Chapter 166
Seeing Qiu Chi just staring at her without a word, Madam Zhai, who had been carrying the conversation by herself, couldn't help but feel a little awkward. She found Qiu Chi truly inconsiderate, and when she spoke again, her tone was tinged with complaint.
“Jia Yue, no matter what, I am your mother. Acting like this… are you trying to disown me?”
Qiu Chi asked with a light laugh, “Why have you stopped playing the part of the loving mother?”
Madam Zhai’s expression stiffened. She forced a smile and said, “Jia Yue, what nonsense are you talking about? