers obviously clenched harder onto the tiles.

The assistant continued to report back in a low voice. "Who knows where Mr. Xu went. Miss Qiao is waiting for him."

"Oh." Mr. Lu gave a nod, as though it didn't matter.

The assistant's pupils twitched lightly, and he added, "It looks like Qiao Anhao didn't drive. If she can't wait for Mr. Xu, she might hitchhike. It isn't easy to get a car from here..."

Before the assistant could finish, Lu Jinnian stood up from his seat, calm and composed. He pointed at his winnings and said to his assistant, "Take over for a while."

He then said "Sorry" to the other three players, who looked confused, and grabbed for his jacket behind his seat and left the private room, all without waiting for his assistant to react.

Chapter 431: Silent Companionship (19)
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao called Xu Jiamu several times but was still not able to reach him, so she gave up, sending him a text before leaving. She stood at the side of the road, waiting for a cab to arrive.

She stood in the heart of the city where the rich would frequent, the people here had their own cars and would rarely grab cabs, hence there were barely any cabs in the area.

Lu Jinnian rushed to the main hall while putting on his jacket. He scanned the area trying to find Qiao Anhao but she was nowhere in sight. He ran out and continued to scan the surroundings.

The security guard seemed to have recognized Lu Jinnian, for he walked forward and greeted him politely, "Mr. Lu."

Lu Jinnian ignored his greeting, continuing to look around. He ran towards the road, panting slightly. He took several deep breaths before turning to look at the main entrance. Around two hundred meters from the entrance, under a street lamp, stood Qiao Anhao.

She wore a light blue dress with a floral pattern. Lu Jinnian’s gaze turned gentle as he continued to look at her in a daze. Taking several steps forward, he gradually increased his pace to reach her.

Just when he was about a hundred meters from her, a cab suddenly stopped beside her. She seemed to have met a savior, quickly entering the cab without hesitation, and just like that, she disappeared into the night.

Lu Jinnian froze,his gaze locked on the direction she’d left.

The tiny glimpse of hope he had when his assistant had told him that she may need a ride back vanished in an instance.

The cold night wind blew past. He stood there, listening as cars sped past. After a long while, he turned back with heavy steps. Before he could enter Royal Palace, he paused once again, hesitating slightly, he turned towards the car park at the side.

He started his car, driving straight back to Mian Xiu Garden after circling the area.

He took the expressway, and sped to Mian Xiu Garden reaching it in a short while. As he drove past Xu Jiamu's house, Qiao Anhao had just reached it. She bent to pick up her bag and was preparing to pay the cab.

Lu Jinnian slammed into the brakes instinctively.

After paying the cab driver, she turned and entered the front yard, shortly after, the mansion lit up.

Lu Jinnian waited for the cab she had taken to leave before he drove forward, stopping in-between his and Xu Jiamu's mansions.

-

After spending such a long time outside, Qiao Anhao was getting hungry. She hurriedly defrosted some dumplings before throwing them in the pot and chopsticks into the basin.

After taking a light shower, she laid back down on her bed. She scrolled through her weibo, and only at 1 am did she off the lights.

Chapter 432: Silent Companionship (20)
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao shut her eyes and prepared to sleep, but soon, she started to feel slightly uncomfortable. She continued to lie for a short while more before ripping the blankets off abruptly, rushing to the bathroom. She removed her clothes, realizing that there was a red spot on her panties.

Her period was here... As she walked over to get some sanitary pads, she remembered that she had just moved into Xu Jiamu's mansion and hadn't had time to prepare her daily necessities.

But she couldn't just sleep like that... She sat on the toilet, pondering it with a deep frown etched on her face. She yanked a bunch of toilet papers, placing them on her panties before standing up. She simply rinsed her hands and exited the bathroom. Grabbing her wallet, she walked downstairs.

-

Why was she out so late into the night?

Lu Jinnian frowned. Without even offing the car engine, he pushed open the door and shouted her name as he ran towards Xu Jiamu's mansion, "Qiao Qiao."

Even though he wasn't loud, the night was silent enough, and Qiao Anhao froze slightly before turning to look at him.

He was dressed in a suit that complimented his tall physique. The warm glow from the street lamp spilled across his face, blurring his handsome features.

He casually walked forward, stopping about a meter from her. He slightly lowered his head, noticing that she wore slippers. "Why are you out so late?"

Qiao Anhao was jolted back to her senses. She lifted her head slightly to look at him. "I need to buy stuff."

It was currently 1 am, and the only twenty-four hour convenience store was about five hundred meters away from Mian Xiu Garden's entrance. It would take about twenty minutes for her to go and come back.

Qiao Anhao had rushed out in a hurry, she was still dressed in her pajamas with just a jacket over.

Even though the security in Jing Cheng was good, it still wasn't safe to go out so late at night... Besides, what could she need so urgently?

Lu Jinnian frowned before saying faintly, "It's late now, get it tomorrow."

"I need it urgently." She hesitated before adding, "It isn't far, I'll be back shortly."

Lu Jinnian didn't try to stop her, he told her to wait before turning back.

He opened his car door and offed the engine before grabbing his wallet from the passenger seat. He hurriedly walked back to where Qiao Anhao was waiting. "Lets go."

Qiao Anhao snapped out of her daze, realizing instantly that he was going to come along with her. Instinctively, she said, "It's okay..."

Without even waiting for her to finish her sentence, he started to walk forward.

Chapter 433: Silent Companionship (21)
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao stood still for a short while before following after Lu Jinnian.

Just like that, he walked in front while she trailed after, maintaining a short distance between them.

They remained silent the entire journey, neither attempting to speak to the other.

When they reached the convenience store, Lu Jinnian stopped at the entrance, waiting for her to go in alone. Through the glass windows, he saw her throwing a few bags of sanitary pads in her basket.

So her monthly period was here, no wonder she said it was urgent...

When she was at the cashier, Lu Jinnian pushed open the door and reached for his wallet. When the cashier had finished scanning the goods, he passed a hundred dollar bill over.

"I brought small change..."

Qiao Anhao took a few ten dollar notes out of her wallet, but before she could pass it to the cashier, Lu Jinnian had already reached for the change that the cashier had passed over. He took the bag filled with sanitary pads and headed out of the shop without her.

Just like before, they maintained a small distance between them, with him in front and her trailing behind. When she lifted her head to look at him, she thought to have seen loneliness in his wide shoulders. She couldn't bear it and averted her gaze.

The night was silent, the glow from the moon shinning down upon them, elongating their shadows.

When they reached the entrance to Xu Jiamu's mansion, Lu Jinnian stopped and passed the bag over to Qiao Anhao.

She reached for it and thanked him.

He didn't reply, and the two of them looked at each other in silence.

Lu Jinnian knew that he was supposed to tell her to go back and rest early, but the words remained stuck in his throat, unable to come out. Just like that, they stood silently.

When the silent atmosphere was starting to turn awkward and Qiao Anhao realized that Lu Jinnian wasn't going to say anything, she lifted her head and said, "I'll go now."

Lu Jinnian lowered his lashes, nodding his head after some time. He lifted his lashes before saying a faint, "Rest well."

"Yea," Qiao Anhao replied softly, tightening her grip on the bag. She brushed past Lu Jinnian and entered the mansion.

Lu Jinnian stood at the entrance for a long while. When he was sure that she had entered the room, he shifted his gaze and lifted his head to look at the night sky. He took a few steps toward his mansion before turning back towards the convenience store abruptly.

When Qiao Anhao returned back to the bedroom, she cleaned herself once more before washing the soiled panties.

Before, when her period came, it would always be without any notice, without any discomfort, but now, her stomach felt bloated and hurt slightly. She wasn't sure if it was because the temperature of the water she had used to wash her panties was too low.

She hung her panties in the balcony and was about to go back to bed when the door bell suddenly rang.

She walked down and when she peeped through the door hole, she didn't see anyone. She started to feel worried, hesitated slightly, but still opened the door in the end. There wasn't anyone there, the front yard was empty as well.

Qiao Anhao frowned slightly. While she was still thinking about it, she suddenly spotted a bag in front of her.

Chapter 434: Silent Companionship (22)
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao frowned slightly. While she was still thinking about it, she suddenly spotted a bag in front of her.

She wasn't sure what was in the bag and was worried that it was a late night prank. Lifting her head, she scanned the empty front yard. After hesitating for a long while, she knelt down to examine the contents of the bag. With the glow from the lamp at the entrance, she saw that the bag belonged to the convenience store that she had gone to just now.

Carefully, she pried the plastic bag open slightly. Inside, she saw two boxes with logos. Her heavy heart finally settled, and with both hands, she hurriedly opened the bag to take what was inside out.

Two boxes of red ginger tea, a big bag of hot packs, and three bags of dates... These were the usual things that women on their period would have. Red ginger tea was exceptionally good at alleviating any period cramps.

But her period had just come and she hadn't told anyone, who could...

Before her sentence could form, she instinctively turned to look at Lu Jinnian's mansion.

Lu Jinnian's car was just entering his mansion, the glaring light still on. As he was parking his car, the front of it was facing Xu Jiamu's mansion, blinding Qiao Anhao. She reached her hands up to block her eyes, only when the lights dim did she put them down.

The front yard lights never turned on. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear the sound of the door closing. Soon after, the house lit up, the lights spilling into the yard, lighting it up.

Qiao Anhao stared at the lights for a long while before retracting her gaze. She looked back down at the bag before her, realizing that these were placed here by Lu Jinnian.

It was actually quite easy to guess. He was the only one that knew she was on her period, and he must have returned back to the convenience store to get this bag for her when she had entered the house.

Qiao Anhao's heart squeezed slightly. She knelt for a long while before placing everything back into the bag and bringing it back into the house. Before she entered, she turned back to take one last look at the mansion ahead that was lit up.

When she reached her room, she opened a pack of red ginger tea, making herself a cup. The aroma from the tea filled the entire room instantly.

As she sat on the sofa, she stared at the steaming hot cup, her feelings growing confused.

She knew that Lu Jinnian had gone to the convenience store with her because he was worried, she also knew that he had bought things for her because he cared for her.

But she could not understand what his care and concern meant right not. Was it because of the child that he had killed? Was he trying to make himself feel better because of the guilt?

Many times, even though one knew that they could not be together, one would still feel touched and moved by the other's actions.

Just like her and Lu Jinnian. He had killed her child, so she had decided to stop loving him, even struggling to remove him from her memory, but tonight, she couldn't help but feel touched by his actions.

Chapter 435: Silent Companionship（23）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The next morning, Lu Jinnian set out early to work as usual. As he passed by Xu Jiamu's mansion, he deliberately slowed the car, glancing at the mansion through the car’s windows.

Maybe because he had spoken to Qiao Anhao the night before, he was in an exceptionally good mood. After settling his documents, he stood in a corner of his office in front of the floor length window, reminiscing about their conversation the previous day.

Even though their conversation didn't hold much meaning, it still managed to place a smile on his face.

Deep inside, he was starting to find the short distance between his mansion and the entrance of Mian Xiu Garden adorable.

Lu Jinnian pondered it for a long while before lowering his head to drink some coffee. Just then, he heard knocking on the door. He swallowed the coffee in his mouth before replying faintly, "Come in."

His door opened slightly and his assistant came in with a document in his hands. "Mr. Lu, you need to sign this."

Lu Jinnian walked back to his desk, placing the cup down. He reached for the document and flipped it slightly before signing his name, returning it back to his assistant.

The man reached for the document with both hands before continuing, "Oh, Mr. Lu, there’s one more thing. I have contacted the variety show that you assigned to Qiao Anhao previously, they would be recording on the ninth if this month. If there’s nothing wrong, I’ll get someone to inform her."

"Yea..." Lu Jinnian replied naturally, but when his assistant was about to leave, he suddenly spoke again. "Wait."

His assistant turned back in confusion. "Mr. Lu, do you need me for anything else?"

Lu Jinnian hesitated slightly before replying, "I'll inform her myself."

The assistant paused slightly, not knowing how to respond. After about a second, his mind seemed to have processed Lu Jinnian's words. He nodded politely, replying, "I understand, Mr. Lu."

Lu Jinnian waited for his assistant to leave and closed the door before reaching for his phone. He keyed in the numbers that he had keyed in so many times these past few days but never dared dial.

-

Qiao Anhao would often feel uncomfortable on the first day of her period, staying in bed till it was afternoon.

There was a mini home theater in Xu Jiamu's house. After lunch, she decided to watch a movie out of boredom.

Halfway through it, Xu Jiamu called her, apologizing for his absence the previous night.

He sounded weird through the phone, but Qiao Anhao didn't ask much, and call was quickly cut off.

She placed the phone back down on the sofa, but just then it rang once again. She originally thought it was Xu Jiamu since the call had cut off abruptly, so she waited for it to ring a few times before picking up.

When she saw the phone screen and Lu Jinnian's name, she froze slightly before answering with a soft "Hello".

"It's me," Lu Jinnian's usual frosty voice came through.

Qiao Anhao gripped the phone tightly, acknowledging with a soft "yea". Continuing, she asked politely, "What is it?"

Chapter 436: Silent Companionship（24）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian spoke calmly. "The variety show that I assigned to you previously will be recorded on the ninth of this month, remember to prepare for it beforehand."

It was about business matters... "I understand."

Lu Jinnian sunk into silence at his end.

Qiao Anhao held onto the phone, waiting, before speaking once more, "Erm, is there anything more? If not, I'll hang up now."

After about a minute, Lu Jinnian said softly, "Yea." When she was about to hang up after saying goodbye, he suddenly spoke again. "Qiao Qiao..."

Qiao Anhao paused, silently waiting for Lu Jinnian to continue.

After a moment of silence, he spoke once again. "Is it inconvenient these few days? The recording might be tiring, do you need me to push the date back?"

Just like from the bag of things that he had left at the door, she was starting to feel confused. She lowered her lashes and remained silent for a while before replying calmly, "It's okay, there's three more days, by then, I'll be fine."

"If… you don't feel well on the day of the recording, remember to let the crew know."

"Yea, I understand, thank you."

-

Lu Jinnian didn’t intend to snatch Qiao Anhao from Xu Jiamu. He also didn’t expect for her to fall for him, but he didn't want them to sink into becoming strangers as they had five years ago. Those were the worst years of his life...

He was always finding ways to get close to her, finding ways to talk to her, but he wasn't able to find any.

Informing her about the variety show could be done by any small member of the staff in the company, but he yearned to speak to her and was willing to do such a minute take.

But Qiao Anhao was just a newbie who didn't have much on her schedule, in order to find ways to speak to her, he had to abuse his position to give her more work just so that he could talk to her to tell her about it.

Even though it was just half a month, Lu Jinnian had accepted three dramas, seven advertisements, and other random activities for her...

Even though his actions had caused the board members of Huan Ying Entertainment to be unhappy, he chose to ignore them and did as he pleased.

Just when the board members were the tensest, Lu Jinnian, who was still in the midst of filming "Alluring Times", assigned a historical drama for Qiao Anhao. She had never acted in this genre before, and to make matters worst, Lu Jinnian, who was the producer, had also invested in the drama.

Lu Jinnian's assistant started predicting that in a month the actresses in Huan Ying Entertainment would probably start to rebel.

The historical drama "Heaven's Sword" that Qiao Anhao was assigned to was a big production, just like "Alluring Times".

It was the first time she had the female lead role, so she was nervous, but luckily, the male lead was Cheng Yang who she was rather familiar with.

Song Xiangsi was also part of the drama, but her screen time was short, it was more of a guest role.

Chapter 437: Silent Companionship（25）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

"Heaven's Sword" was filmed in Hengdian.

On the first day, Xu Jiamu randomly insisted on sending Qiao Anhao over for work.

He booked business class tickets, the two of them sitting in the same row but there was a small pathway between Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu.

Zhao Meng had prepared a movie on her iPad beforehand, so once the plane took off, she switched it on and passed an earpiece over to Qiao Anhao.

Xu Jiamu took a newspaper from the air stewardess and flipped through it casually until finally resting his gaze on a photo on the top half of the second page.

Song Xiangsi wore a pale colored long silky dress, as she stood on the red carpet with her delicate jaw slightly tilted, a smile on her face.

Xu Jiamu stared at the photo for a long time before finally shutting the newspaper in frustration. He stuffed it into the magazine slot and turned over to look at Qiao Anhao and Zhao Meng. They were both engrossed in their iPad. Turning to look into the screen, Xu Jiamu saw a close up shot of Song Xiangsi.

He took in a long, deep breath, moving back to recline against his seat. He shut his eyes, but all he could remember was the memory of Song Xiangsi slapping him a month ago.

On hindsight, he had no idea why she had slapped him, but he was thoroughly angered and had return a slap before he could stop himself.

His return was hard and aggressive, stinging his palm.

He regretted instantly, and in that swiftly, he started to fret. He knelt down instinctively, apologizing.

But the moment he laid his eyes on her, he saw that her eyes were dry, without any tears. She had on a calm expression that didn't make sense. It was as though he hadn't slapped her. She stood back up as though nothing had happened and started to make herself presentable.

It was as though the person that was slapped wasn't her at all...

Just like the day he had gotten into the car accident...

That night at 8 pm, he had rushed to the airport to get her after she had finished her work in France. He had brought her for dinner and had even gotten her a present. When they reached the apartment, he impatiently reached under her clothes, and just like every other time, she obediently complied.

But once all their clothes were taken off and he was about to enter her, she suddenly said in a calm voice, "Jiamu, let's break up."

At that moment, all he could remember was how close they were. He had taken her words for a joke and continued to kiss her face as though she hadn't said anything.

But she reached out to push him, repeating the sentence once more. "Jiamu, let's break up."

He looked into her eyes and could see her seriousness. When they were both in university, she had came to him to sell herself so that she could have enough money to settle her father's medical fees. At that time, he had bought her for fifty thousand. They had been together for seven years, but now, she, who had never been in a relationship, suddenly wanted to break up.

Even till today, he couldn't understand why he would feel so angry. It was as though his pride had been tattered. He had thought for a moment and asked, "Are we even together?"

Chapter 438: Silent Companionship（26）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Song Xiangsi was much cooler about it than Xu Jiamu. She didn't even get angry, she just pulled onto the blanket so that it covered her. Nodding, she said, "I'm sorry, I seemed to have forgotten that I sold myself for fifty thousand, but since you have used me for seven years, I'm sure I’ve made up for it, so let's end it here Mr. Xu."

She was always able to shut him up, he thought in frustration. In the end, he decided to be a scoundrel. "Whatever, do you think I care? I've slept with you for seven years, I'm already sick of it."

He left the bed and put on his clothes before slamming the door shut when he left.

He had always had a mild temper, but somehow, on that day, he was in a bad temper. Standing near the door, he realized that he had forgotten to take his wallet and wanted to enter the apartment once more, but gave up, posting onto a group chat, [Didn't bring my wallet.]

He knew that she had always been monitoring his chats, so he waited for a long while, but she still didn't reply. In the end, he could no longer keep it in, sending a text over. When no one replied, he called her, realizing that she had blacklisted him.

The anger that he had suppressed started to climb back up. He entered the elevator and headed toward his car.

He remembered that he had sped, fury clouding his mind. He had wanted to numb himself with the high speed.

When he reached the underground tunnel, he had aggressively steered to the side to avoid a white car that he was heading towards. In that instance, his car crashed right into the tunnel wall.

Before he had gone unconscious, his entire mind was filled with Song Xiangsi. When had she become so important to him? So important that he could get into a car accident for her... He was still wondering if she would be upset over his death...

But the truth had shown that she didn't have many emotions in her, how could she be upset?

He was in a coma for nine whole months but the moment he had woken up, she hadn't sent him anything. He had tried to call her only to realize that he was still blacklisted...

As he reminisced about the past, he looked back at her. She seemed oblivious of the turmoil in him, and his reasoning snapped. Without even thinking, he dragged her into the bedroom in which they had seven years of memory before pressing her onto the bed...

He could admit to himself that he had fully intended to torture her that night. He had wanted to vent all of his frustration on her, but even if he had treated her violently, even if she was clearly in pain, she still had a nonchalant smile on her face.

He didn't feel a tinge better the next day. When he woke up, she was no longer around, that was when he found out that she had gone over to Yun Nan for work...

She didn't bother informing him that she had left, so he naturally didn't bother asking.

Weren't they just both wasting each other's time? They were just waiting for the other to snap. But in the end, he was still flying over to Hengdian… Because she was going to be around for "Heaven's Sword" opening ceremony.

After touched down in Hangzhou, they traveled to Hengdian, reaching it at 8 pm.

Chapter 439: Silent Companionship（27）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

"Heaven's Sword" would start filming the next day, hence the director specifically got the entire cast together for a dinner.

Qiao Anhao arrived at Hengdian the latest. By the time she came, the dinner had already started.

"Heaven's Sword" had a few actors from "Alluring Times", so everyone treated her warmly when she arrived, running over to greet her. Cheng Yang even personally pulled the empty seat beside him out so that she could sit down.

Qiao Anhao walked to her seat, toasting the crowd to apologize for being late before sitting down.

Lu Jinnian was already there. He sat beside Qiao Anhao, leaning backwards casually with a hand on the table and another holding a glass of wine. He remained silent as the table in front of him brimmed with conversations.

Qiao Anhao was the female lead for the drama. She was pretty, so the investors and directors contentiously toasted her and even tried to talk to her.

Every time it happened, Lu Jinnian would frown slightly in irritation.

After she had rushed over, she had barely eaten but had already downed at least seven large cups of alcohol. Lu Jinnian saw the director walking over once more and frowned, he placed the wine he held down on the table before speaking faintly, "The ceremony will be at seven tomorrow, and after the ceremony, we’ll have to change locations which takes about eight hours. Let's end this early so that everyone can rest."

Lu Jinnian waved for the waiter to settle the bill.

It wasn't even 9 pm and it was a rare opportunity for many of the actors to have a meal with the producer and director, so they weren't willing to end so early, but since Lu Jinnian had already made the order, no one dared to object. Unwillingly, they started to drag themselves up to bid farewell to the directors and investor.

Qiao Anhao had drunk quite a lot. Before leaving, she took a trip to the restroom. But the moment she closed the cubicle door, she heard a conversation between several people.

"Who's the female lead? Why don't I remember her?"

"You met her in the restroom before, so you might not remember. It was the one that arrived the latest, I think she's called Qiao Anhao? She's quite pretty and was the second female lead in ‘Alluring Times’."

"Oh yes, the one that acted alongside Lu Jinnian! He seemed to be promoting her quite aggressively lately, assigning many advertisements for her, and they’re all top tier. He had even gotten into a conflict with the board members, but he didn't say a word. In the end, he just said ‘I just want to promote her, what can you do?’ before leaving.

"After that, he assigned her the female lead role of the most invested movie of the year. By then, no board member dared to voice their objections."

"Oh, it reminds me, the female lead for "Heaven's Sword" was originally meant to be filmed in Lijiang but it has been changed to Jianghu. I heard that one of the main cast has altitude sickness, so Lu Jinnian had specifically gotten the director and screen writer to make the changes last minute. Do you think the actress with altitude sickness is Qiao Anhao?"

"One more thing, why didn't you mention that our company actually went to Beijing to choose a intern actress with Qiao Anhao's physique seemingly to act out the harder more difficult stunts?"

"But that's the treatment for big stars, she only filmed two dramas, isn't she just a newbie..?"

Chapter 440: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（1）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The conversation stopped and the whole lot left the restroom.

Qiao Anhao was already done but she continued to sit in the cubicle with no intention of standing up, her mind still on thee conversation.

She was also a part of Huan Ying Entertainment, but it was the first time she had heard the news.

Recently, Lu Jinnian had indeed contacted her often to tell her about updates in her schedule, but she had naively believed that it was the company's decision and never thought more of it. She certainly would have never guessed that he had even quarreled with the board just so she can have the advertisements.

As for finding a stunt double, she was completely unaware of it, but they had indeed guessed correctly about one thing, the person with altitude sickness was her.

She had been to Lijiang in the past but at that time, she wasn't in contact with Lu Jinnian, so he couldn't have known about her altitude sickness. But when they were filming "Alluring Times" and had spent a large amount of time together, she had tried to find a topic so that they could talk.

Just then, there was an advertisement about Lijiang, and so, since she couldn't find any other topic, she had casually mentioned that it was a horrible place and that she would never go there again, the altitude sickness had nearly killed her.

At that time, he was busy, but when he heard her, he raised his face with doubt in his eyes. He had asked her nonchalantly if she had altitude sickness in Lijiang.

She didn't think much of it and had nodded, before slightly elaborating on her condition in Lijiang. At that time, she complained that the place had made her lose five kilograms in three days.

He didn't react much, simply acknowledging her words with an "oh" before returning to work.

Afterwards, when she had gotten the script and realized that they would be in Lijiang filming for at least half a month, she had been scared out of her wits.

Three days were able to take half a life, if they were to film in Lijiang for half a month, would she end up dying there?

But they couldn't just change the filming location because of her, so she did some research to help mitigate the problem.

In the end, she had received a new script the very next day. The new script has several changes but the biggest one was the location - Lijiang had been replaced by Jianghu.

At that time, she didn't think that it had anything to do with her and was instead just glad that everything ended up this good.

But now that she had heard their conversation, she was quite sure that Lu Jinnian had done it for her.

Sometimes, words that were casually said would be forgotten instantly.

But she would have never expected that he would actually remember.

Chapter 441: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（2）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Recently, Lu Jinnian had been treating Qiao Anhao well... From small things like buying sanitary pads with her to big things like changing the filming location... From things she knew to things she wasn't aware of...

When he had arranged the work for her, he could have gotten his assistant to inform Zhao Meng or he could have given her a call, but sometimes, he would let her know personally. There was even once when he had informed her with a bag of desserts from Man Ji.

Before that, she had casually commented [Sister Xiangsi, I want some too!] when Song Xiangsi had posted a photo of herself eating desserts from Man Ji.

When she had saw him with the desserts, she knew that he must have seen her comment on that post.

She was touched but had struggled desperately to ignore her feelings.

Because love wasn't so easily forgotten, but there were just some things she couldn't forgive.

She didn't want to let herself get hurt by him in any more ways, the baby was her last straw.

Loving someone could cause her to lose herself, but she didn't want to do it without any dignity.

She stayed in the cubicle for a long while, taking in deep breaths, trying to calm her thoughts and emotions before leaving the restroom.

-

Song Xiangsi opened the door, when she saw Xu Jiamu standing outside, she didn't respond.

Her manager, who was in the other room, asked as he stuck his head out, "Xiangsi, who is it?" When he saw Xu Jiamu, his expression turned careful. He politely and formally greeted him, "Mr. Xu."

Xu Jiamu didn't bother acknowledging his presence, his gaze fixed on Song Xiangsi.

Song Xiangsi ignored his gaze, turning back to look at her manager. "You should go back to your room."

Her manager nodded before brushing past Xu Jiamu on his way out.

Song Xiangsi didn't look at Xu Jiamu, she turned and entered the room. Xu Jiamu closed the door, following after her.

Before he could say a word inside, Song Xiangsi removed her dress and laid on the bed while looking at him. "Come."

Xu Jiamu was confused by what she was doing, he stood still, dazed.

Song Xiangsi lifted a brow, her lips curving slightly. "Mr. Xu, didn't you come for this? I have to be up early tomorrow, so get it done quickly!"

Xu Jiamu's senses returned instantly, a vein popping on his forehead from the suppressed anger. In a furious voice, he shouted, "Song Xiangsi, what's wrong with you?"

Song Xiangsi looked straight into his eyes. With a calm expression, she continued to undress herself. She looked back to rush him. "Don’t you want it now?"

Xu Jiamu gritted his teeth and took large steps to the sofa. He grabbed her dress and tossed it onto her naked body before glaring down at her. With unstable breaths, he turned and stormed out unsteadily.

Song Xiangsi waited till he slammed the door before she picked up her clothes to put them back on. Walking to to a window, she looked down and waited. Not long later, she saw Xu Jiamu storming out of the hotel into the distance.

Chapter 442: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（3）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Xu Jiamu left in a cab while Song Xiangsi looked into the distance, not moving.

This was the second time she had infuriated him so much. The first time, he had gotten into a car accident.

She never could understand why he was so angry, wasn't she supposed to be the one that was infuriated ?

For fifty thousand, she had sold herself for seven years... What a cheap sum, if it wasn't because she loved him, how could she have followed after him without a title for so many years.

Yes, it was without any title.

For the past seven years, she was his mistress. She had never seen any of his friends and they had never acted like a normal couple, never holding hands on the road.

Initially, she had been fine with the idea and thought that in these seven years, he could fall in love with her, but it never happened. Instead, he had told her that he was going to get married.

But she wasn't the bride.

Before, she was just a mistress, but now she was going to become a mistress and a third party?

She could never forget that day when she had finally woken up. It was through a phone call.

"We're around the same age and its about time I got married... I intend to marry this year... Remember to bring me a present… You're talking about the woman I bought for fifty thousand? We're still in contact... Whatever, I'll just continue on after I marry... You can't expect me to marry her, right? You should know that I need someone of equal social status…"

Equal social status, those words hit her heart deeply She could never forget the pain.

In that moment, she realized that a common girl like her would never be a Cinderella and would never be able to marry a prince.

Even if she had endured seven years, she was still not able to stand beside him in public.

Seven years of hiding in the dark was enough, she was tired.

If they couldn't end up together, she would rather end it.

-

Once Qiao Anhao and Zhao Meng returned to the hotel , the latter pointed to the table, informing her friend, "Mr. Lu's assistant sent it over, he said that you didn't have much during dinner so he specifically got you some takeouts."

Qiao Anhao stared at the food for a while before entering the bathroom.

When she came out, Zhao Meng sat on the bed, asking, "You're not eating?"

Qiao Anhao ignored her and started to apply her skin care products in front of the mirror.

Zhao Meng ran over to the table barefooted and opened the box of food. "It looks yummy, Qiao Qiao. He treats you really well, he even noticed that you didn't eat much..."

Qiao Anhao suddenly tightened her grip on the eye cream, squeezing a large amount out. She pulled some tissue in frustration, cleaning her hands before tossing the cream bottle onto the table. Climbing onto the bed, she covered her head with the blanket, pretending to be asleep.

Zhao Meng went quiet instantly.

The blanket sent Qiao Anhao’s entire world into darkness, she recalled the conversation that she had heard back in the restroom. Her suppressed feelings sent her into a frenzy once again. She continuously recalled the abortion papers that Lu Jinnian had signed, and she could no longer avoid her feelings.

-

Qiao Anhao had always been trying to ignore his actions, but in the end, something on set happened that prevented her from ignoring him any longer.

Chapter 443: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（4）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The devastating incident had happened suddenly and violently. It had thrown her completely off guard, as she had been living peacefully ever since she was ten and her parents died.

The day the incident happened was the fifth day of filming. They were in a rural area that not many people have been to, so no matter how much they had poured into the film, the conditions were still bad.

On that day, the weather had been unusually good with endless clear blue skies. It was the bluest that she had ever since with barely a cloud in sight. The sun shone brightly ahead and the flowers were in full bloom, the scenery was akin to a beautiful painting without any flaws; it was paradise.

When evening fell, the crew started to get tired, so the director allowed half an hour of rest before the next scene. But no one knew that the last scene would actually have such a gruesome incident.

-

The filming had been going on for five days and Lu Jinnian had followed for five days.

The conditions were bad, his assistant started to feel uncomfortable after living in comfort for such a long time. For the past few days, he had been camping in front of a fan an stuffing down watermelons.

Lu Jinnian, in comparison, was completely fine as though he had stayed in harsher conditions. Everyday, he would stare into his computer from nine to five, getting work done.

Today was no different. Before it was 5 pm, he had already finished all the work in his inbox. He leaned back on his chair, shut his eyes, and raised his hands to massage his stiff shoulders.

"Mr. Lu, have some watermelon, it helps with the heat." His assistant brought a plate the instant he saw that he had finished his work.

After a while, Lu Jinnian sat up straight and reached for a toothpick to grab a piece.

After just two bites, he placed the toothpick down and stood up. "I'll see how the filming is doing."

Lu Jinnian pulled the curtains open and walked out.

His assistant hurriedly placed the watermelon into the fridge before rushing to follow him to the set.

When they were about two hundred meters away, the director shouted, "Prepare!"

With the command, everyone got into positions.

"Start!"

The cameras moved and both Qiao Anhao and Cheng Yang came onto the screen.

The last scene today was a duel between the two of them. It was on a cliff that was about three meters high, a violent stream behind them as a background. The water flowed aggressively, hitting onto the rocks, producing loud splashing sounds that could be heard from afar.

The stunt instructor had already instructed both Qiao Anhao and Cheng Yang beforehand, but at the very start, their actions were still unfamiliar. After multiple NGs, the instructor came forward to explain the scene in detail once more. When they started to film again, the actions were much more fluid.

Qiao Anhao was dressed in red, dark black hair down to her waist. Her eye makeup matched her dark hair and her lips were a classic red. She had a simple hairdo with just a small ruby pin attached to the top of her head.

Cheng Yang was completely in black, the two of them glaring at each other, prepared for the confrontation. The wind on the cliff was strong, sending their robes flying, producing loud billowing sounds.

Chapter 444: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（5）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

As they stared at each other in confrontation, Cheng Yang was the first to yield. He glanced back with mixed feelings. "Listen to my explanation..."

"What explanation? That you weren't the groom yesterday?" Before he could finish, Qiao Anhao started to interrogate him. She stared at him with both love and hate before seemingly coming to a decision.

With her delicate jaw slightly tilted upwards, she pulled her long sword out and pointed it at Cheng Yang's chest. "Pull your sword, you once said that if you were to betray me, you would willingly accept death. Today, only one of us will live."

As she spoke, she swung her sword at him aggressively. Cheng Yang anxiously dodged it. "It isn't like what you think..."

Qiao Anhao continued to swing her sword as though he hadn't spoken. This time, Cheng Yang pulled his sword out to counter her.

Cheng Yang didn't attack her, he just defended himself.

As Qiao Anhao’s character watched the man she loved marrying someone else, her heart was wrenched apart. Her eyes red, she attacked with viciousness.

The two of them fought on the cliff , the rose in the air with the use of wires.

Her red dress and his black robe entwined together as they fought, forming a beautiful sight, blending with the scenery behind.

In the end, Cheng Yang was defeated, Qiao Anhao pointing at his chest mercilessly. Cheng Yang had on a shocked expression before finally shutting his eyes, waiting for death to take him.

Qiao Anhao held her sword forward. The instant she touched his skin, she froze, her hands trembling. In the end, she wasn't able to do it. She tossed the sword on the floor before turning around, a single tear dropping straight down her face, and she flew upwards with the help of the wire.

"Cut!" the director shouted in satisfaction. As he clapped his hands, he couldn't stop singing praises. "Well done! Well done! It was a good take!"

The last scene for the day finally ended, and everyone took in a deep breath. As the crew started clearing the equipment, Qiao Anhao started to untie the wire while apologizing to Cheng Yang who was beside her. "I seemed to have been too violent just now, I hope I didn't injure you?"

"I'm fine." Cheng Yang smiled before lowering his head to allow his assistant to help remove the outermost layer of the costume.

The last scene had lots of difficult actions that used up a lot of her energy, so Qiao Anhao was soaked in sweat. After confirming that Cheng Yang was fine, she returned a bright smile before wiping the sweat off her face.

She got Zhao Meng to pass her a bottle of water and downed it. But before she could drink more than two gulps, she suddenly felt the ground shake. Before she could react, she heard the sound of stones falling, and her feet started losing ground; she fell from the three meter cliff.

The fall was sudden, and Zhao Meng who was beside her was the first to see it happen. A sharp scream pierced the air, "Qiao Qiao!"

She turned back hurriedly, shouting with her entire lungs, "Qiao Qiao fell down, Qiao Qiao fell down!"

Lu Jinnian, who stood beside the camera and was talking to the director, was the first to react. He turned to look at the cliff, where the red figure was no longer standing Before his mind could process the information, he ran to the edge of the cliff, and without a word, he jumped.

Chapter 445: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（6）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

"MR. LU!" Before Zhao Meng could get back her senses from Qiao Anhao's fall, Mr. Lu had jumped down as well.

"MR. LU!" His assistant came running over, shouting for him. He looked down slightly before turning away in fear.

-

Only when Qiao Anhao started falling at a fast pace did she realize that she was in danger. The next moment, she had sunk into the icy cold water. Without any prior preparation, she choked on the water.

With both hands, she struggled to keep afloat. When her head came out of the water, she hurriedly opened her mouth, shouting towards the shore, "Help!" When the next wave came, it sent her back into the water, drowning out her calls.

The next time she popped her head out, she saw that she was nearing the edge of the cliff, she wanted to swim back, but the current we too strong. Even if she used all her strength, she still wasn't able to move forward, instead, she had been pushed backwards.

The strong current continued to pound on her head, filling her ears with water, affecting her hearing. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was an endless stream of water and a stone wall that she couldn't climb.

Soon, strength had been stripped off of her, she started to feel her legs getting numb as despair started to fill her mind.

In the past, when she had watched television, she had seen such scenes before, but back then, she had dismissed it as exaggeration and drama. Never once had it occurred to her that she might end up in a situation like this herself.

But she was not the lead of a show. No matter how hard she struggled, there wouldn’t be a prince coming to save her. Her hands were starting to get weak, her body to sink slightly; she could feel death in the air...

She couldn't possibly just die here in a stream she didn't even know the name of...

Everyone had a desperation to live, and Qiao Anhao was no exception, she continued to struggle upwards even if her limbs were growing exhausted.

A mixed sense of despair and worry started to fill her entire body. Even though she could see death ahead, she wasn't able to run away. Tears started to fall and she felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

She felt helpless, just like when she was ten and had lost her parents, just like not long ago when she had lost her child and the man she loved the most. In the end, heaven didn't take pity on her plight one bit and was going to take her life on top of all that.

The more she thought of it, the more upset she became. Tears fell down her face continuously.

-

The moment Lu Jinnian had heard Zhao Meng’s scream "Qiao Qiao fell down", his entire mind turned blank, as though his brain had been eaten, there weren’t any emotions.

When the cold water finally hit him, he was shocked momentarily before he realized that he had to keep calm.

But the moment he thought that she was in this vast stream, he started to panic and worry once more.

Chapter 446: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（7）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The entire crew had walked over to the edge, everyone's faces grim.

The current was running at a fast speed. In a blink of an eye, Qiao Anhao had been taken into the distance. When in less than five minutes, Lu Jinnian came out of the water, everyone started to shout his name, but the current was too strong, drowning their voices. He scanned the surroundings before swimming towards the direction that Qiao Anhao was swept towards.

Just then, Lu Jinnian's assistant seemed to have gotten back his senses. He shouted towards the group at the edge of the cliff, "Stop staring, call the police! POLICE!"

"Right right, police!" Several people took their phones out and started to make calls.

When the call finally went through, the assistant seemed to have remembered something. He instructed the director, "Remember not to let this matter spread, especially not of Mr. Lu. If anyone found out, Huan Ying Entertainment will be gone."

The director nodded immediately before asking, "Should we inform Qiao Anhao's family?"

The assistant hesitated slightly, then replied, " Not yet, Mr. Lu can swim well, he might be able to save her. We just have to wait below, they might be in danger from staying in the water for such a long time."

-

Lu Jinnian scanned the surroundings, taking in the situation and realizing that he was being moved at an alarming rate. This meant that Qiao Anhao must have been swept away... Without hesitation, he followed the current.

He swam fast while conserving energy. He didn't know how long he had swam or how far he had gone when worry started to form once more. The situation in his mind was getting grimmer by the minute. Just when he thought that she had gotten into an accident, he saw a red figure floating about ten meters away.

When she fell, she was dressed in red!

A glimmer of hope alighted, and he continued to swim towards the red figure. The closer he got, the more anxious he was. He was worried that it was all a disappointment.

Only when he was near did he finally see her entire form. It was indeed Qiao Anhao in her costume. He grew excited, swimming towards her aggressively. He grabbed hold of her costume and tugged it upwards, seeing her pale face.

Lu Jinnian hurriedly reached out to hug her in his embrace, shouting her name anxiously, "Qiao Qiao!"

She looked up at him, her lips moving slightly. She seemed to want to speak but was too weak. She leaned onto him and fainted.

Swimming against the current alone was a difficult matter, now the situation had grown even worse with Qiao Anhao alongside.

The skies were about to dim. Lu Jinnian looked at the cliff—it was much lower than near their filming location.

Chapter 447: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（8）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The skies were about to dim. Lu Jinnian looked at the cliff—it was much lower than near their filming location. This meant that the more they flowed, the nearer they’d be to the land.

Lu Jinnian took a glance at the unconscious Qiao Anhao before continuing to swim downwards.

He had no idea how far they had gone. With the faint light from the moon, he saw that the distance to the land was indeed much shorter. When the distance was less than half a meter and the current was starting to slow, Lu Jinnian pushed Qiao Anhao onto shore before climbing up after.

He applied pressure on her stomach to force out all the water she had drank. When he saw that she hadn't drank much, he sighed in relief. He reached out to feel her forehead to ensure that she wasn't having a fever before checking her breathing. When he confirmed that everything was all right, he finally relaxed.

Lu Jinnian took in the surroundings—it was an untouched forest. He reached into his pocket and found his phone, a box of deformed cigarettes, and a lighter.

The phone was no longer functional after being soaked for such a long time, but the lighter could still be used.

He took a look at Qiao Anhao's soaked clothes. If she were to continue wearing them, she would definitely catch a cold. He didn't know when help would arrive, and if she were to fall ill here, it would become serious. A primitive forest was dry, so he couldn't light a flame for it would easily cause a forest fire.

Lu Jinnian pondered for a while before carrying Qiao Anhao into the forest to find shelter.

Using purely his instincts, he headed in a random direction.

Luckily the moon was bright, sending light into the forest, allowing him to see the way..

The forest was filled with dried leaves which cracked with his every step.

-

When Qiao Anhao finally opened her eyes, she was still in a daze. Where was she right now?

She lifted her head and looked around. When she saw that she was in a forest, she frowned before recalling what had happened. She had fallen into the stream while filming and then had thought that she was about to die. That thought sent a shiver through her even now.

Lu Jinnian seemed to have sensed her movements. He turned but couldn't see her face clearly, so he lightly asked, "Qiao Qiao?"

When she heard his voice, her frown deepened.

Why was he here? Was she dreaming?

Lu Jinnian waited for a while. When she didn't reply, he asked again, "Qiao Qiao, are you awake?"

When she heard him once more, she came back to her senses, remembering what had happened. When she was about to give up, she had felt someone hug her. At that time, she seemed to have thought it was just a hallucination...

She realized that Lu Jinnian had saved her, but she still couldn't process what had happened, asking in a daze, "Lu Jinnian, is that you?"

Chapter 448: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（9）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

"Yes, it's me." Lu Jinnian's had heard the clear but faint voice. After a moment, he asked, "Qiao Qiao, how are you feeling now?"

After he had asked, she seemed to feel a sharp pain on her left leg. Biting her lip, she replied softly, "I'm fine."

She lifted her head to look at the dried branch above her. "Where is this?"

"I don't know," Lu Jinnian replied honestly.

"Oh..."

They both remained silent. Lu Jinnian focused on the road ahead, walking carefully with Qiao Anhao on his back.

Qiao Anhao wasn't able to get over what had happened. She leaned on Lu Jinnian's back, staring into space with a blank expression, deep in thought. After a long while, she realized that Lu Jinnian's presence meant that he had jumped down the cliff after her.

In that instance, her heart squeezed, her expression turning into one of incomprehension.

The three meter cliff wasn't high, but in the face of such a strong current, wasn't he worried that he would die? And why did he jump ? If he didn't jump, would she already be dead?

Qiao Anhao's mind was filled with endless questions. She couldn't hear Lu Jinnian even when he told her about the cave ahead of him.

Lu Jinnian carried her into the cave. Someone must have been here before for there was a straw mat and black charcoal inside.

Lu Jinnian was worried that she would catch a cold, so he signaled for her to sit closer. When she stood up, her entire body slouched forward from the pain in her left leg. Lu Jinnian came forward hurriedly to catch her. "You're injured?"

"It's fine." Qiao Anhao shook her head before limping towards the fire. But after two steps, Lu Jinnian lifted her up and placed her in front of the fire before kneeling down by her feet.

He moved the red costume aside to see that the white pants beneath were already soaked in blood. He frowned and carefully lifted them There was a long cut on her left leg that was still oozing out blood.

Luckily it wasn't very deep. He heaved a sigh of relief before taking off his almost dried clothes. He dried them further in front of the fire before shredding without hesitation to wrap Qiao Anhao's leg.

Even though he had been careful, Qiao Anhao could still feel a stinging pain. She sucked in a breath, frightening Lu Jinnian. He trembled slightly and tried his best to lessen any force he had on the leg.

Qiao Anhao bit her lip, enduring through the pain. With the glow from the fire, she stared at Lu Jinnian's handsome features. Lowering her lashes, she seemed to be in a struggle, for her hands had clenched into fists silently.

Chapter 449: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（10）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

After about half an hour since Lu Jinnian had left the cave, lighting pierce the skies before a thundering clap sounded. Qiao Anhao, who had been in a daze, shuddered. Just then, it started pouring outside the cave.

The forest was dense, so there wasn't much rain falling to the ground.

Then again, another lighting struck through the skies. Qiao Anhao started to feel uneasy, worried that Lu Jinnian would be struck. She placed her hands on the floor and tried to stand up. When she was prepared to walk out, she saw Lu Jinnian coming back with branches in his hands. She grabbed onto her clothes and sat back down.

Lu Jinnian added more branches into the fire. When it started to blaze, he reached into the pile of branches for some fruits and threw a couple to Qiao Anhao. "Fill your tummy."

Qiao Anhao looked at the red looking fruit that looked like an apple but wasn't . She hesitated slightly before reaching for it.

Lu Jinnian seemed to have guessed her thoughts. As he continued to fiddle with the branches, he explained, "Its a wild fruit that can be eaten. In the past, when the filming conditions were bad, I had to live like this in the forest as well. Back then, an elderly farmer told me that the people in his village would eat this often."

Qiao Anhao let out a light "oh" lightly before rubbing the fruit with her clothes. She placed it in her mouth and took a bite. It was sweet and sour and tasted delicious.

Recently, Lu Jinnian had been trying to use different ways to get close to her, but he could always feel her distance and just chose to ignore it.

He knew that ever since Xu Jiamu woke up, he was no longer needed.

He washed his face, a tinge of despair and loneliness creeping onto his expression as he continued to fiddle with the fire.

The rain outside was getting harsher, beating onto the branches, causing loud sounds.

Other than the sound of water, the crackling of the fire could be heard in the cave as well.

They sank into silence, no longer speaking to each other.

Qiao Anhao ate two fruits. When she was finally full, she lowered her head to stare at the fire.

After a seemingly look while, the rain still continued to fall. Lu Jinnian reached towards his jacket, which was already dry. He grabbed it and walked towards Qiao Anhao, placing it over her shoulders. "If you're tired, you can sleep. I'll keep watch."

Qiao Anhao looked towards him, her lips moving slightly but nothing coming out in the end. She laid down on the straw mat and curled her body. With Lu Jinnian's jacket covering her, she shut her eyes.

After a while, she could hear Lu Jinnian's footsteps going away. She opened her eyes slightly and saw that he was half naked, leaning at the edge of the cave.

He turned his head to look out the entrance, his face emotionless as though he hadn't a care in the world, but somehow she could sense loneliness and despair radiating off him.

In the end, she shut her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.

Chapter 450: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（11）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao couldn't fall asleep, she remained in the same position, listening to Lu Jinnian adding more branches to the fire several times. After a seemingly long time, she started to feel drowsy, in her half-awake state, she heard Lu Jinnian coughing.

The sound wasn't loud, and towards the end, he forced the cough down.

Qiao Anhao frowned. After a while, she heard a suppressed cough once again.

She could no longer keep her eyes shut. Peaking through the flames, she could see him sitting in his original spot with his hands covering his mouth, trying to keep the sound in so that she wouldn't be disrupted.

His face was unusually pale, his body trembling slightly; he didn't seem well.... Was he having a fever?

Qiao Anhao could feel her heart squeeze once more. She tried to ignore him but couldn't keep it in any longer: "Lu Jinnian..."

Lu Jinnian froze slightly before turning to look at her weakly. "Did I wake you up?" Apology and guilt sneaked into his face as he apologized faintly, "I'm sorry."

His apology made her heart clench. She could feel the stinging burn in her eyes and struggled to keep the tears back. Turning her head aside, she took a deep breath to calm herself. When she could finally speak normally, she asked, "Are you okay?"

It was a simple question, but in that instance, a glimmer of hope flashed past his eyes. Before he could reply her, another cough escaped through is lips. He swallowed a big gulp of saliva in order to suppress it before looking at her. "I'm fine, I might have choked on the smoke from the fire."

While he spoke, his entire body was trembling. It was as though he was freezing.

Qiao Anhao felt her tears starting to well up. With the intensity of the sting increasing, she lowered her lashes and bit her lip before struggling to stand up.

"What do you want to do? I'll help you, be careful of your leg." Lu Jinnian hurriedly stood up, but before he could take a step, he fell back down.

Qiao Anhao limped over slowly. When she finally reached him, she extended her arm to feel his forehead. His skin was burning but yet he felt cold.

Before she could say a word, Lu Jinnian had a coughing fit, then reassured her weakly, "I'm fine."

Qiao Anhao ignored him. She returned back to the straw mat to grab his jacket and limped back to him. Before she could place the jacket on him, he reached out to stop her. She looked down at him and saw an expression that she had never seen on him before. He had a dazzling faint smile. "I'm really fine, you can have it on when you sleep to save yourself from getting a cold."

Qiao Anhao could no longer ignore him anymore, and tears poured down her face endlessly.

He jumped down the cliff for her, carried her to find shelter, helped her tend to her wound, let her rest while he stood guard, didn't even dare to cough out loud, fearing it would disrupt her, and now when he was having a high fever, he had reassured her warmly that he was fine.

Lu Jinnian panicked. Even though everything was fine a moment ago, why would she suddenly cry? "Qiao Qiao..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Qiao Anhao started to question him as tears continued to stream down her face.

"Why did you jump down?"

Chapter 451: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（12）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian panicked. Even though everything was fine a moment ago, why would she suddenly cry? "Qiao Qiao..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Qiao Anhao started to question him as tears continued to stream down her face.

"Why did you jump down?"

The instance she asked the question, she could feel her chest start to hurt once more.

For the past few weeks, she had been desperately trying to suppress her feelings for him, but in an instance, everything came gushing out.

He continued to study her expression: she seemed agitated, her lips trembling as she repeated the question once more. "Lu Jinnian, why bother about me? Why jump down to save me?"

Tears continued to stream down her face continuously while Lu Jinnian stared on in anxiety. Half his heart had frozen over, and due to his fever, he seemed to be in a slight daze, his pale lips moved slightly but he remained silent.

Qiao Anhao’s tears started to fall at a faster rate. She lifted her hands to wipe them off, but they seemed to be never ending, drowning her entire face. She bit down on her lip, forcing back her cries as she stared at Lu Jinnian. Taking another deep breath, she added, "Do you know how much I wish you were out of my life!"

Lu Jinnian remained expressionless, as though he didn't care what she had said, but behind him, in a corner she couldn't see, he was holding tightly onto a pile of dirt.

"We're no longer a couple, no wait, we were never a couple, but now, we are officially strangers... You have no idea how hard I’ve been trying to ignore your presence..." The more Qiao Anhao spoke, the more her heart started to ache. In the end, she started to plead with him. "Lu Jinnian, I beg you, please leave me alone... You have no idea how pained and upset I get whenever I see you..."

Qiao Anhao's knees buckled and she dropped to the floor, crying into the ground.

Lu Jinnian had never known that he had been bringing her pain all this while. Even if she released him and left his world, he still had hopes, he still tried desperately to appear before her, to treat her well.

Initially, Qiao Anhao was still able to ignore his presence, but today... When she had fallen from the cliff, he had come after her, he had helped her tend to her wound, given her his clothes, braved the rain, endured the cold, and now, he acted as though everything was fine when he was running a high fever.

If he was able to do such a cruel thing to her, why couldn't he just continue to be cruel so that she would be able to forget him? Why did he have to treat her so well after doing such a thing? His actions made her waver, made her heart confused, made her struggle between hatred and love. It was driving her to the edge...

Lu Jinnian could no longer hear a thing, his mind blank. All he could hear were her cries, each sob driving a dagger deeper into his heart.

Her words repeated continuously in his mind, seemingly killing his soul every single time.

Chapter 452: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（13）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Ever since Lu Jinnian was young, he had been insulted many times. Even his birth father had said cruel things to him before, but he had never felt as pathetic as he felt right now.

He wanted to allow himself to react or do something, but he had no idea what he should do. He could only maintain his usual frosty demeanor.

After a seemingly long time, Qiao Anhao's cries started to go down, her lashes trembling lightly.

He had always assumed that if his confession failed, he would lose her completely, so he would rather silently stay by her side.

Even if she would never turn back her entire life, it was fine.

Because in this world, she was the only one that gave him hope and showed him the beauty of life.

Many times, just her expression or a faint smile was able to brighten his day.

But even this tiny request was slowly turning into an unreachable desire.

Lu Jinnian's eyes gradually turned red. He lowered his lashes, his expression remaining calm. After a long while, he lifted his lashes and looked towards Qiao Anhao, his eyes distant and cold.

Qiao Qiao, did you know? You're the warmth that I’ve spent my whole life trying to get close to.

His lips curled into a slight smile, it was faint and had a hint of sorrow. Right now, he was ready to tell her that he would get out of her life.

-

Qiao Anhao cried for a long long time but she couldn't seem to vent her sorrow, her heart continued to be in a deep knot of pain.

The moment she saw his name on the abortion form, she felt upset, she felt weak, she didn't even have the courage to ask him why he had killed her child because she was worried that his words would send her straight down to hell.

But she never never expected that her lack of courage would cause the pain and suffering today.

She wanted to free herself, she wanted to just run away, to let her heart go cold...

She lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes.

The rain outside continued to pour relentlessly, and before she could ask her question, two steam of tears fell down her face. She took a deep breath before asking hoarsely, "Why didn't you want my child?"

Lu Jinnian had been preparing his words but before he could say anything, he heard her question. He tilted his head to look at her curiously.

Her eyes were swollen. As she knelt on the floor, she appeared small and delicate. She had her head raised towards him, staring straight into his eyes with a resolute expression.

She repeated her question once more. "Lu Jinnian, Lu Jinnian, why did you abort my child?"

Qiao Anhao's voice choked up as her heart continued to ache. "Lu Jinnian, I know that our marriage was fake and the child wasn't in the plan, but since he had arrived, how could you be so ruthless? How could you kill him?"

After crying for such a long time, her calmed emotions erupted once more. "Don't you know that it’s a life? How could you be so ruthless to kill a life? It’s murder, MURDER!

"Who gave you the right to kill my child?" Her tears came back with a fury, her throat choking up as she spoke. "My.. child, who gave you the right? WHO?"

Chapter 453: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（14）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao murmured "Who gave you the right?" several more times before looking up at the ceiling. She wiped her face off the endless tears, turning to stare out at the rain through the entrance of the cave.

Gradually, the image of how she fell in love with Lu Jinnian materialized in her mind. It was a rainy day just like today. Her heart started to throb, she could no longer bare it any longer, starting to cry once more.

This time, the cry was short. She quickly regained her senses, her long lashes were soaked with tear droplets as she stared at him. In a resolute voice, she said, "Lu Jinnian, seriously, I can understand what you did, I’m Xu Jiamu's wife in name, the child wasn't meant to be alive, but even if i can understand your intentions, I can never forgive you.

"I can never be as ruthless as you are..."

Her voice turned weak. She always thought that the most torturous thing in the world was not being able to love, but right now, she realized that the more torturous thing was that after what he had done, she still couldn't stop loving him.

She buried her head between her knees, speaking in a sorrowful voice, "If you have been treating me well because of guilt, you can forget it because you’ll never be able to compensate for what you did..."

Her question seemed to have caught Lu Jinnian off guard, it was only now that he was able to process what had happened. Qiao Anhao had found out about the abortion? But he had already silenced the doctors and nurses with a huge sum of money...

Just when he was still pondering on how she had found out, he heard her last sentence: "You can forget it because you’ll never be able to compensate for what you did..."

A glimmer of hope rose. With bright eyes, he finally said, "You didn't want to have anything to do with me because you thought I had aborted the child?"

His question seemed to have caught her off guard this time. She clenched onto her collar, not daring to look at him as her eyes started to turn red once more. In a seemingly soulless voice, she said, "You really killed my child...."

As opposed to her despair, Lu Jinnian was visibly agitated. He reached out to grab her shoulders, persisting with his question. "Qiao Qiao, answer my question first, you never wanted to see me again because of the child?"

Qiao Anhao buried her head further into her knees. She moved her shoulders, trying to free herself from him.

Lu Jinnian exerted more pressure as he asked once more, "Answer me..."

Before he could finish his question, she abruptly lifted her head. With a face full of hatred, she spat out, "Yes!"

Qiao Anhao had only said a word, but it was enough. A dazzling bright smile spread across Lu Jinnian’s face. He pulled her into his arms and embraced her tightly.

Chapter 454: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（15）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao was in despair and felt like dying but he had on a smile on his face? Even if she had a mild temper, she couldn't help getting infuriated. She struggled with her entire body, trying to free herself from his embrace, but Lu Jinnian exerted more strength, successfully caging her in his arms. It was as though he was trying to meld her into his body.

She started to get increasingly furious, she opened her mouth and bit down on his shoulder.

Lu Jinnian trembled, clearly in pain, but he had no intention of letting her go.

In Qiao Anhao’s desperation, tears started to fall out once more, her entire body trembling. When she could feel herself dying inside, she suddenly heard Lu Jinnian’s whisper.

"Qiao Qiao, you indeed got an abortion and I had indeed signed the papers, but I didn't have a choice, the child..."

He had thought that she hated him but only now did he realize that it was because of the child.

Lu Jinnian felt as though his emotions had just went on a wild ride, it was so exhausting it almost killed him.

At this moment, when he mentioned the child, the happiness was replaced by sorrow once more. In a low voice, he explained, "When the report came out, the child had already been dead for a weak."

Qiao Anhao seemed to have been struck, she stopped biting onto Lu Jinnian instantly.

"Qiao Qiao, when I reached Mian Xiu Garden, you were already bleeding. I didn't know what to do so I sent you to the hospital... At that time, your condition was bad and you needed to go to a surgery immediately.." Lu Jinnian never wanted to be reminded of that night ever again. Even till today, he would awake from this nightmare sometimes. "Qiao Qiao, I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect the child as a father should."

Qiao Anhao blinked several times before moving her mouth away from his shoulder to look at him in shock. "Died inside me?"

Lu Jinnian nodded lightly. His throat moved slightly, and he continued, worried she didn't believe his words, "The reports are all with me, you can take a look once we return if you don't believe me."

Her child died? That's why he signed the abortion papers? Which meant she had misunderstood him all this while?

He had been treating her really well recently... But she had always been ignoring him and treating him coldly... And a few minutes ago, she had just said such mean things to him…

She started to regret her actions and started to feel embarrassed. She buried her head in his shoulder and stared back at the spot that she had just bitten... There was blood and the skin had turned slightly purple.

Lowering her lashes in embarrassment, she reached out to caress his bruise before asking lightly, "Does it hurt?"

Lu Jinnian's face was a frightening shade of white, but he shook his head faintly. "Doesn't hurt."

Chapter 455: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（16）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao couldn't help her eyes from turning red. She reached out and hugged Lu Jinnian's neck, burying her head in his chest. After a moment, she raised her head slightly towards his ears, in a low whisper, she apologized, "I'm sorry."

Even though she wasn't loud, Lu Jinnian could hear every word. His body froze, but he didn't say anything, wordlessly hugging her closer.

Qiao Anhao remained silent. In this deserted place, they quietly enjoyed each other's embrace.

After a seemingly long time, the rain stopped, sinking the forest into silence. The only sound was coming from the crackling fire.

When Qiao Anhao finally calmed down, she began to think of what Lu Jinnian had said . She turned to face him slowly. "Lu Jinnian, why did the baby die?"

Lu Jinnian froze slightly, remembering the swallow’s nest that Han Ruchu had given her. Menace with a mixture of hatred and heartache flashed through his eyes, but it was gone in an instance. Before Qiao Anhao could detect any change, he had returned back to normal.

Han Ruchu was her mother-in-law, the mother of the man she loved... If she were to know the truth, it might cause a rift between her and Xu Jiamu... The only reason Han Ruchu had targeted her was because of him, it was all his fault....

In an emotionless voice, he explained, "The first three months of pregnancy are usually the toughest, it's very easy to have a miscarriage. At that time, you were still filming, the lack of rest and proper nutrition caused it to happen."

Qiao Anhao recalled her nausea. She had originally thought that it was a normal gastric problem, but now that she thought about it, it was probably from the pregnancy. Afterwards, the nausea had stopped and she thought that her stomach was fine, but it was actually because the baby had died...

If she had listened to Lu Jinnian and visited the hospital early on, the tragedy wouldn't have happened and she wouldn't have ended up misunderstanding him.

She remained in deep thought for a long while before asking softly, "Lu Jinnian, then why didn't you tell me the truth?"

Lu Jinnian seemed to feel sick. He leaned against the cave’s wall, staring at the fire. "Qiao Qiao, I just didn't want you to be upset."

I didn't have any other intentions, I just didn't want you to feel that heart wrenching pain that I had felt on that day.

I just wanted to carry all the pain and shoulder all your burdens.

He was just worried that she would be upset, that’s why he didn't tell her. It wasn't because he didn't want the child... Qiao Anhao started to feel a stinging sensation in her eyes. She softly murmured, "I'm sorry."

She waited slightly, then asked uncertainly, "Lu Jinnian, will you blame me?"

Lu Jinnian couldn't keep the cough in any longer, starting another fit. "Huh?" he asked after.

"Will you blame me for misunderstanding?" Qiao Anhao repeated uncertainly.

"No…"

Before he could say another word, he fell onto her.

Chapter 456: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（17）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian had placed his entire body weight on Qiao Anhao, and she had almost fallen with him. Turning her head to the side, she could see his tightly knotted forehead and pale lips. Just then, she remembered that he was still running a fever. She reached out to feel his forehead: the temperature seemed much higher than before.

He had soaked in the stream for such a long time, went to collect branches shirtless, all of it must have caused him to catch a cold.

Qiao Anhao felt her heart start to ache once more. She hurriedly climbed out of his embrace, then struggled to pull him to the straw mat. Using all her strength, she endured the pain in her leg, towing him towards the mat.

She covered him with his jacket before adding more branches to the fire so that it would burn more furiously, increasing the temperature in the cave.

The rain had been ongoing for a long time, causing the air to be moist. As the wind blew, the cave started to get cold and humid.

Lu Jinnian frowned as he lay on the straw mat, his face scrunching up in discomfort. Even unconscious, he was trembling from the cold.

Qiao Anhao stood in front of Lu Jinnian, attempting to block the wind that was entering the cave but it didn't seem to work as he continued to tremble uncontrollably. Even his breathing was starting to get weak as he continuously murmured something.

Qiao Anhao moved her ear towards his mouth to try and decipher what he was saying. After listening for a long while, she realized that he was repeating "Cold".

Without any hesitation, she removed her costume and placed it over Lu Jinnian's body, but just then, a gush of wind entered, sending chills through her body.

Even with two layers of clothes, he didn't seem to be getting any warmer...

Qiao Anhao looked at the fire before turning to look at the entrance of the cave. Deep in the woods, what could provide him with warmth?

She felt his icy cold hands as she listened to him murmur. She started to feel anxious, and frowning, she thought desperately of ways to warm him up. Just then, she seemed to have thought of something. Biting her lip, she removed all her clothes and slipped under the clothes that were covering Lu Jinnian. She inched over to him and arranged the clothes over both their bodies before hugging him close to send her own body warmth over.

Qiao Anhao hugged Lu Jinnian for a long while. In time, she felt his shivering stop and his body start to warm slightly. His breathing turned long and deep as though he had fallen asleep. Only then was she able to finally relax. She leaned against him in exhaustion, allowing sleep to take her.

-

Lu Jinnian had a dream, he dreamed that the both of them were lying together naked, her skin just like in his memory. It was soft and tender, sending desire through his body. He couldn't control it, kissing her lips greedily, seeking more.

It was a scary feeling. He became excited almost instantly and impatiently sought for more, pressing onto her body.

He could hear his breathing becoming impatient and his temperature starting to rise.

Chapter 457: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（18）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian could hear his hurried breaths and feel his ever rising body temperature.

Even his breaths were starting to heat up.

He wasn't sure where they were, but all he could feel was the rising heat...

His desires turned strong and his actions became increasingly daring. He continued to caress her lustfully, yearning and seeking more, while she remained docile, accommodating his touch.

It was indeed a dream... Lu Jinnian's breathing became erratic and unstable, but at the last moment, he suddenly stopped.

I can't... Now that they were no longer a couple and Xu Jiamu was awake, he couldn't, not when the man she loved was awake. They were meant to be together and he wasn't going to ruin it... Even in his dreams, he wasn't going to allow it....

He tried to control his breathing, his hands clenching tightly into fists as he desperately pushed down his desires, forcing himself away from her body. Yet he pulled her into his embrace, a layer of sweat covering his forehead.

-

The next day, Qiao Anhao was awakened by the birds chirping. She was in a slight daze, staring up at the cave wall for a while before bolting up from the mat. She sat on the mat and scanned the surroundings, realizing that she was all alone. The fire had extinguished, leaving a pile of ashes in its wake and the clothes she had removed the previous night were back on her.

Lu Jinnian had dressed her? But where was he?

Qiao Anhao tied her crumpled clothes, finding kiss marks on her collarbone. It was then that she realized in a daze that something had happened the night before. Her face blushed a deep shade of red instantly.

It wasn't a dream, it was real... But halfway through, why did he suddenly stop...

"You're awake?" Lu Jinnian's voice came from the entrance of the cave.

Qiao Anhao hurriedly stashed away her thoughts, turning to look at Lu Jinnian. He walked into the cave with his hands full with the fruit that she had eaten the night before.

She continued to stare at him as he placed the fruits in front of her. She picked one and took a bite before turning back to look at him, "How's your fever?"

Lu Jinnian swallowed the fruit before replying. "It's gone." He paused for a moment, then added, "Thank you for last night."

Qiao Anhao knew that he was referring to how she had removed her clothes to provide him with warmth, and her face turned red instantly. She lowered her head and bit hard into the fruit.

The cave remained silent for a while. After some time, she lifted her head to ask, "What are we going to do now?"

All Lu Jinnian could think about was the incident from the night before, but when he realized that she was speaking to him, he hurriedly asked, "Huh?"

Qiao Anhao thought that he didn't understand what she was asking, so she clarified. "I meant how are we going to leave this place? The crew might not be able to find us here."

She reached into her pockets and fiddled around before saying in exasperation, "I forgot I was wearing a costume so I don't have a phone..." Just then, her eyes brightened and she stared at Lu Jinnian. "Right, did you..?"

Chapter 458: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（19）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian bolted up from his seat abruptly as though he had met with an urgent matter, frightening Qiao Anhao. She paused slightly before lifting her head. "What's wrong?"

Lu Jinnian pointed to the entrance of the cave calmly, saying, "Nature’s call."

Before waiting for her to respond, he headed out of the cave.

He randomly chose a path, and after walking about fifty meters, he stopped.

Having left in a hurry, he was still holding on to the fruit. He held it in his mouth and reached for his phone. He pressed the on switch and stared at the screen in anticipation, and miraculously, it actually lit up. He could even get a signal! Several texts came through, producing multiple beeps.

Deep in his heart, he couldn't help scolding the phone. What kind of phone was this? It could actually turn on after being soaked in water for such a long time?

Lu Jinnian exhaled, as he thought of the woman that was still thinking of ways to contact someone, something flashed past his eyes. He hesitated slightly before tossing the phone away.

When he was out getting fruits, he realized that there were multiple traps in the forest. This meant that there was a village nearby and it was highly likely that someone would be here today to reap their gains. When they came to claim their prey, the two of them would be able to follow them back, but before that, he would be able to spend quality time with her...

Lu Jinnian strolled back into the cave leisurely. He sat back down on the log and faced Qiao Anhao, who was still munching on the fruit. In a calm tone, he asked, "Right, before I left, what did you want to ask me?"

"Do you have your phone with you?"

Lu Jinnian replied honestly, "I do."

Surprise clouded her eyes: "Hurry and take it out, maybe it can still work. If it works, we’ll be able to get help!"

"Yea." Lu Jinnian nodded accommodatingly before raising his hand to reach into his pocket. Frowning, he reached for his other pocket. He then pulled the entire pocket out before looking back at Qiao Anhao in despair... In a comforting tone, he tried to reassure her, "Maybe it's in the jacket."

As he spoke, he reached for the jacket at the side. He touched the pockets as Qiao Anhao stared at him with anticipation and hope. Just then, he pulled out his wallet really slowly.

He frowned and stood up, dusting his pants slightly. He spoke next in a curious tone as though he was talking to himself. "It's weird, I remember bringing my phone with me."

Qiao Anhao’s lifted spirits were dashed in an instance, but she still helped him analyze the situation. "Maybe you dropped it when you jumped into the stream?"

Lu Jinnian nodded. With a placating expression, he agreed to her words, "Maybe..."

Chapter 459: Why Didn't You Want My Child？（20）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Just as Lu Jinnian had predicted, at about noon, an elderly and middle-aged man came into the cave. In one hand, they held hunting guns and in the other, they had a random assortment of animals.

They seemed surprised to see living humans so deep inside the deserted forest. The historical robe that Qiao Anhao wore shocked them further. They froze, thinking that they had encountered a monster.

Lu Jinnian explained their predicament to them in detail, and only then did the two hunters seemed to calm down and regain their senses. Without hesitation, they agreed to help both Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian come back to safety.

The forest road was harsh. With her leg injury, Qiao Anhao wasn't able to tread through by herself, so Lu Jinnian carried her instead.

Even thought the elderly man had a full head of white hair and long snowy beard, his footsteps were swift and agile, with no indication of his age. But when he saw Lu Jinnian with Qiao Anhao on his back, he slowed down significantly, even helping to support him when the path started to became harsher.

Through the conversation, Qiao Anhao found out that they were father and son and were hunters. The elderly man didn't speak much, but the younger man smiled cheerfully as he told them that they were lucky to have met them since they would only come every three to five days. If they had been here any earlier, they might have had to wait for up to three or four days.

It was only three hours later when they reached the entrance of the village. It was rather small and filled with wooden houses.

While they were walking over, the pair realized that Qiao Anhao was injured, so the moment they reached the village, they led them to the only health center.

The village was rural and surrounded by mountains. Even though roads had just been built, the conditions in the village were still harsh. The medical center wasn't very advanced, and there was only one doctor who applied a thin layer of medicine onto Qiao Anhao’s wound.

After the wound was treated, the hunters brought them to their home. The moment they entered the house, the younger man shouted. Moments after, a middle-aged woman came out. When she saw Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao, her gaze turned curious, and her husband explained the situation. She turned back to Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao, enthusiastically welcoming them into the house for a meal.

The middle-aged women didn't expect the additional guests, so she was worried that there wouldn’t be enough food and headed back to boil another two bowls of noodles.

After the meal, the woman brought them to the west house. She pointed towards a room and told them that she had prepared it for them.

The room had soil flooring and didn't have much furniture. The bed sheets were visibly fresh and clean but looked worn with stitching at the edges.

Beside the bed, there was a water flask and two cups on a black, wooden table. The cups looked new, clearly untouched since the day they were bought.

The middle-aged woman didn't disrupt them. She just told them to inform her if they needed anything before closing the door.

The cave conditions had been bad, so Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao hadn’t gotten much rest. On top of that, since Lu Jinnian had carried her for such a long walk, he was indeed tired. The moment they laid on the bed, they fell into deep sleep.

Chapter 460: Peaceful and Beautiful Times（1）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

When Lu Jinnian woke up, the other side of the bed was already empty.

He frowned, bolting up. When he was about to find Qiao Anhao, he caught sight of a set of clothes at the corner of his pillow. It was a simple white shirt and a pair of long black pants. On the floor, there was a bucket of water, beside which was a Thermos flask and a small towel.

Lu Jinnian's frown disappeared instantly. He walked towards the bucket and poured some hot water in. He placed the towel into the bucket before wringing it dry to wipe himself. Turning back to the bed, he put on the clothes and walked out of the room with the bucket.

The living area outside was empty, the door slightly ajar. He walked over and was mesmerized by the comforting and peaceful sight.

There was a large tree in the courtyard. He didn't know what species it was, but it was filled with pink flowers, its trunk thick and coarse, showing its age.

Qiao Anhao sat below the tree, a little girl about seven years old beside her, leaning against a short table. The little girl had a pen in her hands and appeared to be practicing writing.

Qiao Anhao was focused on the white paper, her tone soft and gentle when she spoke.

"No, it's wrong here... Nope, still wrong... Let me show you one more time…" As she spoke, she covered the little girl's tiny hands, patiently writing the words out slowly. "There, you can try again… Yes, that's great! It's really pretty, you did well..."

The little girl tilted her head up to smile sweetly at Qiao Anhao before lowering it back down to continue practicing.

It was nearing dusk, the sun casting a reddish glow on the tree, the rays spilling onto Qiao Anhao and the little girl.

Qiao Anhao had already removed her costume. She had on a simple white dress, her hair tied into two long plaids.

Her face was clean, without any makeup, her white skin gleaming under the sun’s rays; it was flawless.

The wind blew softly, causing a few petals to fall onto her and the girl's dark hair. Qiao Anhao reached out to pinch the petals away carefully.

Lu Jinnian held onto the bucket, leaning against the door as he stared at the image ahead, mesmerized. His heart clenched, it felt full and at ease.

The little girl was the first to notice Lu Jinnian's presence. She held onto the pencil, her head tilted to the side as she stared at him, blinking slightly.

When Qiao Anhao realized that the girl was in a daze, she lightly called out to her "Nan Nan." She towards her line of sight, and when she saw Lu Jinnian at the door, she straightened and asked, "You're awake?"

Lu Jinnian snapped out of his daze. "Yea…" He took large strides forward and poured the water away before heading to the tree.

Qiao Anhao turned to smile at him. "She's Nan Nan, the daughter of the family. Brother Chen and his wife went to farm, and since she was reading, I decided to teach her a few words."

Lu Jinnian nodded his head lightly, looking down at the white paper.

When Qiao Anhao had covered the little girl's hand, the words were neat, but when the girl had written herself, they started to curve weirdly in every direction.

Chapter 461: Peaceful and Beautiful Times（2）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

A while after Lu Jinnian woke up, elderly Chen, Brother Chen, and his wife came back from the farm.

While they were having lunch, Lu Jinnian asked where he could borrow a phone, sadly, the only family with a phone in the village wasn't at home in the afternoon. But when brother Chen was on the way back from the farm, he had seen that the door to the house was open, hence he immediately brought Lu Jinnian over.

Brother Chen explained Lu Jinnian's situation to the family, so they allowed them into the house and led them towards their phone. The house’s owner signaled for Lu Jinnian to use it, and he walked over and entered his assistant's phone number.

The call went through instantly. The assistant's voice was drowned in anxiety. "Is there news from Mr. Lu and Miss Qiao?"

Lu Jinnian paused for a bit before replying simply, "It's me."

"Huh?" His assistant asked curiously, seemingly in a daze. After a while, he shouted enthusiastically, "Mr. Lu? Mr. Lu is that you?"

"Yea."

"Mr. Lu, is that really you? Where are you now? Oh, did you see Miss Qiao? How are your conditions?" The assistant rambled on continuously.

"I'm with her now, we're both fine." Lu Jinnian paused momentarily before adding, "We're at..."

He turned to look at brother Chen, who understood instantly, and taking over the phone, he reported the village’s name and its exact location. After the assistant had recorded the details, brother Chen passed the phone back to Lu Jinnian.

"Mr. Lu, I'll rush over right now."

-

When they returned back to brother Chen's house, his wife had already made dinner. The village people led a simple life: they slept early and woke up early, so after dinner, elderly Chen brought the little girl into the house to sleep while brother Chen and his wife stayed behind to clean up their hunting gains before turning in.

The village was extremely quiet once night set in. Besides the moonlight, there weren’t any other light sources.

Qiao Anhao had slept too much in the afternoon, so she laid beside Lu Jinnian, both of them wide awake.

The moment she shut her eyes, her mind started to run. The more she thought about random things, the more awake she was, and in the end, she flipped over. Using the faint glow from the moon, she stared at Lu Jinnian's perfect profile.

After staring for a long while, she blinked and whispered his name, "Lu Jinnian?"

"Yea?" Lu Jinnian opened his eyes as he flipped to the side. His eyes seemed like bottomless pits under the faint glow, captivating her.

Her heart jumped, and she lowered her lashes unconsciously, hiding from his gaze before continuing, "Thank you."

If it wasn't for him, she would probably be dead.

"It's fine." Lu Jinnian knew what she meant, and he replied warmly. His voice was cold and frosty but it still managed to warm her heart.

Lu Jinnian had jumped down the cliff to save her, so was it like in the dramas where one could sacrifice their own life for someone else?

Chapter 462: Peaceful and Beautiful Times（3）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao couldn't explain it, but a thought started to form in her mind. Her heart pounded rapidly as she continued to stare at Lu Jinnian's profile, and before she could process whatever was in her mind, she blurted out, "Lu Jinnian, why are you so good to me?"

Her question seemed to have startled Lu Jinnian. He remained silent, not knowing how to reply.

Only after Qiao Anhao had asked the question did she realize what had happened, and she started to grow anxious. She held her breath.

When she realized that Lu Jinnian didn't react at all, she started to feel embarrassed. Desperately, she tried to find a way out, she thought randomly before finally thinking of something. "Lu Jinnian, are you guilty because of the death of the child? Is that why you're treating me so well?"

Lu Jinnian had been fretting about what to do, so the moment he heard her, he heaved a sigh of relief and replied with a faint "Yea."

He was indeed sorry for the death of the child, but even if the child hadn’t existed, he would still have jumped into the stream without hesitation if the incident had happened again.

But there were some things that he wasn't able to let her know.

It was really because of the child... Disappointment clouded Qiao Anhao’s heart instantly, but even if he felt guilty, wasn't sacrificing his life a bit too much?

She wanted to pursue the matter further, but before she could ask the question, she paused.

She had wanted to ask him: Did you jump down the cliff because you like me?

Indeed, Lu Jinnian had treated her really well and done so many things that had caused her to be misled...

But what if she was wrong?

 Qiao Anhao's lips moved, but in the end, she swallowed her question, remaining silent.

Lu Jinnian, who was lying beside her, seemed to have suddenly remembered something important. He turned his head and stared into her eyes, his face solemn.

"I paid the hospital a large sum to keep your abortion a secret, how could you have found out about it?"

Lu Jinnian's question caused Qiao Anhao’s mind to freeze, but she replied honestly. "A nurse from the hospital sent me the form..."

She paused, seeming to have realized that something was wrong. Without continuing her sentence, she asked, "Hey, wait up. The nurse mentioned that you didn't want my child and that she was the accomplice. The only reason she sent the papers to me was because she was guilty and was trying to redeem herself... Why would she feel guilty about my miscarriage?"

Lu Jinnian didn't care for the second half of her sentence. With a frown, he asked,"What was in the delivery?"

"The abortion papers you signed."

"When did you receive them?"

Qiao Anhao thought for a while. "On my birthday…"

Wasn't her birthday the day that Xu Jiamu woke up?

Lu Jinnian's heart clenched tightly; he had understood everything in that instant.

Everything was planned by Han Ruchu...

Chapter 463: Peaceful and Beautiful Times（4）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Han Ruchu would definitely be aware that Qiao Anhao would get an abortion in the hospital as she was the one who had placed the sleeping pills in that swallow’s nest.

When her son woke up, she no longer had any worries, but she was afraid that Qiao Anhao would fall for him after spending such a long time together, so she had tried to find a loophole to scheme upon.

At that time, Lu Jinnian just didn't want her to be upset, so he forgot that his dishonestly could be used against him.

Just a moment of miscalculation and a tragedy could have happened.

If she didn't fall into the stream, he would have never known that she hated him so much.

Five years ago, on Qiao Anhao's birthday, that woman had thrown away the flowers and cake he had gotten Qiao Anhao.

Five years later, still on Qiao Anhao's birthday, that woman had sentenced him to death in Qiao Anhao’s world.

He had underestimated her hatred towards him, and her ruthlessness.

Between an unknown nurse and Lu Jinnian who had explained the situation the night before, Qiao Anhao chose to believe him without hesitation. She never noticed anything strange about him as she continued to voice her doubt. "Why would the nurse lie? What was her motive?"

Lu Jinnian was deep in his thoughts and didn't realize that Qiao Anhao had spoken.

After a long while, she still didn't get a response, so she couldn't resist anymore. "Lu Jinnian?"

He hurriedly put away his thoughts. Turning towards Qiao Anhao, he replied in a faint voice, "I'm not sure either... I handed the matter to my assistant, and he had mentioned that there was a nurse that threatened him for more money but he had ignored her, that may be the reason why she came to you..."

So that's what happened... Qiao Anhao looked at Lu Jinnian and apologized once more. "Regardless of how it was, Lu Jinnian, I want to say I’m sorry."

"It's fine..." Lu Jinnian paused, his gaze turning murderous.

Some things had been done deliberately so she would misunderstand, so how could she have realized?

Han Ruchu was there ever since she was a child, she treated her like a daughter, so Qiao Anhao would probably never believe that she was the one who had killed her child.

If he were to tell her the truth now, would she think he was accusing Han Ruchu?

He was able to tolerate Han Ruchu's repeated insults and hurt, but he wasn't capable of forgiving her for what she had did to his child, there will come a day when he’ll get his revenge.

Lu Jinnian shut his eyes, forcing the anger down before replying faintly, "Actually, it's also my fault." After pausing for a bit, he added, "It's late, sleep."

After talking for such a long time, Qiao Anhao was indeed starting to get sleepy. In the end, she could no longer fight her drooping eyelids and fell asleep. In a daze, she felt someone come close, placing a warm, moist kiss on her forehead.

Chapter 464: Peaceful and Beautiful Times（5）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anaho's brows moved, she seemed to have smelled the familiar aroma of Lu Jinnian. Just then, she seemed to have heard someone whisper, "Qiao Qiao, I like you, I have liked you for a very very long time."

Qiao Anhao's lips curled upwards into a smile, her head rubbing the pillow before falling into deep sleep.

Lu Jinnian stared at Qiao Anhao's face for a long while before reaching out to rub her hair lightly. Turning back to his side of the bed, he laid down.

-

The next morning, Qiao Anhao was awaken by thunder. She sat upright and turned to the other side of the bed, Lu Jinnian was no longer around. The skies started to pour outside, and she came out and saw that brother Chen's wife was the only one in the living room. She sat on a wooden stool, sewing a man's shirt.

"Miss Qiao, you're awake?" She raised her head to look at Qiao Anhao. Putting the clothes down, she walked to the side and placed a set of breakfast onto the table in front of her.

Qiao Anhao thanked her before sitting down. She tilted her head and asked, "Where is everyone?"

"They went to he mountain to cut shoots."

Qiao Anhao didn't reply, she lowered her head to eat silently. When she was halfway through, lighting struck, piercing the air before a loud clap of thunder resounded. Swiftly, the rain increased in intensity.

Qiao Anhao turned to face the door instinctively. As she looked out, the rain pelted down from the skies aggressively, blurring her vision. As puddles started to form, flooding the area, she started to feel increasingly worried, losing her appetite.

She continued to stare out the door, gaining Madam Chen's attention. She smiled slightly, comforting Qiao Anhao, " Miss Qiao, don't worry, the weather here is always like that, it'll stop in a while."

Qiao Anhao nodded her head lightly, her heart uneasy. The skies were pouring. Since she was in Beijing ever since she was young, it was the first time she had experienced such bad weather.

Madam Chen seemed to understand Qiao Anhao's anxiety, but at the same time, she was bored, so she asked, "Miss Qiao, where are you from?"

Qiao Anhao stared at the horrid weather, her mind running as she replied soullessly, "Beijing."

"Oh Beijing, that's a big city, no wonder you seem so elegant." As she spoke, Madam Chen tied an end knot on the shirt before biting off the thread.

Another lighting pierced through the skies, and Qiao Anhao paled, starting to get more anxious, her entire body trembling.

Madam Chen couldn't keep in her laughter. "Miss Qiao, don't worry, your man will definitely be fine."

Your man... Qiao Anhao was just about to explain when suddenly two figures came into sight.

She paused, swallowing her words. She stood up hurriedly and saw brother Chen running in covered in mud, behind him was Lu Jinnian, who was entirely covered in mud as well. But even mud, it still couldn't conceal the elegance that he emitted.

The moment she saw him back in one piece, Qiao Anhao finally calmed her heavy heart. Before she could ask how he was, Madam Chen laughed lightly.

"Aiya, you're finally back Mr. Lu! You have no idea how worried your wife was when she realized you were out in such a bad weather. She was so anxious she almost cried!"

Chapter 465: Peaceful and Beautiful Times（6）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Madam Chen pointed with her head towards the table as she spoke. "Look, she didn't even eat much."

Lu Jinnian glanced towards the breakfast on the table before glancing back at Qiao Anhao.

She blushed upon hearing Madam Chen's words, and when she sensed Lu Jinnian looking at her, she blushed an even deeper shade of red, lowering her head to shield her face. Just then, she realized that she hadn't clarified their relationship.

Before the men had returned, Madam Chen had already boiled some water for them to have a bath. After they took a hot bath, the rain had already stopped and the skies were clear once again, brightening the village.

Qiao Anhao walked back to the room with a freshly brewed bowl of ginger soup. When she entered, she saw that Lu Jinnian's hair was drenched and was still dripping water. She frowned slightly, placing the ginger soup on the table before leaving the room to get a dry towel.

Lu Jinnian sat on the edge of the bed, holding the bowl of ginger soup in his hands and sipping from it carefully, the droplets from his hair dripping into the bowl.

Qiao Anhao walked towards him, placed a towel on his head, and started to dry it tenderly.

Lu Jinnian stiffened slightly, spilling hot soup onto the back of his hand, scalding it bright red. Ignoring the pain, he lowered his lashes, continuing to sip the hot soup gingerly.

The room was silent. After a moment, Qiao Anhao said softly, "Erm, Madam Chen misunderstood."

Lu Jinnian took a moment to process her words before replying with a non-committal "Oh." Reaching out with his hand, he placed the bowl onto the table beside.

Qiao Anhao removed the towel and caressed his hair; it was only slightly damp now. She turned, and when she was about to leave, she tripped on Lu Jinnian's leg, falling right into his arms. Her face blushed a deep shade of red as she struggled to climb out of his embrace. But Lu Jinnian, he instead grabbed onto her wrists.

Qiao Anhao stiffened. She lifted her head and her gaze collided straight with Lu Jinnian's eyes.

In that instance, her heart raced and an unknown anxiety started to enclose her.

After a seemingly long while, Lu Jinnian moved her hands to the back of her head, moving her head slightly upwards. Soon, she felt his head lowering closer and closer to her face.

Qiao Anhao felt as though her heart had stopped. Her long lashes trembled slightly before her eyes shut entirely. She could feel his breath spilling onto her face, it was heated and moist.

She couldn't help gulping down her saliva. Even though her eyes were shut and she couldn't see anything, she knew that his lips were almost touching hers... just then, their lips met.

Heat ran through her body, spreading everywhere, and her lashes started to tremble rapidly.

Lu Jinnian's lips covered her lips, but he remained motionless for a long while before slowly kissing her. Just when his tongue was going to venture in, Madam Chen's loud voice pierced through the air. "Mr. Lu, Miss Qiao, someone is here to get you!"

Chapter 466: Peaceful and Beautiful Times (7)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian paused for a moment, while Qiao Anhao completely snapped back to reality and instinctively pulled away from his arms. She lowered her blushing face, and straightened her clothes. She made a sound to the other side of the door, glanced at Lu Jinnian, and walked out first.

"There are two cars stopped at the door. They say that they're here to pick you both up..." said brother Chen's wife, as she pointed at the courtyard. Qiao Anhao stared blankly for a moment, then when she stepped out and saw who was standing outside, she instantly smiled.

"Sis, Brother Jiamu!"

Lu Jinnian, who was originally following behind Qiao Anhao, stopped in his tracks for a moment when he heard the two names she called out. After a while, he stepped out of the house and saw the three of them chatting and laughing away.

Xu Jiamu probably knew that Qiao Anhao had hurt her leg, so he supported her over to the stool under the tree. Then, he crouched down in front of her and rolled up her trousers to check on the wound.

They probably assumed someone would be injured, and so they specially brought a medical kit with them. When Qiao Anxia ran over to the car to get it, Xu Jiamu remained crouched and rubbed the herbal medicine to disinfect the wound. He added on a layer of ointment before bandaging it up.

Xu Jiamu lifted his head. Who knows what he asked Qiao Anhao, but she smiled at him and shook her head.

The bright rays of sun happened to shine on her face and her smile, which pierced Lu Jinnian's eyes. He instinctively turned his head in pain, and stood by the door a little fazed, until his assistant walked over and called out to him, "Mr. Lu".

Lu Jinnian hurriedly snapped back to reality and turned his head towards brother Chen and his wife in the house. He said, "Thank you", and soon after, glanced at his assistant, who immediately knew to take out an envelope.

Lu Jinnian took the envelope and handed it to brother Chen and his wife. "Thank you so much for taking care of us. Here's a little something as a token of goodwill."

Brother Chen took the envelope, and saw a pile of red notes. He immediately pushed it back, wanting to return it to Lu Jinnian, but in the end, the assistant came forward, and reasoned with them. Finally, he convinced them to accept the envelope.

"Mr. Lu, should we be on our way now?" asked the assistant. After he finished thanking the Chen family, he turned his head and walked over to Lu Jinnian, who stood dazed to one side, staring at an empty space outside the house.

Lu Jinnian diverted his eyes and gave a light nod.

The assistant immediately rushed over to the three who were chatting away to one side, and reminded Xu Jiamu with a respectful tone, "Mr. Xu, we can head out now."

"Wait one moment, let me say goodbye to brother Chen and his wife." Qiao Anhao got up from the stool and rushed over to the house.

Xu Jiamu stood still on the spot, before calling out "Bro" to Lu Jinnian, who stood inside the house.

Lu Jinnian greeted him with a silent nod, then his eyes fell on Qiao Anhao, who came out of the house.

Probably because of the pain in her leg, for two days, she was quite slow and limped when she walked.

It had just rained, and so there were quite a few puddles on the ground. She walked a little cautiously, perhaps to avoid getting her shoes wet.

Now, she walked for about five meters before suddenly stopping.

Qiao Anxia cried out in curiosity, "Qiao Qiao?"

Qiao Anhao didn't turn her head but raised her hand to rub her forehead. Then, without any warning, her body went limp, and she dropped to the ground.

Chapter 467: Peaceful and Beautiful Times (8)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

"Qiao Qiao!"

"Miss Qiao!"

"Miss Qiao!"

Everyone screamed in shock at practically the same time.

Lu Jinnian was the first to rush over to Qiao Anhao, followed closely behind by Xu Jiamu. However, Xu Jiamu was far closer to where Qiao Anhao had fallen than Lu Jinnian was, so it didn't matter how fast he ran. Xu Jiamu was the first to reach Qiao Anhao, and he crouched down, propping her up.

Xu Jiamu lightly slapped her face and gently called her name twice. Yet Qiao Anhao was resting weakly on his shoulders without the slightest reaction.

Lu Jinnian, who had originally lunged forward, stopped sharply in his tracks. He looked over at the pale-faced Qiao Anhao with her eyes shut, nestled in Xu Jiamu's arms. His eyes were rather astounded.

Just now, because he ran over so abruptly, his breath was a little unsteady, and his outstretched hands lingered still, mid-air.

Brother Chen and his wife, Qiao Anxia and the assistant had already come over.

"What happened to Miss Qiao? How did she suddenly faint?" said brother Chen's wife, as she looked over at her husband.

"Qiao Qiao, Qiao Qiao!" Qiao Anxia shook Qiao Anhao's arm, then impatiently cried out to Xu Jiamu, "Xu Jiamu, what are you doing, blanking out? Hurry up and take Qiao Qiao to the hospital!"

With Qiao Anxia's cries, Xu Jiamu abruptly snapped back to reality, then hurriedly carried Qiao Anhao out. He turned and rushed out the door.

Qiao Anxia hurriedly left with the words, "Thank you for taking care of Qiao Qiao."

She then ran away in her ten centimeter shoes and caught up with Xu Jiamu. As she opened her handbag, she pulled the car door and outstretched her arms to push Xu Jiamu, who was setting Qiao Anhao down, into the car. With bossy aura, she ordered him, "Hand me the keys, you get in too. I'm driving!"

Without even waiting for Xu Jiamu to search for his keys, Qiao Anxia ardently reached her hand out and scoured through his pockets, to which Xu Jiamu cried out, "Qiao Anxia, what the f*ck do you think you're touching?!"

With the car keys in her hand, Qiao Anxia shot Xu Jiamu a scornful look, as though she couldn’t be bothered to answer him. Then she put the key straight in the car and started the engine up.

"Bro, you lot hurry and catch up!" screamed Xu Jiamu into the courtyard behind him, and then, he got in the car. Before the car door was even closed, Qiao Anxia stepped on the accelerator, causing it to jump. The dirty water by the road flew on Xu Jiamu's face, and he howled in rage, "Qiao Anxia, could you just be normal!"

The car door then abruptly slammed shut, and as the car started up with a roar, it quickly disappeared.

"Mr. Lu, shall we also be going?"

With his assistant's reminder, Lu Jinnian quickly came to his senses. He lowered his eyelids, masking the sadness beneath his eyes, then straightened up. He silently pulled back his arms that were ready to hold Qiao Anhao and turned to say a few words to bid brother Chen and his wife farewell. However, the words never came. In the end, he gently nodded, and strode over the the courtyard doors.

Brother Chen and his wife saw Lu Jinnian and his assistant to the door, but Lu Jinnian still didn't say a word. The assistant enthusiastically said his goodbyes to the couple, then started up the car, and chased after the car in front.

Lu Jinnian's car followed closely behind Qiao Anxia. They stopped at the entrance of a local hospital downtown.

Chapter 468: Peaceful and Beautiful Times (9)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

The car hadn't even come to a complete stop when Lu Jinnian pulled open the door and got out. He took big strides towards the car in front, but before he even got there, Xu Jiamu had gotten out with Qiao Anhao in his arms. He rushed over to A&E, as Qiao Anxia hurriedly locked the car and caught up.

Lu Jinnian's footsteps stumbled for just a moment, then he caught up to them.

There were many people in the hospital. They took Qiao Anhao immediately to the operating room.

Xu Jiamu sat on a chair in the waiting room with an anxious expression, whereas Qiao Anxia sat restlessly in her seat. She eventually got up and paced up and down in front of Xu Jiamu every now and then.

Her pacing made Xu Jiamu feel agitated. He couldn't take it anymore and raised his head. "Qiao Anxia, could you sit and be quiet for a moment?"

"Xu Jiamu, your wife is lying in there, could you look a little worried?" retorted Qiao Anxia.

Xu Jiamu didn't react to her retort and just waved his hand, wearing an expression that said he couldn’t be bothered by her antics.

The assistant instinctively glanced over at Lu Jinnian, who stood around five meters away from the window, when he heard the two words "your wife" from Qiao Anxia's mouth.

Lu Jinnian appeared exceptionally quiet, as though he hadn't heard what was just said,. He stood still, staring out the window. However, the assistant noticed that his hand on the window sill had clenched into a fist. Because he had used excessive force, white lines had formed around his knuckles.

About half an hour later, the doctor emerged from the operating room.

Qiao Anxia was the first to rush over to him. "How's my sister?"

Xu Jiamu followed closely behind, walking up to the doctor.

Lu Jinnian, who stood in his spot without moving, just slightly turned his head towards the two.

The doctor removed the face mask and said, "The patient is fine. Perhaps she hasn't been resting well lately, and when exposed to the cold, it triggered an inflammation in her body. Now, she has a high fever and her blood pressure is low, which is why she fainted. We've given her some fluids for now."

After a pause, he added, "If one of you is available, please proceed to patient registration for overnight stays."

Lu Jinnian glanced at his assistant, who instinctively knew to walk up to them. "Miss Da Qiao, Mr. Xu, I'll go."

Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anxia didn't reject his offer, and nodded. The assistant took the form, ready to go downstairs, when Lu Jinnian stretched out his hand and took it from him, walking downstairs.

After Lu Jinnian came back, Qiao Anhao was given a private room at the hospital. When she fainted, her clothes had become completely dirty. Now, she'd changed into a hospital gown and lay quietly on the bed with an IV drip in her arm. Xu Jiamu sat by her bed with a clean towel in his hands, wiping her hair and clearing the dirt from her face.

Lu Jinnian stood in the corridor, staring at that scene for a long time. In the end, he didn't go in but gave his assistant the money for the hospital bill, then turned to go downstairs on his own.

It was already evening by the time Lu Jinnian came back with a handful of bags.

The needle in Qiao Anhao's arm was already removed and replaced with a plaster. She was deep asleep on the hospital bed.

When Xu Jiamu, Qiao Anxia, and his assistant had received Lu Jinnian's call yesterday, the three of them had rushed overnight, so they hadn't slept all night. On top of that, after a day of torment at the hospital, they were so incredibly exhausted that they couldn't take it anymore and also fell asleep.

Chapter 469: Peaceful and Beautiful Times (10)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Xu Jiamu lay spread out by the bedside. As for Qiao Anxia and the assistant, one was on the sofa, while the other was on the chair.

Lu Jinnian tried not to disturb them when he gently placed the things he’d bought on the table. Then he walked over to Qiao Anhao’s bedside and stroked her forehead to find that she still had a fever.

He walked softly into the bathroom, where he grabbed a towel and ran it under cold water. When he squeezed it dry, he walked back into the room again and placed it on Qiao Anhao's forehead.

The cold soothed her a little, and her furrowed brows began to slowly relax.

Lu Jinnian didn't leave her bedside, whilst he stared at her with soft eyes. After quite some time, he stretched out his hand and stroked her head.

After he returned with the wet towel, he hadn't dried his hands of cold water. With her high temperature and his freezing touch, she couldn't help but to give in to the cold, wet palm of his hands.

At her sweet, obedient look, Lu Jinnian couldn't help but slowly curve the corner of his lips into a slight smile. With his thumb, he gently stroked her cheeks a little, but then, he glanced over at Xu Jiamu, who was spread out at her bedside, fast asleep. His eyes twitched a little, and he pulled his arm back and walked away.

Xu Jiamu, Qiao Anxia, and the assistant didn't wake up until the nurse came around to give them food.

Whilst they ate, the nurse used that time to check Qiao Anhao's temperature. She still had a fever, and so the nurse put her on another drip.

It was already eight in the evening when they finished their dinner. When Xu Jiamu saw Qiao Anxia's fatigued, sleepy face and the cramped hospital room, he said, "How about you guys find a hotel to get some rest, and I'll be fine here."

Lu Jinnian wanted to stay here so bad, but Xu Jiamu was around. What gave him the right to take care of her?

He stared at Qiao Anhao in bed with a serene look on his face, then after a long a while gave a light nod and said, "All right."

Before he left, Lu Jinnian pointed at the bag he had brought in the afternoon. "Those are clothes for her."

"Mm." Xu Jiamu nodded and said, "Got it."

Lu Jinnian glanced over again at Qiao Anhao in deep sleep, then strode out the door.

-

The assistant found a hotel near the hospital and made reservations for three rooms.

Lu Jinnian stood in front of the window and smoked around three cigarettes before realizing that he'd finished the pack. He laid down on the bed, but no matter what he did, he couldn't fall asleep. In the end, he changed clothes and walked out the room.

He went to the convenience store by the hotel and bought a pack of cigarettes. As he came out the store, he lit one up. Standing in the unfamiliar street of the town, he took two deep drags.

The night breeze blew past and fused with the dry summer heat. Nights in the little town seemed notably peaceful. There were practically no cars on the street, and even the shops on both sides of the road were closed for the night. Every now and then, one or two motorbikes would speed through the street.

Lu Jinnian stood there for a while, but in the end, he strode all the way to the hospital.

When he reached the in-patient's block, he put out the cigarette in his hand.

The corridor was very quiet. All that Lu Jinnian could hear was the sound of his own footsteps echoing in the long corridor.

He stopped outside Qiao Anhao's room but didn't enter. He leaned against the wall and, through the glass window, stared at Xu Jiamu overlooking Qiao Anhao. There he was, sitting by her bedside, raising his arm to adjust the IV drip.

Lu Jinnian couldn't help but lift his head up at the lights above him that made his eyes dry and obscured his vision. An irrepressible bitterness tossed around in his chest.

Chapter 470: Video Call（1）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Sometimes,no matter how hard people try to keep things hidden, there would still be loopholes.

When Xu Wanli was having dinner with some investors in the entertainment industry, he found out that Qiao Anhao had gotten injured during the filming of "Heaven's sword".

Initially, Xu Wanli had no idea that the victim was Qiao Anhao, hence he just treated the news as gossip. In the end, the investor came close to him and whispered softly that the victim seemed to have been his daughter in law, but to prevent any trouble, the crew had stopped the news from spreading.

Xu Wanli wasn't sure of those words’ credibility, but when he returned home, he still told Han Ruchu about the matter. From there, Han Ruchu had called Qiao Anxia's mother to ask about it and she had called Qiao Anhao to find out. But when no one answered the call, she anxiously dialed for Qiao Anxia.

Even though Qiao Anxia had reassured her that Qiao Anhao was already fine and that she and Xu Jiamu were there, taking care of her, Han Ruchu and Qiao Anxia's mother still took a flight down the very next day.

-

On yet another night, Lu Jinnian's assistant carried a pack rice over to Lu Jinnian's car. He opened the drivers seat door and sat in.

Lu Jinnian sat in the passenger seat with the new phone that his assistant had gotten for him and was scanning through the pile of company documents, with the seemingly untouched lunch at his side.

His assistant frowned, placing the new pack of food in the car before bringing the previous pack out to toss it in the rubbish bin. He returned back to the drivers seat and said, "Mr. Lu, you haven't eaten in almost a day, have some food."

"I'm not hungry." Lu Jinnian didn't bother lifting his head when he replied faintly, he continued to stare at the phone and reply to the pile of emails.

The assistant continued, "Mr. Lu, there are people taking care of Miss Qiao, I’m sure she'll be fine."

Lu Jinnian ignored him, bringing his phone closer. He said, "There are some problems with the contract, I’ve indicated the areas that need to be edited and have sent it to your email."

Ignored, the assistant touched his nose and looked out the car to face a certain window on the second floor. Sighing inwardly, he thought about how Mr. Lu was the most worried when Miss Qiao fell ill. But beside her, she had her fiance, so all Mr. Lu could do was stand by the side.

Yet when Mr. Xu's mother came, he could no longer even stand by the sides and had been relegated to waiting in the car. When she finally woke up in the afternoon, the assistant had ecstatically reported the news to Mr. Lu, hoping that he would get some rest, but unlike what he had hoped, the other had no intention of leaving.

The assistant remained silent, not disrupting Lu Jinnian. The entire car was silent except for the few words from Lu Jinnian while he was holding meetings with the board members.

At night, the skies were dark. When Lu Jinnian finally finished a large chunk of work, he placed his phone at the side and leaned back against the seat. He reached his hand out to massage his forehead before spotting his assistant through the rear view mirror. He paused before saying, "You can go back now."

Chapter 471: Video Call（2）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The assistant asked, "Then... What about you, Mr. Lu?"

"I..." Lu Jinnian raised his eyes to look at the second floor window that his assistant was looking at just now. He then said, "I'll wait awhile more."

Qiao Anhao was in the hospital ward but he was down here. Even if he waited till she was discharged, he still wouldn't be able to get close!

The assistant knew that he wasn't in the position to comment, but after hesitating, he couldn't help caring. "Mr. Lu, why don't you go back to the hotel for some rest, you spent the whole of last night in the hospital staircase and hadn't rested the entire day, you'll burn out if you continue at this rate."

Burn out... Lu Jinnian's gaze remained on the second floor window. The lights were still on and he could vaguely make out the silhouettes passing behind the windows. He laughed lightly as though he had just heard a joke, and replied, "I won't burn out, I'm used to it."

Probably due to the conditions that he grew up in, he had grown up with personality issues: he was introverted, aloof, and difficult to be with, the longer people interacted with him, the more tired they became. Soon, he began to keep his thoughts to himself, but at this moment, he wasn't able to keep the sorrow inside him.

It was the kind that couldn’t be contained inside, and this was the first time he spoke such private thoughts to his assistant. "You’ve no idea how many times I’ve waited for her in a car just like this."

Just like this, he had sat and guarded her so many times he had lost count.

When he was young and poor, he wasn't able to give her happiness, so he didn't dare to pursue her. But sometimes, when the thoughts became too much, he would stand on the ground floor of her hostel for a long time just to sneak a glance at her. Yet it wasn't every time that he was able to see her since she didn't stay in school everyday.

After that, when they lost contact and he was busy filming, he didn't have much time in Beijing, but every time he was there, he would guard by the area that she lived. Sometimes, he would wait till night fell, and sometimes he would wait till the next day, and sometimes he waited for more than a day for just a glimpse of her, even if it was just her back, a simple sight was enough.

One year, on his birthday, he didn't receive any blessings and had felt really lonely, so much so that he started to yearn for her presence. In the end, he took a flight all the way back to Beijing only to be faced with disappointment.

So, he was used to it and was not tired out by it, there were even times that it made him feel safe and at ease.

The assistant had never chatted with Lu Jinnian like this, so he was at a loss for words. After a long while, he finally said, "Mr. Lu, why don't you chase her? You can compete fairly with Mr. Xu."

"Compete fairly?" Lu Jinnian repeated the words, his gaze glazed. When he was three, his mother had knelt outside Xu house door to help beg for his life, at that time, he had already lost the rights to compete fairly with Xu Jiamu.

Most importantly...

Lu Jinnian said, "No matter what his mother does, it doesn't change the fact that he is the only family I have left."

Chapter 472: Video Call（3）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

When Lu Jinnian was eleven, he lost his mother and was sent to Xu family by his grandfather. At that time, Han Ruchu, Xu Wanli, and even the helpers wouldn't even glance at him, only Xu Jiamu didn't despise him and chose to accept his aloofness, treating him kindly and even trying to be friendly with him.

When the midnight alarm sounded, Xu Jiamu would receive a lot of red packets, each filled with a thick wad of cash. Any one of the red packets was filled with more money than the inheritance that Lu Jinnian’s mother had left for him.

But he had none.

At that time, Xu Jiamu had thrown all the red packets into the bin, saying a sentence that even till today was deeply etched in Lu Jinnian’s heart: If my brother doesn't have any, I don't want them either.

From then on, he had always treated Xu Jiamu as his brother.

In that instance, the assistant had no idea what Lu Jinnian was thinking.

This man of little words that was always cold and distant seemed like he would never be happy or upset, he seemed to be nonchalant and never having a care for the world, but even though his words were often mean and he wasn't the best person to be with, deep inside, he held so much.

When someone treated you with just a little bit of care, you would keep it deeply inside your heart and stay loyal to that person,willing to accept all the pain on his behalf.

Since Mr. Lu knew that Mr. Xu liked Miss Qiao, he decided to give up his rights.

Because he didn't want to hurt him.

Willingly suffering by himself.

The assistant felt his throat choke up, his heart begin to ache. Only after a long while did he speak up again. "But, Mr. Lu, there's a long way ahead, you can't just keep waiting. Why don't you try to find another girl..."

Yes, he could try to like another girl. If he could successfully find someone else, maybe he wouldn't be in so much pain.

Lu Jinnian replied helplessly, "But other girls... they aren't Qiao Anhao."

In that instance, the assistant was left speechless.

The car sank into silence once more. Seemingly after a long while, Lu Jinnian spoke again, rushing his assistant back to rest. This time, the man nodded and left silently.

Lu Jinnian winded down the window and lit up a cigarette. Through the smoke he blew out, he stared at the second floor window, sorrow flashing past his eyes.

She was just a few meters away from him... But he wasn't able to go up.

It was as though he was able to touch her if he just reached out, but somehow, he wasn't able to hold on.

Between them, there was a long wall that he was never able to cross.

-

Qiao Anhao had been on two IV drips the previous night, so she was only able to get another drip at 10 pm today.

Xu Jiamu guarded her bed the whole of last night. Tonight, he had returned to the hotel with Han Ruchu while Qiao Anxia and her mother took over.

Qiao Anhao was still running a fever, but she was much better and was afraid of boredom, so she requested for his phone when Xu Jiamu left.

In the afternoon, Xu Jiamu added an additional bed in the ward. At 11.30 pm, Qiao Anxia ran to the convenience shop to get some food while her mother laid on the other bed to sleep.

Chapter 473: Video Call（4）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

When Qiao Anhao woke up from her afternoon nap, she wanted to find out how Lu Jinnian was doing but because of Han Ruchu, she didn't dare to ask anyone.

After sleeping for such a long time, Qiao Anhao was wide awake and started to play games on Xu Jiamu's phone. Soon, she felt bored though and placed the phone down, listening to her aunt’s soft breathing. Gradually she started to feel frustrated.

She held up the phone and stared at the screen for a long while before scrolling through Xu Jiamu's contact list to find Lu Jinnian's number. She wasn't sure if he had gotten a replacement ... He was probably with his assistant... But...

Qiao Anhao scanned through Xu Jiamu's contact list but wasn't able to find Lu Jinnian's assistant's number. She hesitated slightly before sending a text over, [You there?]

When Lu Jinnian heard his phone ring, he tapped his cigarette lightly before glancing over at his phone screen. He was confused when he saw that it was from Xu Jiamu, so he sent a question mark over.

She actually got a reply... Qiao Anhao couldn't help as excitement spread across her. Since one of her hands had a needle, she could only use the other one. Biting down on her lip, she struggled to type a few words. [What are you doing now?]

When Lu Jinnian saw the reply, he frowned, sensing something wrong with Xu Jiamu, so he sent yet another question mark over.

Qiao Anhao looked at the two question marks he had sent her and bit her lip, wondering if it was an automated reply.

She hesitated before sending a question mark.

In the end, her reply got lost. After waiting for a long while, she still wasn't able to get a response.

Qiao Anhao frowned, reading the short conversation repeatedly. In the end, she suddenly recalled that it was Xu Jiamu's phone. Hurriedly, she sent another text out, [I am Qiao Anhao.]

Lu Jinnian held a new cigarette in his mouth. When he was about to lit it up, he heard his phone ring once again. He turned and looked at the screen: it was yet another text from Xu Jiamu. This time, he had sent him a question mark. Internally, Lu Jinnian scolded him crazy before lighting his cigarette.

After about five minutes, his phone rang once more. Instinctively, Lu Jinnian glanced at the screen, spotting the text from Xu Jiamu, [ I’m Qiao Anhao.]

Lu Jinnian lifted his head up towards the second floor window, feeling warmed by her text.

Qiao Anhao held onto the phone, focusing on the screen, waiting for a reply. In the end, the phone started to vibrate, the word "Brother" appearing on the screen.

Lu Jinnian had actually called. Qiao Anhao used one hand to receive the call but because she was using only one hand, she accidentally hung up. She stuck her tongue out, hurriedly calling him back, but the line got cut off. She waited slightly before calling back. This time, it went through.

She was afraid that she would disrupt her aunt, so in a low voice, she called out," Lu Jinnian?"

Chapter 474: Video Call（5）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

After feeling moody the entire day, Lu Jinnian, just hearing her call his name, felt a dark cloud lift. In a light voice, he faintly asked, "Hmm?"

Even though it was a simple word, it was enough to bring peace to Qiao Anhao’s uneasy heart. But she didn't know what to say, she couldn't possibly tell him that she missed him... that would be too humiliating.

Hesitating, she asked, "Lu Jinnian, have you eaten dinner?"

Lu Jinnian turned to look at the untouched food that his assistant had gotten him. In a soft voice, he replied, "I have eaten."

Looking back, he saw the cigarette he held in his fingers, and even though she couldn't see through the phone, he knew that she didn't like it when he smoked, so he threw it away even if there was still half left.

"What did you eat?"

Lu Jinnian looked back at the packed food. "Pizza."

"That's unhealthy, even though I like pizza too, you shouldn't have too much, it's very hearty..." Just a moment ago, Qiao Anhao had had nothing to say, now she seemed to have an endless amount of things to say as she continued to ramble on.

Lu Jinnian wasn't the least bit annoyed. His face relaxed instead, tenderness seeping into his eyes as he continued to chat randomly with her.

Halfway through, a nurse came to help Qiao Anhao remove the needle, so she placed the phone at the side. She had wanted to continue her conversation in a while, but after the nurse left, she realized that the call had ended, so she called back, but before it got through, she hung up and instead clicked onto the video call button instead.

The call went through instantly, the image loading for a bit before Lu Jinnian's perfect features came into sight.

His surroundings were dim, so he had switched on the car lights.

The first thing she asked was, "You're in your car?"

That was when she realized that his dark circles were much worse than before and his face was filled with fatigue. She seemed to have guessed what he was up too. Pulling her blanket away, she softly came down from her bed, walking to the window. She pulled the curtains and looked down, not far away was Lu Jinnian's lit up car.

It was just as she had guessed, he was waiting downstairs...

Her heart clenched tightly. The fingers with which she held the phone started to tremble. Tenderly, she said, "Lu Jinnian, step out of your car."

"Why?"

"Step out."

After Qiao Anhao had requested the second time, she could see through the window that he had indeed come out of his car.

"I'm out, why..?" As Lu Jinnian asked, he lifted his head instinctively to look at the second floor window. In the end, he couldn't finish his sentence.

Today, he had glanced up at that window multiple times. Now, Qiao Anhao stood there, with the phone in front of her, her back against the brightly lit room. Even though he couldn't see her expression, he was able to see her waving hand.

Chapter 475: Video Call（6）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao deliberately lowered voice when speaking to the phone. "Can you see me?"

Lu Jinnian closed the car door, walking forward. He sat casually on the front of the car, his head lifting upwards to look at Qiao Anhao. His lips curled upwards uncontrollably when he replied warmly, "Yea, I can see you."

The night seemed to have turned tender because of Lu Jinnian's words, and Qiao Anhao looked down. Lu Jinnian sat on his car under the street lamp, the warm rays elongating his body, delighting her. In a soft, whiny voice, she asked,"How long have you stayed in the car?"

Her tender voice reached deep into Lu Jinnian’s heart, calming him. In a deep, clear voice, he replied, "Not long."

"Really?" Qiao Anhao asked. Her lips curling slightly when she added, "More than twelve hours?"

Lu Jinnian laughed lightly from her smile. "Yea." He sighed, murmuring softly, "It finally happened."

"What happened?" Qiao Anhao had no clue what he was saying.

"Nothing." Lu Jinnian looked up at her. Inwardly he thought, this was the first time that she had noticed him guarding her.

"Oh," she replied with low spirits.

Lu Jinnian changed to a more relaxed position and leaned back on his car, asking, "Has the fever gone down?"

"It's gone." The moment he changed the topic, Qiao Anhao seemed to have forgotten about his murmur. She directed the camera to the hand that was previously injected before whining to Lu Jinnian as how a girlfriend would to her boyfriend, "Look, they injected me four times, there’s even a bruise..."

Lu Jinnian brought the phone closer to himself. Indeed, surrounding the plaster on the back of her hand, there were multiple purple bruises.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked lightly.

The pain had already subsided but Qiao Anhao still pouted and whined, "It hurts..."

Her whiny voice was a little loud, causing her aunt to stir slightly. Instinctively, she covered her mouth, but she still added, "It really hurts!"

Lu Jinnian stared at her adorable expression, his gaze turning warm. He reached out to caress the screen as though he was caressing her face.

When Qiao Anhao saw his hand reach out, she turned silent, and only their faint breathing could be heard. The atmosphere turned sweet and warm, their hearts at ease, while an occasional light breeze passed through at times.

After a long while, Qiao Anhao blinked. Lightly, she said, "I will be discharged tomorrow."

Chapter 476: Video Call（7）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

After a long while, Qiao Anhao blinked. Lightly, she said, "I will be discharged tomorrow."

"Yea."

"They want me to go back to Beijing to rest so I won’t be able to go back to film for the next few days."

"Okay."

"My flight is tomorrow afternoon at ten."

"Yea."

"What about you? Are you going back to Beijing?" Without waiting for Lu Jinnian’s reply, Qiao Anhao hurriedly whispered, "My sister is back, I'll hang up first."

After the call cut off, Lu Jinnian continued to listen to the phone’s buzzing for a long time before putting it back in his pocket. He stood stationary for a long while staring at her window. In the end, he lowered his head to laugh lightly, his face tender.

-

The next day, Qiao Anhao and her caretakers reached the airport. Xu Jiamu had driven from Beijing, so he went straight to the customs to apply for his car to be sent back, leaving Qiao Anhao, Qiao Anxia, her mother, and Han Ruchu to check in. After they had checked in, they headed to a cafe to wait for Xu Jiamu.

The application to send the car back was complicated, so even after half an hour, Xu Jiamu was still not back. They tried to call and rush him, but he didn't respond. When they were finally left with an hour, Qiao Anhao decided to personally get him.

Before she could reach the counter, she met Xu Jiamu.

The airport cafe was often packed and filled with luggage and trolleys, causing the walkway to be narrow, so she walked directly behind Xu Jiamu. When they passed a corner of the cafe, she accidentally bumped into someone's thigh and turned to apologize, but then, she froze.

Lu Jinnian sat elegantly on the chair, a cup of coffee in his hands as he sipped slowly.

Qiao Anhao wanted to call out to him but when she saw Han Ruchu seated not far away, she swallowed her words, instead sending a questioning gaze to him.

Lu Jinnian remained silent as well. He seemed to have understood her gaze, for while continuing to drink his coffee, he knocked on the table where he had placed his plane ticket.

Qiao Anhao swept a glance, realizing that it was the same flight that she was on.

"Qiao Qiao?" Xu Jiamu asked when he realized that she was no longer right behind him.

Qiao Qiao made a sound of acknowledgment, glanced back at Lu Jinnian, and walked off hurriedly. When she reached the table, she instinctively turned towards Lu Jinnian's direction once more.

After Xu Jiamu had settled the bill and they were on the way out, Qiao Anhao realized that the seat that Lu Jinnian was sitting on was now empty.

After going through the security checks, Qiao Anhao kept looking around, missing out on what Qiao Anxia had said, irritating her. "Qiao Qiao, what exactly are you looking for?"

"Nothing?" Qiao Anhao shook her head, her gaze wandering once again.

Only after the security checks, on the way to the boarding gate outside a restroom did Qiao Anhao spot Lu Jinnian once more.

Chapter 477: Video Call（8）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao bit her lip, paused, and looked towards the group. "My stomach hurts, I'll go to the restroom, you can wait for me at the boarding gate."

Han Ruchu looked towards Xu Jiamu. "Qiao Qiao, you might get lost, why don't you let Jiamu accompany you."

"It's fine, I know where the boarding gate is," Qiao Anhao replied.

Afraid that Xu Jiamu would follow her, she hurriedly waved to them before heading toward the restroom that Lu Jinnian had entered. Behind, Qiao Anxia reminded her once more, "Gate thirty one."

-

Qiao Anhao rushed to the restroom. After ten seconds, she sneaked her head out. When she saw that the group had left, she hurriedly came out to wait outside the guys restroom.

Lu Jinnian didn't notice her, walking straight to the basin. After he had closed the tap and was preparing to get the tissue, a piece suddenly appeared in front of him. Startled, he turned to see Qiao Anhao looking at him angrily.

"Why did you stay in there for so long?"

Lu Jinnian laughed, explaining, "There were a lot of people."

Reaching for the tissue in her hands, he wiped his hands gracefully before placing his hand on her forehead. After confirming that her fever was gone, he asked, "How's your body?"

"It's much better."

Qiao Anhao smiled then and sneaked her head out to look once more. Realizing that Han Ruchu and Qiao Anxia were less than thirty meters away, she said in a hurry, "Auntie Xu and Anxia is here, I'll go now, bye bye."

Qiao Anhao rushed out of the restroom. After taking two steps, she seemed to have recalled something. She turned back and asked, "Which seat are you at?"

"32F" Qiao Anhao nodded, heading out.

-

After boarding the flight, the group sat at the very front of the plane while Lu Jinnian and his assistant sat behind. Even though the flight to Beijing was just a short one, barely two hours, Qiao Anhao visited the restroom five times.

Qiao Anxia, who sat by the lane, was irritated by her constant harassment and swapped seats with her in the end.

Every time Qiao Anhao passed by Lu Jinnian's seat, they didn't say much, at most a wave or a short "Hi."

Even so, Lu Jinnian was satisfied.

The last time she had visited the toilet, she even cheekily tapped his shoulder. But at that moment, Han Ruchu stood up to visit the restroom, startling Qiao Anhao. She hurriedly retrieved her hand, heading back to her seat with her head lowered, while Lu Jinnian opened up a newspaper to shield his face. The moment Han Ruchu passed by, he felt as though he was having an underground relationship with Qiao Anhao.

Oh, more accurately said, it was an underground friendship.

Even though friendship was the most upright relationship in the world, but they had to do it sneakily, in the dark.

If they could stay peaceful, Lu Jinnian didn't mind staying her underground friend forever, but in just a few days, their friendship was exposed.

Chapter 478: Video Call（9）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Back in Beijing, Qiao Anhao was sent back to to the Qiao house. Even though her fever was gone, her ordeal was too frightening, so her aunt and uncle insisted she stay with them for at least two days.

Qiao Anhao wasn't able to resist, so she agreed. When the housekeeper saw her, she was unusually happy and prepared a large variety of food for every meal, preparing all the dishes that she liked. Even if her aunt and uncle were busy, they would be back for every meal, and every time, they would nag at her to leave the entertainment industry.

Even though their constant nagging may seem annoying, it warmed Qiao Anhaos’ heart. The next day, Zhao Meng came over with her phone, so whenever she felt bored, she would text Lu Jinnian.

On the third day, her aunt and uncle finally allowed her to return to Mian Xiu garden. Since they had no clue about her fake marriage, before they separated, she and Xu Jiamu were still a couple in their eyes, so on the day she left, Xu Jiamu had personally come to get her.

Seated on the passenger seat, Qiao Anhao took out her phone to text Lu Jinnian out of habit: [What are you doing?]

Lu Jinnian seemed to be busy as he only replied after five minutes, [Meeting.]

Qiao Anhao replied with a [Oh] before looking out the window, realizing that they were near Huan Ying Entertainment. Turning to Xu Jiamu, she said, "Brother Jiamu, you can stop at the turn in front, I need to drop by the office."

Xu Jiamu nodded. "Do you need me to wait for you?"

"It's okay, Zhao Meng is in the office, so she can bring me over tonight."

"Okay," Xu Jiamu replied, turning into the road ahead.

After the turn, they reached Huan Ying Entertainment in less than five minutes. Before leaving the car, Qiao Anhao seemed to have recalled something important, and she turned and looked at Xu Jiamu. "Brother Jiamu, do you still remember about ending the marriage?"

"I remember." Xu Jiamu leaned back and laughed lightly while teasing, "Qiao Qiao, ever since we were young, when have i disappointed you? Your hurry seems like you really hate me."

Qiao Anhao laughed. "I was just reminding you!" Waving towards Xu Jiamu, she said, "I'll leave now, bye Brother Jiamu."

"Goodbye," Xu Jiamu replied. After seeing her enter Huan Ying Entertainment, he turned to leave.

When Qiao Anhao went up, Lu Jinnian was still in a meeting. Through the clear glass, she could see him sitting elegantly, his features handsome, his expression cold.

She couldn't help taking her phone out to snap a photo, sending it to Lu Jinnian. Through the glass, she saw him sweep a glance at his phone. His fingers swiped across the screen, and he frowned slightly, then looked out the window. His gaze fell on her.

Chapter 479: Video Call（10）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Before Qiao Anhao could smile at Lu Jinnian, he diverted his gaze away. With a layer of glass between them, Qiao Anhao couldn't hear him, she could only see his lips moving slightly before he stood up. Under the scrutiny of the entire room, he pushed open the door, heading towards her.

Qiao Anhao never expected him to leave in the midst of a meeting because of her randomly sent photo. When he stood in front of her, she snapped out of her daze, bolting up from the sofa to stare at the board directors behind him, and her face flushed instantly. In a whiny tone that didn't have a hint of reproach, she blamed him, "How can you come out?"

Lu Jinnian wore a white shirt, and when the ceiling light fell on him, he appeared dazzling. He lowered his head to gaze at her. Without bothering to reply to her question, he asked in his same emotionless voice with a hint of undetectable indulgence, "How's your body? Why did you come to the office?"

"I passed by so I came up for a look." Her lashes lowered as she spoke, worried that her true intentions would get exposed. She hadn't seen him for a while, so she came...

"Oh," Lu Jinnian replied, his gaze still focused on her.

Qiao Anhao started to feel uneasy. She glanced at the room that was staring at them, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red. Softly, she said, "Aren't you in a meeting? Hurry back in."

"Okay," Lu Jinnian replied, but he had no intention of moving.

"Why aren't you going?" she asked.

"Right this moment," he said but still remained stationary.

Qiao Anhao stomped her foot in frustration, her face so red it could bleed. Before she could rush him again, he said, "Wait for me." Turning, he entered the meeting room once more.

The meeting continued but Lu Jinnian was visibly distracted, staring out at Qiao Anhao every once in a while, and even the board members were starting to get inattentive, glancing out at Qiao Anhao.

-

When the meeting ended, it was already 6.30 pm, and Lu Jinnian rushed out of the room instantly. By then, all the secretaries had left and the open-spaced living room was empty. Qiao Anhao sat alone, her head leaning against the sofa, the newest edition of an entertainment magazine in her hands, her eyes shut.

Lu Jinnian's footstep slowed. He turned towards the meeting room, signaling for the board members to keep quiet. They quietened instantly, and Lu Jinnian waved his hand once more, to chase everyone away.

In an instant, the entire floor was left just for him and Qiao Anhao. He walked over and picked her up, carrying her away. Soon though, she opened her eyes in a daze and scanned the empty surroundings, crawling out of his embrace before asking, "What time is it?"

"6.30," Lu Jinnian replied. He then added, "I'll get my jacket, then I’ll take you to have dinner."

Chapter 480: Divorce（1）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

It has probably been a few months since Lin Shiyi last saw Qiao Anhao, even though they were barely acquainted, the other was deeply etched in her mind.

Lin Shiyi has been in the entertainment industry for a very long time and had fought with many actresses before, not every battle was victorious but it always ended in just a small defeat. Yet with Qiao Anhao, she had been defeated so brutally that her reputation was in tatters even to this day, people would still leave mean comments on her weibo to scold her.

She was never the first female lead, even the second female lead role was a rare opportunity, but now, she wasn't even able to get a role with lines. Her manager had forsaken her for a new artist ,and now, she relegated to selling herself to satisfy her material needs. All these was because of Qiao Anhao.

For the past few months, Lin Shiyi would keep an eye on her, but whenever she heard of news, it would be another blow as the news would always be about her new endorsement or her new lead role. There was even once when she had followed an elderly rich man to gamble that she found out that Qiao Anhao was actually the wife of their heir to Xu enterprise.

At that time, she realized the pain of comparison.

For the past few months, she had been dreaming of finding a weakness, heavens must have been touched for she was finally awarded an opportunity.

-

Lu Jinnian got his assistant to leave before he personally drove Qiao Anhao to dinner.

In the meeting, he seemed to have been paying attention to everyone's critique, but his mind had been actually wandering off. He was thinking of where to bring Qiao Anhao for dinner, and in the end, he decided on "Peppermint Garden". While he was still in the meeting, he sent them a text to book a table.

"Peppermint Garden" was an open air restaurant in a vintage looking garden.

Lu Jinnian had booked the table beside the pond below the vines. The view was scenic and the company was one he was fond of, bringing a cheery spirit to the both of them.

Qiao Anhao had been to "Peppermint Garden" several times and had a preference for some dishes. Hence, when Lu Jinnian was ordering, she picked an additional two dishes that she preferred.

Lu Jinnian ended his meeting at 6.30 and they reached the restaurant at 8 pm, so Qiao Anhao was already starving. The dishes were served quickly, and the moment they were served, she held up her chopsticks.

Before Lu Jinnian could pick up his chopsticks, his phone rang. It was regarding business matters, so Qiao Anhao ate quietly, not disrupting him.

Lu Jinnian had ordered a set of sweet vinegar prawns, and Qiao Anhao really liked the sweet and strong taste, so initially, she ate with her chopsticks, but in the end, she placed them down to use her fingers. The sauce stained her entire hand, causing her to feel uncomfortable, so she decided to finish the whole lot. When there were only about seven prawns left, she realized that Lu Jinnian hadn't eaten.

Chapter 481: Divorce（2）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao continued in embarrassment, but instead of eating the prawn, she removed the shells from the remaining ones.

The table was a little big, so when she placed the prawns into his bowl, she had to leave the seat slightly and stretch her hand out.

Even though Lu Jinnian was leaning against his seat while on the phone, his gaze was still focused on Qiao Anhao, especially on her expression while she munched on the prawns.

Just then, he saw her stretch her hand across the table to pass him the prawns. He froze slightly, thinking that she was going to feed him. With an indulgent expression on his face, he leaned forward with his mouth open, biting away the prawn she was about to drop in his bowl.

Qiao Anhao could distinctively feel the heat and moisture of his lips on her fingers. In just an instance, the numbing feeling disappeared together with the prawn in her hands.

She wasn't going to feed him, she was just about to put it in his bowl...

Qiao Anhao couldn't help staring at him.

When he sensed her gaze, Lu Jinnian thought that she was looking for an appreciative gesture, so he moved the phone slightly aside before silently forming the words "thank you".

Was she the type of woman to randomly feed a man food?

Even though Qiao Anhao was misunderstood, she was satisfied!

It was as though a piece of leaf had fallen into the lake in her heart, causing ripples to form and spread.

She lowered her head, her heart bursting. Reaching for the prawns, she continued to remove the shells seriously. When she was finished with on, she stretched her hand out to place it into Lu Jinnian's bowl, but this time, it was bit away by him once again.

The table was silent with only an occasional sentence from Lu Jinnian to the person on the phone. Towards the end, the person sent him a video, allowing Lu Jinnian to see the contents on his computer. While he monitored his screen, he leaned over to snatch away the food from Qiao Anhao whenever her hand stretched over. Soon, it became a habit, and he didn't even have to look to know where the prawns would be.

As Qiao Anhao saw his fluid movements, she looked back down in her bowl, at the last prawn, her eyes moving back and forth between his face and the bowl. She looked towards the prawn shell at the side and decided to tease him a little. Reaching out with her hand once more, she passed a shell over.

Out of habit, Lu Jinnian leaned over to nib on the food, but after taking a few chews, he seemed to have realized that something was wrong, and frowning, he spat it out. Lifting his head , he saw Qiao Anhao smiling cheekily back at him, the last prawn dangling between her fingers.

She stretched out her fingers once more, and he lowered his head to get the prawn, his features relax. After another two sentences, he hung up, turning back to look at Qiao Anhao. She was trying to get a tissue out of the packet, but since she only had one clean hand, she couldn't take it out no matter how hard she tried. Lifting her head to look at Lu Jinnian, she said, "Help me with this."

Lu Jinnian pulled a wet tissue out, but instead of passing it to her, he naturally reached over to help her wipe the hand clean.

Qiao Anhao lowered her lashes to look as Lu Jinnian wiping her fingers, not rejecting his actions.

Even though she knew that their actions were intimate and ambiguous, she had no clue as to what he was thinking. Even so, she, who had been loving him for the past thirteen years, was satisfied with the intimacy.

Chapter 482: Divorce (3)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

In actual fact, Qiao Anhao wanted to ask Lu Jinnian how a woman should prevent intimacy from happening... like, for a couple in a passionate relationship, is that really a good idea? But she didn't dare open her mouth to ask.

Everything has been going so well lately, what would happen if she carelessly asked such a question and shattered their wonderful time together? If there were to be a day when they went back to being friends, then they could still keep in contact, if she did not ask her questions now.

There was no doubt in Lu Jinnian's heart. He felt that Qiao Anhao was relying on him, but relying on what exactly, he didn't really understand that. As of late, this woman was his own little brother's wife.

Above everyone else, he knew in his heart that he shouldn't get close to Qiao Anhao, but he just couldn't control himself. He and Qiao Anhao were getting along so well right now. Though he didn't know where exactly they were heading, but honestly speaking, of the thirteen years he's been in love with her, this was the first time in his life when he felt the slightest bit of sweetness. He really didn't want to kill his chances.

-

Tonight, Lin Shiyi accompanied someone to the "Peppermint Garden".

She was once a first-rate female celebrity. In comparison to delicate models and drifters, her looks and the way she carried herself stood out among the crowd. And so, she turned up at the dinner party to especially show face for her big 'investor'. The happier he was, the more money she got, so she went out of her way to obey him. Whoever he told her to drink to, she would drink to.

However, regardless of how well she could take her alcohol, after taking endless shots she couldn't take it anymore. She found an excuse and trotted away from the dinner table in her high heels. After she stumbled towards the restroom, she vomited into the sink, completely emptying her stomach from all the alcohol, which made her feel a little better. Then she turned on the tap and wiped her mouth with water. She fixed up her make-up to keep up appearances, and went back to the dinner.

"Peppermint Garden" was a Chinese garden with winding paths that all looked similar to one another, and so on her way back, Lin Shiyi got lost. She wanted to ask a waiter how to get back to table 08, but she never bumped into anyone. Instead, she saw Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao sitting at a table by the lake.

Lu Jinnian looked like he was on the phone. Half his face was hidden in the shadows, so it was difficult to read his expression. Sitting in front of him was Qiao Anhao, who lowered her head as she ate a shrimp. Though the two of them never interacted, the atmosphere between them seemed warm.

Actually, at first, Lin Shiyi didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, they were just two actors who had previously worked together sharing a meal. But just as she was about to turn away after staring for quite some time, she saw Qiao Anhao feeding Lu Jinnian shrimps.

Wasn't Qiao Anhao, Xu Jiamu's wife? Why would she get so close to Lu Jinnian?

Unless... there was trouble in their marriage? Lu Jinnian was the third wheel?

As those words flashed across Lin Shiyi's mind, the blood in her body began to boil.

If anyone were to see this, how big of an uproar would there be?

Nevertheless, the entertainment circle and the media had such a close relationship, not to mention, after all these years, Lu Jinnian has never been tangled up in any scandals... Even if there were a lot of reporters, it would never be exposed.

However! If she couldn't get the netizens' attention, she could get the news round to her 'investors' and let it spread across the business network in Beijing. By that time, as someone's wife, Qiao Anhao... would definitely be the butt of jokes!

At that thought, a cold smile lifted the corners of Lin Shiyi's lips. Then, she pulled out her phone, and snapped a few shots of Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao.

Chapter 483: Divorce (4)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Lately, Lin Shiyi had had her eye on a new Audi. Yesterday, she spent the night with a rich man she recently got to know and intentionally put the idea out there as she got out the magazine cover with the car and sweetly told him that she wanted it.

At the time, the man had gotten excited and started perversely staring at her breasts. Without even a glance at the car on the cover, he nodded in agreement and pushed her onto the bed.

The next day, Lin Shiyi reminded him what he agreed to last night, and he really did take her to the new 4S shop. She circled the car she saw yesterday and shamelessly told him to buy it with insurance, to which he replied that he will in a few days’ time

Lin Shiyi knew that she probably had no hope in a few days’ times, and so she continued to sweetly ask two more times. In the end, the man looked like he had no intention of buying it, so she found an excuse to leave the waiting room to go to the restroom.

After she finished, she stood in front of the sink to touch up her make-up. Through the mirror, she saw her delicately beautiful good looks and felt a little wronged deep down. If she had wanted a car when she was famous, she wouldn't even bat an eyelid when men practically brought money to her door...

As soon as she thought back to the old days, Lin Shiyi started to remember her hate for Qiao Anhao. She thought back to a few days ago, when she had sent reporters the photo she'd taken, but in the end, there was no sign of a scandal, which started to get her irritated again.

She clapped her compact foundation shut, then turned around and out of the restroom. As she was about to re-enter the waiting room, she saw the 4S store manager, attentively walking next to a gracefully poised middle-aged woman that was circling around the Audi Lin Shiyi had been looking at.

Then, with a snooty expression, that woman said something, to which the 4S manager nodded and bowed, leading her to the VIP seats. After offering her a seat, the manager ordered the sales assistant to pour her a cup of coffee, and then he ran over to the front desk to get the bill.

At first, Lin Shiyi only noticed the middle-aged woman because she bought the car that was on her mind, like something on a grocery list. However, when Lin Shiyi finished admiring others and was about to go back into the waiting room, she heard the manager ask in a low voice, "Madam Xu, are you buying this car for yourself?"

"No, it's for my son."

"Then should I put it under Mr. Xu Jiamu's name?"

The middle-aged woman arrogantly nodded, sipping her coffee without a word.

-

Mr. Xu Jiamu... Again, those words peaked Lin Shiyi's interest. She stared from the side and whispered to the smiling sales assistant, "Who is that lady?"

"It's Mrs. Han Ruchu, the deputy director of the Xu enterprise."

-

Han Ruchu waited in the 4S store until the paperwork was finalized, then left Xu Jiamu's address for them to directly deliver it to him. Finished, she picked her bag and slowly walked out with her assistant.

The assistant ran first, next to the car, and pulled open the door. Han Ruchu bent down and was ready to get into the car when she heard someone calling for her.

 "Madam Xu."

Han Ruchu stopped, then she and her assistant turned their heads. They saw a woman who was dressed in an alluring way standing at the door of the 4S shop with a smile on her face, staring at them.

Chapter 484: Divorce (5)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Han Ruchu dealt with important business everyday and the people she knew were prestigious. When she saw the unfamiliar young face, she didn't quite remember who it was, so she flicked her brows and stood there without saying a word.

Lin Shiyi walked elegantly over to her in high heels, maintaining a wide smile on her face. She reached her hand out to introduce herself. "Madam Xu, my name is Lin Shiyi."

Han Ruchu glanced at Lin Shiyi's outstretched hand without any intention of shaking it.

Han Ruchu's assistant politely said, "Pardon me Miss, is there something you want?"

Though it was the assistant who asked, Lin Shiyi took it as Han Ruchu's inquiry. She looked the woman in the eyes and said, "Madam Xu, Qiao Anhao is your daughter-in-law and Mr. Xu Jiamu's wife, am I correct? The reason I called your name was to tell you something about Qiao Anhao."

After mingling in the business scene for so many years, Han Ruchu had long trained herself to not react to certain matters. Even if she was curious deep down inside, she would always maintain a calm composure.

Seeing as Han Ruchu wore an arrogant expression and wasn't angry, Lin Shiyi pulled a few photos out of her bag and handed them over to her.

Han Ruchu's assistant stretched his hand out to take the photo, then passed it over. With a single glance, Han Ruchu's expression immediately froze. Then, she finally spoke her first words to Lin Shiyi. "Where did you get these photographs?"

This was the reaction Lin Shiyi was looking for. If Qiao Anhao's mother-in-law was pissed, then Qiao Anhao's days would be insufferable. A hint of joy flashed across her heart, but her composure remained calm when she lied.

"I got these from a friend awhile ago. Madam Xu, didn't you know? Many people in Beijing's business network know about this. Everyone's saying in private that the Xu family's daughter-in-law and the CEO of Huan Ying Entertainment got together during filming..."

Before Lin Shiyi could finish, Han Ruchu interrupted her, "Enough!"

The sheer force of Han Ruchu's ferocity left Lin Shiyi a little dumbstruck.

Han Ruchu only glanced at Lin Shiyi, and snatched the photos from the assistant's hands. Without saying a single word, she got into the car.

The assistant instinctively knew to get in as well. They started up the car and left.

After Han Ruchu got into the car, she stared gloomily at the photos. Her eyes were practically spewing fire, and after a while, it was like her body could no longer suppress her anger. She threw the photos at the car seat and leaned back, out of breath. She stared outside the window for a while, and then said, "Don't go back to Xu enterprises. Head straight for the Qiao family estate!"

-

That morning, Chen Yang had flown to France to take part on the runway, so Qiao Anxia picked up her parents after work and went home together with them.

Compared to the past, they got back today rather early. When they arrived home, servants hadn't made dinner yet.

Qiao Anxia took a shower and brewed a pot of Bi Luo Chun green tea, then brought a cup for her parents, who were reading a newspaper in the living room.

Her father took a sip of tea. With work on his mind, he casually asked Qiao Anxia something.

"Dad, when you're at home, could you not always be busy with work?" she complained, which also prompted her mother to chime in. Then, the doorbell rang.

Chapter 485: Divorce（6）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anxia stood up to open the door. When she saw Han Ruchu, she smiled. "Auntie Xu."

Han Ruchu ignored her. Without changing her shoes, she stomped into the house.

When both Qiao Anxia's mother and father saw her expression, they knew that something was wrong. They glanced at each other and mother Qiao stood up with a smile on her face. "Ruchu, what happened? Why are you so angry?"

Han Ruchu remained silent, tossing the photos onto the coffee table.

Both Qiao Anxia's parents froze, then reached to pick a photo each. The moment they took in their contents, their faces paled instantly.

After a moment, father Qiao said, " Ruchu, there could be a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? I hope it's a misunderstanding, but the photos are out, so how can you call this a misunderstanding? Now, the entire Beijing business circle is aware of this scandal, your precious niece cuckolded my son! I'm sure they're all laughing at my Jiamu right now!"

Since Han Ruchu was infuriated, her words became especially mean and crude.

Mother Qiao tried to salvage the situation. "Ruchu, I don't think you should be so agitated, you should know that Qiao Qiao and Xia Xia were both Xu Jiamu and Lu Jinnian's classmates, this could just be a meal..."

"JUST A MEAL? Besides, who eats like this?" Han Ruchu bent down, pointing at the photos aggressively.

Since they were at the wrong, the Qiao parents smiled while instructing Qiao Anxia, "Xia Xia, get auntie Xu some tea."

Father Qiao then turned to mother Qiao. "Get Qiao Qiao here right now."

Father Qiao stood up, tapping onto Han Ruchu's shoulder. "Ruchu, calm down, we'll ask Qiao Qiao when she gets back."

After Qiao Anxia poured Han Ruchu a cup of tea, she picked a photo up to take a look. Inside, Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao were sitting at a table beside a lake while having a meal.

Lu Jinnian was tenderly using a wet tissue to help Qiao Anhao clean her hands. Qiao Anhao, in the meantime, had her face lowered, her gaze focused on the hand that Lu Jinnian was wiping, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

After staring for a few moments, Qiao Anxia lifted her head to look at Han Ruchu's infuriated expression then back at her disappointed parents. Fury erupted in her chest, and grabbing the photos, she left the house.

Just then, the maid outside, who was watering the plants, greeted her, "Miss Qiao."

Qiao Anxia ignored her, entering her car. Without even fastening her seat belt, she stomped on the accelerator.

-

For the past few days, Qiao Anhao had been having dinner with Lu Jinnian, but this afternoon, he had informed her that he had to work overtime. So when it was 6 pm, she called for takeaway.

Since she hadn’t been alone for dinner these last few days, she didn't have much of an appetite today. She didn't touch the takeaway that she had bought. Leaning against the sofa, she stared at the television for a while when her phone vibrated. Looking down, she saw that Lu Jinnian had just replied to the text she had sent half an hour ago.

Chapter 486: Divorce（7）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

[Have you had dinner?]

Qiao Anhao looked at the takeaway on the table. [No, I'm not hungry.]

This time, Lu Jinnian replied instantly. [Do you want to eat supper tonight?]

With hesitation, she replied, [Yep.]

[I'll contact you when I'm done.]

Before she could reply, her phone suddenly rang —it was a call from Qiao family. Without hesitation, Qiao Anhao picked up, and the moment she did, her aunt's urgent voice came through. "Qiao Qiao, do you have time now? Come back right away."

"Now?"

"Yes, right now."

Qiao Qiao could hear the seriousness from her aunt's voice. It sounded as if something serious had happened, so she replied with a faint "yea" before adding, " I understand, I'll come over now."

-

Huan Ying had several new projects recently, causing Lu Jinnian to be unusually busy. The entire company was working overtime just to get things done.

Expressionless, Lu Jinnian listened to the ideas from the project manager. He glanced over at his phone. When he realized that Qiao Anhao hadn't replied to his text, he locked his phone, placing his focus back on the screen.

Just then, the meeting room door was pushed open and a secretary that hadn't knocked off came in. She signaled towards Lu Jinnian's assistant. He stopped typing, and without interfering with anyone else, he silently left the room. After a while, he silently returned back to his chair. Turning to Lu Jinnian, he whispered in his ear, "Mr. Lu, the elder Miss Qiao is here, she wants to see you."

Curiosity flitted past his gaze, before his expression turned calm once more.

His assistant added softly, "I told to the secretary to bring her to the lounge."

Lu Jinnian nodded faintly. He glanced at his phone before returning his attention to the meeting.

After about an hour, the meeting ended; it was currently 8.10 pm. Lu Jinnian packed the documents on his table and left the room. When he was outside, he saw an impatient Qiao Anxia. Seeing him, she immediately walked forward, and in an imprudent tone, she said, "Lu Jinnian, lets have a talk."

Lu Jinnian remained emotionless. Without even glancing at her, he brushed past and walked towards his office.

The assistant smiled politely at Qiao Anxia. "Miss Qiao, if there is anything, you can speak to Mr. Lu in his office."

Qiao Anxia glared at the assistant, then, turning, stomped behind Lu Jinnian.

Lu Jinnian pushed open his office door, walking straight to his chair. Ever since early in the morning, he had only casually taken a small snack in the afternoon. He spent the rest of the day immersed in his work, so he felt extremely tired. With raised hands, he massaged his temples.

His assistant escorted Qiao Anxia into the office, and after personally making two cups of coffee, he placed them on the table before leaving the office.

Chapter 487: Divorce（8）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Once the room was left with just the two of them, Qiao Anxia walked to the front of Lu Jinnian's office to toss the photos onto his table violently.

Lu Jinnian frowned, but his eyes remained shut as he massaged his temples.

Seeing his nonchalant expression, she remembered how he had always treated her. Infuriated, she said, "You better take a look at what it is!"

Lu Jinnian's face darkened, seemingly annoyed by Qiao Anxia's words. After pausing for a while, he removed his hands from his temples and straightened to sweep a glance past the photos on they table; they were of him and Qiao Anhao. Without much change in his expression, he continued to sip his coffee.

"How did you get them?"

"You already know about the existence of the photos?" Qiao Anhao heard the meaning behind his words. Unclear about his intentions, she asked, "Right, it's no wonder the photos didn't come out on tabloids. You must have already stopped it from spreading, but Lu Jinnian, even if you can stop it from going onto entertainment news, that doesn't mean you have stopped it from spreading privately."

Lu Jinnian lowered his lashes, blowing on the steaming cup of coffee as he continued to sip slowly.

Qiao Anxia clenched her fists before continuing, "You don't know where Qiao Qiao is right now?"

The moment her words fell, she distinctly heard Lu Jinnian stop drinking his coffee. At that moment, she felt confused by her own feelings. She hesitated momentarily before stating, "Qiao Qiao was summoned back home, she's back home right now because of the photos."

The cup fell, spilling onto the back of Lu Jinnian’s hand, scalding it, leaving a red bruise. Even though there wasn't much change in his expression, there was still a hint of worry in his gaze.

"Lu Jinnian, the entire business circle has seen the photos. They already know that Qiao Anhao has cuckolded Xu Jiamu, and auntie Xu is furious. An hour ago, she personally stomped over to my house to find my parents. Do you know the expression my parents had when they saw the photos?" Qiao Anxia paused, staring straight at Lu Jinnian. "Do you still remember what you told me a few months ago?"

Just then, she repeated the words she had said to him in the past. " Remember, I said, if you really love her, stop harassing her, let her go. You're going to ruin her at this rate!

"Now, what I want to say is that you have already ruined her!"

"Now, everyone knows that she had an affair. Auntie Xu is her mother in law, and because of this incident she hates her, and when Xu Jiamu finds out, he's going to scold her, and my parents are visibly disappointed with her. If Qiao Qiao and Xu Jiamu divorce because of this, my parents and the entire Qiao enterprise board will blame her!"

Chapter 488: Divorce（9）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

"Lu Jinnian, most often, the woman is blamed, not the man. You are wrong as well, but nobody will blame you, everyone will point fingers at Qiao Qiao.

"You said you love her, but is this your love?

"You ruined her reputation, how is she going to live in Beijing like this?"

Due to Qiao Anxia’s agitation, her words turned sharp and ruthless.

She paused, and her voice next was calmer than before. "Besides, Lu Jinnian, her parents died young, the only kin she has left are me and my parents. Do you really want her to be left alone by herself?"

Lu Jinnian clenched the coffee cup.

Silence enveloped the office.

Qiao Anxia stood in front of his table, staring at him for a long while before saying, "I have said my piece, the rest is up to you. Good bye!"

She paused for a bit, then turned and left.

Outside, Lu Jinnian's assistant politely greeted her when she left, "Miss Qiao."

Ignoring him, she headed straight for the elevator.

-

On the way to Qiao house, Qiao Anhao kept wondering what could have happened, she even thought that it was because of her aunt and uncle's health. The more she thought, the more worried she became. After enduring the entire ride back, without care, she hurriedly ran into the house.

The housekeeper was the one who opened the door. When she saw Qiao Anhao, she spoke in a low voice. "Mister, Missus, Miss Qiao is back."

After changing her shoes, Qiao Anhao walked inside in a daze. The atmosphere in the living room was tense, and Han Ruchu was there as well. She studied the three of them before greeting them. "Aunt, Uncle, Auntie Xu."

Han Ruchu remained distant, ignoring Qiao Anhao. Her uncle nodded and her aunt stood up with a stack of photos. "Qiao Qiao, come with me."

Qiao Anhao nodded her head in confusion, following her aunt up to the second floor.

"Aunt, what's wrong?"

Faced with Qiao Anhao's question, her aunt passed the photos over.

Qiao Anhao reached over and saw that it was photos of her and Lu Jinnian eating. She froze, but before she could speak, her aunt spoke up. "Qiao Qiao, even though I don't know what exactly happened between you and Xu family's illegitimate son, but I believe you, yet that doesn't mean that auntie Xu believes you.

"Now that you are married to Jiamu, you should be more wary of your actions and should keep a distance from other guys, else it'll bring shame to Xu family.

"Besides, the Qiao and Xu families have deep ties. I don't want to mention anything, but deep inside, you should know what to do." After a slight pause, she continued, "Qiao Qiao, you should know that Lu Jinnian has always been a thorn in auntie Xu's heart. You should keep your distance."

Chapter 489: Divorce（10）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao had wanted to explain herself, that in just a few days she would divorce Xu Jiamu, so by then, she would be able to date Lu Jinnian if she wanted.

But she was still considered Xu Jiamu's wife. If she were to continue interacting with Lu Jinnian now, she wouldn't be able to clarify herself.

Qiao Anhao decided to steer clear of problems and nodded her head compliantly. "I understand, I was wrong. Me and Lu Jinnian are just classmates, there's nothing between us."

Mother Qiao finally calmed her heavy heart after hearing the reassurances. She chatted with Qiao Anhao for a bit more, mostly emphasizing on how to be a good wife. Then Qiao Anhao followed mother Qiao down to apologize to Han Ruchu, promising that such an incident would not happen again.

Since the Qiao and Xu families had close business ties, Han Ruchu forgave her even if she still felt unhappy.

The atmosphere cleared slightly, and in order to further clear the mood, father Qiao called Xu Jiamu back for a family gathering over dinner.

-

After the meal, Xu Jiamu and his father had some alcohol. When they were about to leave, he called for the driver.

When they left Qiao family house, Xu Jiamu's driver hadn't arrived yet, so they decided to take a stroll. After just a short walk, Qiao Anhao's feet started to hurt so they found a bench to rest.

The bench faced a small park filled with children ice skating.

Qiao Anhao looked straight ahead, imagining herself when she was young. Back then, she, Qiao Anxia, and Xu Jiamu would often play just like that. "Brother Jiamu, do you remember teaching me ice skating here?"

"But till today, you still can't skate independently. I guess I wasn't a good teacher, huh."

Qiao Anhao smiled. Lifting her head, she gazed at the street lamp before saying softly, "Brother Jiamu, I'm sorry about the photos, I made you a laughing stock."

"It's fine, what's there to apologize about? My mother was just making a mountain out of a molehill. Since brother was asked to act as me, and he was your husband for eight long months, in such a time, even strangers would become close. Besides, it was just a meal, there’s nothing to make a fuss about, right? I hope you won't take it personally, my mother just takes her pride too seriously. After our divorce, you'll be free."

Qiao Anhao's lips curled into a smile. Looking up at the sky, she asked, "Brother Jiamu, what do you intend to do after our divorce? Are you going to marry for profit once more?"

Before the car accident, if someone would have asked Xu Jiamu this question, he would have definitely agreed without hesitation.

Chapter 490: Divorce（11）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Every man has a dream and that is to be successful in the business world, and Xu Jiamu was no exception. Ever since he was young, he knew that marrying was the best deal in the world.

A business marriage would bring benefit to both parties, so only a fool would miss out on it.

But now that Qiao Anhao had asked him the question, he paused, not understanding his own hesitation. Deep inside, he felt guilty though, since Song Xiangsi's face floated into his mind. After about five seconds, he shook his head, chasing her face out of his mind.

"Of course, I'll definitely find a girl with a suitable background to marry."

Xu Jiamu's words were resolute, as if they were trying to convince him as well.

Just then, his phone rang—it was from his driver. Xu Jiamu stood up and looked at Qiao Anhao. "Let's go, the driver is here."

Qiao Anhao grabbed her bag, following behind Xu Jiamu out of the area.

Not far from the bench they had sat, in a spot they didn't notice, stood Qiao Anxia. Her face was pale, her expression dazed.

She stood stationary for a long while before her senses returned.

The originally crowded park quietened as all the children left for home. When there was barely anyone left, she moved her stiff body, walking towards the bench that they had sat on, the conversation between Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu floating in her mind.

The Xu Jiamu with the bandaged face was actually Lu Jinnian, which meant that before Xu Jiamu's face recovered, Qiao Anhao had been the wife of Lu Jinnian and not Xu Jiamu.

It was no wonder Qiao Anhao had a photo of herself and Lu Jinnian sleeping together.

Just a moment ago, Qiao Anhao had been discussing her divorce with Xu Jiamu... This meant that Xu Jiamu never liked Qiao Anhao and she never liked him....

When Qiao Anxia was young, in order to escape the marriage with Xu Jiamu, she had misled Han Ruchu into thinking that Xu Jiamu liked Qiao Anhao, causing her to choose Qiao Anhao as the marriage candidate. She had been guilty for many years until she saw them happily married...

She thought that Qiao Qiao had been confused and so had even given Lu Jinnian the voice recorder, even disrupting him several times to leave Qiao Anhao alone.

But she had been wrong all along.

But why didn't Qiao Qiao tell her such a big secret?

And if she hadn’t harmed Qiao Qiao all those years ago, would she have been the one to act as Lu Jinnian's wife?

In the end, she had been the one who gave away the opportunity to be with Lu Jinnian...

-

Lu Jinnian's assistant waited outside his office for a long while, but his superior remained inside, so he glanced at the time and knocked on the door. The room remained silent, and after a moment of hesitation, he pushed the door open.

Lu Jinnian sat on his chair with a cup of coffee in his hands, seemingly in deep thought. He didn't seem to have noticed his assistant enter the room at all.

Chapter 491: Divorce（12）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

The assistant stood for a while before calling out, "Mr. Lu."

After about five seconds, Lu Jinnian turned his head slowly. "What's wrong?"

"It's almost ten, are you going to leave?"

Lu Jinnian sipped the coffee out of habit, realizing that it had long gone cold. Placing the cup down, he wiped his face with a palm, replying, "Okay."

He stood up to grab his jacket before leaving the office.

His assistant glanced at the computer that was still switched on and the wallet next to it. He reminded, "Mr. Lu, your computer is still on."

Lu Jinnian turned. "Oh," he murmured, returning to his desk to hurriedly switch the computer off.

The assistant wondered, what exactly did Miss Qiao Anxia say to Mr. Lu? He didn't seem to be in the right state of mind... He pondered it for a bit before picking the wallet, not bothering to remind Lu Jinnian.

-

Once they were out of the car park, the assistant looked at Lu Jinnian through the rear view mirror. He recalled that they had been going to Mian Xiu Garden for the past few nights, so he asked, "Mr. Lu, are you heading to Mian Xiu Garden?"

Lu Jinnian stared out at the window, replying with a faint "Yea",

The lights from the street lamp spilled across his face, blurring his expression.

After a while, the assistant passed the wallet over. "Mr. Lu, you forgot about your wallet."

Lu Jinnian paused, reached over, and stuffed it into his pocket before returning to gaze outside.

The car stayed silent. After about ten minutes, Lu Jinnian suddenly asked, "If you found out that your wife had a close male friend, what would you do?"

The assistant wanted to reply with ‘My wife wouldn't be close to another man’ but once he saw Lu Jinnian's serious expression, he decided to reconsider his response. After wrecking his brain with the question, he replied with an exaggerated expression, "I would be angry, then upset."

"Then.. would you quarrel with her?"

"Not initially, but I would find her for a talk." The assistant paused before adding, "But if my wife continued to find the man after our talk, I would quarrel and worse, I would divorce her."

"Oh," Lu Jinnian replied. He then asked, "If you parents knew about it, how would they react?"

First he wanted him to think of his wife having an affair and now he wanted him to think of how his parents would react? The assistant was at a loss, but he still replied instantly.

"Well, the older generation would definitely make a fuss about it. If they liked her, it would be easier, but if they didn’t like her, the situation would become tense and complicated."

"Oh," Lu Jinnian muttered, and then stayed silent.

The assistant was confused by Lu Jinnian's questions, why would he suddenly ask about his family matters?

Through the rear mirror, he glanced over and asked, "Mr. Lu, what made you so curious?"

Chapter 492: Divorce（13）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian remained silent.

His assistant spoke again. "Mr. Lu, are you going to invest in a family drama?"

Lu Jinnian continued to stay silent.

This time, his assistant remained silent as well, glancing at him through the rear mirror occasionally.

Lu Jinnian frowned, his expression not moody but with a hint of dilemma instead... What exactly did Miss Qiao Anxia say to Mr. Lu?

The assistant started feeling curious, but just as he was wrecking his brain for an answer, Lu Jinnian suddenly asked, "Is there a deal in Hong Kong the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mr. Lu." The topic changed so fast the assistant could barely catch up .After a short pause, he added, "Mr. Wang is going to Hong Kong tonight regarding the contract."

In a faint voice, Lu Jinnian said, "Inform him that he doesn't need to go."

"Huh?" the assistant asked.

Just then, Lu Jinnian added, "Book two tickets to Hong Kong, we'll go to settle the deal."

Lu Jinnian was meant to go for the deal, but yesterday afternoon, he had forced it on Mr. Wang. Now, out of a sudden, when Mr. Wang was already in the airport, he suddenly changed his mind...

The assistant called Mr Wang uncertainly.

After hanging up the call, he booked the flight tickets. "It's at 11 pm, we'll make it if we head to the airport now. I'll get the hotel in Hong Kong to settle our clothes."

Lu Jinnian replied with a light "Yea". Just then, his phone rang, and he looked into the screen out of habit, realizing that it was a message from Qiao Anhao. [Still working?]

Lu Jinnian unlocked his phone. He was about to reply but then hesitated slightly; he deleted the response and placed the phone face down beside him.

-

When Qiao Anhao returned back to Mian Xiu Garden, it was already 10 pm. She was supposed to have supper with Lu Jinnian, but he hadn't contacted her. She looked at her phone and sent a text over, [Still working?]

After about a minute, Lu Jinnian still hadn't replied. This was the first time that he hadn't replied to her. Before, even when he was at his busiest, he would still reply instantly when night fell, so Qiao Anhao sincerely believed that he was just busy. After removing her clothes, she entered the bathroom.

When she was out, she headed straight for her phone, but Lu Jinnian still hadn't replied. Placing it back down, she headed towards the vanity table to blow dry her hair.

It was nearing 11 pm, so even if he was working, he should be done soon, so she ran back to the changing room to stare at the large row of clothes before settling on a pastel yellow sling dress. She circled in front of the mirror, and once satisfied, she hurried out of the changing room back to her phone, but Lu Jinnian still hadn't replied. She sent a question mark over.

-

When Lu Jinnian and his assistant were going through the security checks, Lu Jinnian emptied his pockets, placing everything necessary in the provided basket.

Chapter 493: Divorce（14）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

When Lu Jinnian was about to pass the security gates, he heard his phone ring. His steps paused slightly, but in the end, he ignored it, passing though the gates.

After the security checks, Lu Jinnian stuffed the items he had emptied back into his pockets, deliberately leaving his phone the last. Originally, he hadn't wanted to look, but in the end, he couldn't keep it in and glanced at the screen. Indeed, there was an unread text, Qiao Anhao had sent him a question mark.

Lu Jinnian stared at the screen, his throat tightening. He lowered his lashes, shielding the emotions that flickered past his eyes. Tensing his jaw, he placed the phone back into his pocket.

When they reached the airport, they only had about half an hour before the take off time, so the air stewardess led them towards the VIP path.

When the plane played the safety video, Lu Jinnian was already seated with his seat belt fastened.

While his assistant switched off his phone, he turned to look at Lu Jinnian who remained stationary. He reminded, "Mr. Lu, you need to switch off your phone."

Silently, Lu Jinnian reached for his phone, but just before he switched it off, he once more saw the text that Qiao Anhao had sent over.

The head air stewardess walked over over with the menu. Smiling politely, she asked, "Hello sirs, would you like any drinks later?"

The assistant replied, "Two cups of coffee, thank you."

"Sure." The woman recorded the order, but just then, she saw the light from Lu Jinnian's phone. "Sir, please switch off your phone, thank you."

Lu Jinnian fingers caressed the phone screen slightly before switching it off decisively.

-

Qiao Anhao curled up on the sofa, watching the television as she waited for Lu Jinnian's phone call.

As time trickled by, she started to feel impatient. She glanced up at the clock—it was about midnight but Lu Jinnian hadn't replied to her yet. Frustrated, she dialed his number, wanting to ask how he was doing.

When the call went through, an automated voice answered her. "I'm sorry, the person you have called has switched off his phone."

Switched off?

Qiao Anhao frowned, did Lu Jinnian's phone ran out of battery?

She dialed his assistant's number instead.

Both their phones ran out of battery?

What a coincidence...

She called the office number, and yet, no one picked up.

Qiao Anhao drummed her cheeks before tossing her phone on the sofa. She stared at the television while her thoughts ran wild.

After a seemingly long time, she fell asleep on the sofa.

But since she was curled up, she wasn't able to sleep well. Halfway through the night, she woke up to look at the time on her phone. It was already 2 am, but there were still no new notifications on her phone; he hadn't called her or replied to her text.

Qiao Anhao stared at the phone screen in a daze, her heart empty. She rose to head to the toilet.

When she was out, as she was washing her hands, she gazed at the beautiful dress that she had deliberately worn for Lu Jinnian. Her mood fell while her fatigue disappeared.

Chapter 494: Divorce（15）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

Qiao Anhao pulled a tissue to wipe her hands before heading to the bedroom with her phone in her hands. She laid on the bed, staring intently at the conversation she had had with Lu Jinnian. As she read every word, her heart started to ache, tears clouding her vision.

Lu Jinnian had treated her coldly in the past, but back then she wasn't as sad as she was right now.. Didn't he just miss out on a dinner? Was it necessary to be so upset?

The more she thought about it, the harder the tears streamed down.

-

When the hotel came into view, it was already 2 am. After showering, Lu Jinnian laid down on the bed, the image of Qiao Anhao surfacing in his mind. He couldn't help reaching for his phone to stare at the messages she had sent and the call that he had missed, his mood declining.

He tossed his phone to the side and shut his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to fall asleep. As he tossed and turned on the wide bed, he ended up reaching for his phone to stare at the two unanswered messages. He fell into a daze, then reached for his cigarettes to light a stick.

-

Lu Jinnian's assistant's phone had been out of battery the night before and once he reached the hotel, he fell into deep sleep. The next day, when he was awakened by the hotel staff, he started to wash up while switching on his phone. A few notifications came in, and he clicked onto the screen, seeing a call from Qiao Anhao.

Hurriedly, he returned her call. After a few seconds, her familiar voice came through. "Hello?"

He spat the foam out before greeting her. "Miss Qiao, give me a second."

He quickly rinsed his mouth and wiped his lips, then spoke politely as usual. "Miss Qiao, you called yesterday night?"

Qiao Anhao slept late the night before and was awakened early in the morning by the phone call. The lack of sleep caused her head to ache, and she hadn’t been able to see who the caller was before picking up. Now that she heard Lu Jinnian's assistant's voice, she came to her senses instantly. She straightened up and grabbed her hair.

Just then, the man’s polite inquiry came in, " Miss Qiao, you called yesterday night?"

"I called Lu Jinnian but he didn't answer his phone."

"He could have been on the plane when you called."

"Plane?" she asked.

"Yes, we flew over to Hong Kong last night for a business deal." The assistant paused before asking, "Miss Qiao, you didn't know?"

"He didn't mention it."

When the assistant detected the disappointment in her voice, he hurriedly explained, "He might not have had the time to mention it since he ended very late last night and directly after work we headed straight for the airport. He was only able to rest at about 3 am, so he could have been too tired."

He paused for a while before asking, "Miss Qiao, are you looking for Mr. Lu now? I can go to his room and get him, but I'm not sure if he’s awake."

After Qiao Anhao heard about the schedule of the previous night and that he had slept only at 3 am, her heart started to ache. Hurriedly, she said, "It's okay, let him rest."

Chapter 495: Divorce（16）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

"Okay." After the assistant replied, he added thoughtfully, "Miss Qiao, when Mr. Lu wakes up, I’ll get him to call you."

"Thank you."

After making himself presentable, the assistant headed to Lu Jinnian's room.

The night before, he had gotten a spare room key to Lu Jinnian's room. After knocking on the door, he waited for a while, and when he was sure that there wasn't any movements in the room, he swiped the card and entered.

The living room was empty. When he pushed open the bedroom door, the strong cigarette smell came flooding out, irritating his nose, causing him to sneeze twice.

The bed was a mess, but Lu Jinnian was no longer in it. The bathroom doors were shut and the sound of running water could be heard. The assistant pressed his nose while walking towards the coffee table, the entirety of which was filled with cigarette butts of every length. He opened all the windows to air the room before taking a deep breath. Just then, he heard the bathroom door open.

When the assistant first started working as Lu Jinnian’s manager, he had nagged him about his eating choices and lifestyle, and even till today, the habit remained.

"Mr. Lu, why did you smoke so much yesterday? How many times have I told you that smoking is bad for health. Even if you can't quit, how could you have smoked so much?"

Lu Jinnian remained nonchalant towards his assistant's nagging. With his dripping wet hair, he picked his clothes up, draped them over himself, and started buttoning the buttons.

The assistant continued to nag, but just then, he remember the phone call with Qiao Anhao, so he stopped nagging and said, "Mr. Lu, if you have time, you should give Miss Qiao a call."

Lu Jinnian paused, not making a sound.

His assistant started explaining the details, "Miss Qiao tried to contact you yesterday but since she couldn't reach you, she came to find me instead. I returned her call this morning when I saw her missed call."

Lu Jinnian acknowledged his words with a brief "yea" while putting on his suit jacket. Grabbing the documents at the side, he left the room.

His assistant followed after him in a hurry.

-

Qiao Anhao's mood was lifted instantly by the call. She laid on her bed, happily returning back to sleep.

When she woke up once again, it was already noon. The night before, she had left the television running. When she glance over, she actually found Lu Jinnian, dressed in formal clothes, on the screen.

Qiao Anhao flipped and stared at the screen unwaveringly.

Lu Jinnian was tall and had outstanding looks. Even if the broadcast was about a new business cooperation, the camera was focused on Lu Jinnian. The screen never once left him, it was either zoomed in straight on his face or zoomed out for a wide angle view.

Lu Jinnian sat on the first row, a laptop in front of him. As the different speakers came on stage, he would occasionally tap his keypad before glancing towards his phone. Several times, he even swiped open his phone.

Qiao Anhao stared at Lu Jinnian's actions, a small smile spreading across her face, and a giggle escaped her lips.

Lu Jinnian was actually spacing out...

The memory of the past, of a physical education lesson came floating in her mind. At that time, her period came, so she left for classroom earlier than usual.

Chapter 496: Divorce (17)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

When Qiao Anhao passed Lu Jinnian's classroom, she was used to glancing through the window and at him sitting with a white shirt at his desk.

At the time, he was in physics. All the students carefully listened to the teacher talking behind the desk at the front. Most were taking notes, all apart from Lu Jinnian, who had his head lowered, a pencil in hand. He was sketching something on a white piece of paper on the desk, sometimes using a rubber.

His classmate who shared his desk noticed he was absent minded in class and tried to peer over at what he was sketching. Who knew that Lu Jinnian's reactions would be so fast, he took a book and covered his paper.

Their actions suddenly alarmed the teacher, who was giving the class. The teacher called their names out and asked them a question.

The classmate who shared the desk stammered at the question, but Lu Jinnian blinked for a second and then clearly and accurately answered.

The teacher then punished that classmate to stand in front of the blackboard. Lu Jinnian, who had sat down, removed the textbook from his sheet of paper and continued to concentrate on his sketch.

Lu Jinnian back then was far from his mature self that he was now. His youthful features and inexperienced self were full of absent-mindedness back then, but in her heart, she had come to idolize that young image of him. No wonder he was the man she had fallen in love with, even when he was absent-minded, he was so freaking good looking!

-

Qiao Anhao waited until the show was over before getting out of bed. She washed her face and then called for takeout. She then went over to charge her phone that was almost out of battery.

The assistant had told her that Lu Jinnian would call her.

Qiao Anhao waited during the day all the way until seven in the evening.

Waiting could really wear down a person's willpower. Qiao Anhao was so afraid of going crazy from waiting that she started to tidy up the room.

She re-folded all her clothes, then washed some of those that she'd only worn once, and carried them to the balcony to dry one after another. When there were only two pieces left to to dry, her phone finally rang.

Qiao Anhao impatiently ran back into the bedroom. Because she was in such a hurry, she accidentally bumped her leg into the clothes drying rack. She bumped her knees on it so hard, tears came rushing out.

However, Qiao Anhao was not in the mood to check her wound and directly ran over to the sofa. She grabbed her phone, but in the end, it turned out that the call came from Qiao Anxia, not Lu Jinnian.

Qiao Anhao instantly felt glum. She answered the call, greeting "Sis." She then heard the ear-splitting sound of someone singing. She creased her brows and asked, "Sis, where are you?"

"Qiao Qiao? Come out and find me, hurry..." she said in a barely understandable language. She then screamed, straining her voice as she sang, "Do you even love me, do you love me..."

Qiao Anhao held her phone a little further away from her ear, and screamed loudly back, "Who are you with? How much did you have to drink?"

"Just me. I'm with you, Qiao Qiao. That's not right, just me alone." Qiao Anxia was so drunk, her words weren't very clear. She even hiccuped when she finished speaking, then continued, "Just me, on my own, at the Royal Palace."

Then, without even hanging up, she continued to sing. This time, no matter how Qiao Anhao tried to ask any questions, she didn't get a reply.

Chapter 497: Divorce（18）
Translator: Kingbao  Editor: DarkGem

After Qiao Anhao hung up the call, the image of Qiao Anxia singing alone in Royal Palace filled her mind. The more she thought, the more worried she got. After she changed, she took her bag and left.

When she reached the front desk of Royal Palace, she asked for Qiao Anxia and was escorted by a waiter to the room that she was in. The moment she reached the door of the room, she could hear Qiao Anxia's heartbroken voice piercing through the air.

She pushed the door open, and the sight of Qiao Anxia standing on the table with her head raised high, screaming into the microphone, came into sight. Her surroundings was filled empty beer bottles.

Qiao Anhao closed the door before rushing to her sister. She lifted her hand to pull her down from the table. "Qiao Anxia, are you crazy?"

She glanced at Qiao Anhao, continuing to sing. As she sang, tears streamed down her face. In the end, she knelt down with the microphone in her arms and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Qiao Anxia didn't shut her microphone, and her sobs echoed through the entire room.

This was probably the first time that Qiao Anhao had seen Qiao Anxia cry so helplessly. Frantically, she walked towards the computer to switch off the microphone before pulling Qiao Anxia up to the sofa and ordering a cup of hot tea.

Qiao Anhao held the hot cup of tea, feeding Qiao Anxia slowly. She reached out to arrange her messy hair while pulling out a tissue to wipe her tears dry.

Qiao Anxia had indeed drunk too much, but ever since she was young, she had been training her limits with Xu Jiamu, garnering a high tolerance towards alcohol. With just a few sips of hot tea, her mind cleared and Qiao Anhao's concerned face came into sight, the image stirring a fresh set of tears.

"Sis, what exactly happened to you?" Qiao Anhao asked with concern.

Qiao Anxia's tears fell furiously and she shook her head. She reached out to engulf Qiao Anhao in her arms, burying her head in her shoulder as she continued to sob quietly.

Qiao Anhao returned the embrace silently, occasionally patting her back to reassure her.

After a long time, Qiao Anxia seemingly calmed down. She took a deep breath before calling out, "Qiao Qiao."

"Yea?"

When Qiao Anxia heard the tender and soothing reply, her words froze in her throat, unable to come out.

She had wanted to apologize but couldn't muster enough courage to do so.

This was about when she was still young and ignorant. At that time, a moment of folly had caused so many complications.

She was afraid that the moment she spoke, she would see hatred in Qiao Anhao's eyes, and that she would no longer treat her as before.

She opened her mouth but did not dare to tell the truth even now. Silently, she continued to hug Qiao Anhao tightly.

Right now, she was confused and upset.

She was afraid that Qiao Anhao wouldn’t forgive her and heartbroken by losing the only opportunity to get close to Lu Jinnian.

She knew that Lu Jinnian liked Qiao Anhao and not her. After two failed confessions, she had coolly found herself another guy, but right now, when she found out that she had lost the opportunity to get close to him by herself, she couldn't help feeling a kind of heartache that she had never felt before.

Chapter 498: Divorce (19)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

With great difficulty, Lu Jinnian found a little spare time for himself from ten in the morning till five in the afternoon. He found a secluded place for some air and lit up a cigarette.

Halfway through his cigarette, he pulled out his phone and looked at it for a while. He clicked open Qiao Anhao's WeChat, wanting to send a message...

But Qiao Anxia was right. The more frequently he and Qiao Anhao got together, the more romantic they became, and the more Qiao Anhao got hurt.

He was too selfish by wanting to get closer to her when it brought her so much trouble.

Last time, her child died in her womb, and this time, would her entire reputation be in ruins?

He couldn't hurt her time and time again in the name of love.

With that thought, in the end, Lu Jinnian put his phone away and took a deep drag. Before he blew the smoke out, his assistant appeared and reminded him, "Mr. Lu, we should head out. Dinner is about to start."

There were quite a few of Beijing's business partners at the dinner party. Everyone knew each other and sat at the same table.

On a normal day, Lu Jinnian never spoke much and tonight he was no different. Since everyone sat down, they drank one glass after another, but he never spoke more than ten words.

The men and women were all the same - they all had a hint of nosiness in their bones.

After having one glass too many, people started talking about all sorts of things.

Lu Jinnian also caught wind of the person on everyone's lips but remained impartial and acted like he didn't care until the very end.

At last, he didn't know who started the topic, but the conversation fell on the Xu family enterprise.

"Han Ruchu, the vice president of Xu enterprises recently pooled several billions in funds. It seems to be an investment."

"That woman has always been full of courage. She stabilized a large majority of the Xu enterprise's finances."

"I've worked with her once or twice. She seems to be really knowledgeable and a visionary. She's brilliant."

On the topic of Han Ruchu, some complimented her, whilst others slammed her. In the end, who knew who said it first, but another gossip came to the front.

"Ah right! As we're on the topic of Han Ruchu, I just remembered an incident. Have you all heard? Recently, the young master Xu and the daughter of the Qiao family are talking about divorce?"

Lu Jinnian, who originally seemed like he didn't care, suddenly was all ears when he heard those words.

His heart jumped for a moment. Could it be - was Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu going to get a divorce because of him?"

"Seriously? When was this?"

"I heard about this around a week ago."

A week ago... Back then, there hadn’t been any photos taken secretly of him and Qiao Anhao, so it had nothing to do with him?

Lu Jinnian's mood slightly relaxed.

"Why did they talk about divorce? The business relationship between Qiao and Xu families has been extremely close..."

"It was because of a woman - the granddaughter of Lin Sun. She's currently studying in university. I don't know how she and young master Xu got to know each other, but then the two of them kind of..." Mid-speech, that person shrugged his shoulders and hinted, "Well, you all know. Young master Xu must've fell for her and wants to marry her. Now they're thinking of how to get a divorce from the Qiao family."

Lu Jinnian, who never spoke suddenly asked, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. My sister is classmates with Lin Sun’s granddaughter. She saw young master Xu going to her school a few times, otherwise, how would I know about it."

"Lin Sun's granddaughter... They're truly a family with three generations worth of government officials. Indeed, a better match than the Qiao family. No wonder they're in talks of divorce."

Chapter 499: Divorce (20)
Translator: Paperplane  Editor: DarkGem

Lu Jinnian sat in his seat, listening attentively to every word of the discussion. His expression seemed just as distant and cold as usual, but his heart was wreathing.

"That lady from the Qiao family is ever so pitiful."

When Lu Jinnian heard this, a myriad of images crossed his mind.

The image of him listening to Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu's confession through Qiao Anxia's earphones... And Qiao Anhao's happy and tearful face when Xu Jiamu woke up... In the end, the image transformed into Qiao Anhao's distraught, crying face.

Suddenly, it felt like someone had brutally punched his heart. In an instant, the chopsticks in his hand crashed onto the table, making a "Pa!" sound. All eyes at the table were suddenly on Lu Jinnian. Even people from the other tables nearby turned at the loud sound. Everyone looked over with confusion at Lu Jinnian, who had stood up.

Lu Jinnian said "Excuse me" with a somber expression, then picked up his jacket. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he kicked his chair behind him and strode out.

His assistant blanked out for a second, then got up. He smiled and apologized to everyone, hurriedly following Lu Jinnian out.

Lu Jinnian walked so quickly that his assistant had to practically jog to catch up with him.

In all the years, Lu Jinnian had heard it all at the dinner table; who had gone off the rails, who was financing a celebrity on the side, or who's wife killed themselves because they were abandoned. Whenever people started to talk about these topics, others would sigh along, but not him. He would remain calm and give them no reaction at all.

So much so that even he would start to think to himself, ‘ah that's so normal. Don't all wealthy men like to play around like this? Or else, how would I exist in the first place?’

No matter what he thought to himself or how he didn't react in the past, he'd never suddenly erupt in anger when he heard Xu Jiamu was messing around with another woman. But right now, he was so angry that he felt like he was Qiao Anhao, the person abandoned.

Yet Qiao Anhao had once told Xu Jiamu something like "In my whole life, I will only love you.".

She grew up with Xu Jiamu and now was his wife, but he actually wanted to marry another woman.

Lu Jinnian was never as cruel as to imagine a day when Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu would break up and he might have a chance with her. However, now that it came true, he was far from happy and excited, unlike what he imagined he would be; he felt an unspeakable pain in his heart.

"Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu!"

When Lu Jinnian heard the calls from behind, he stopped walking and turned his head to find his assistant panting. He said, "Book me a flight, I'm going back to Beijing, NOW!"

The assistant dazed out for a moment, then said, "But Mr. Lu, you still have a meeting to attend tomorrow. You might have to sign a contract... You can't go back!"

"Either arrange for someone else to deal with these matters, or just cancel the signing all together!" Lu Jinnian didn't even think twice about it, and reiterated, "I'm going to back to Beijing tonight!"

"Mr. Lu ..." His assistant still had more to say. He wanted to talk Lu Jinnian out of it, but in the end, the other had already grabbed for his phone and called to book tickets.

Lu Jinnian got off the phone and then ignored his assistant's cries of "Mr. Lu". He raised his hand to hail a taxi, got in, and left his assistant with the words, "Check out of the hotel and pack up everything in the room". Then he said to the taxi driver, "To the airport."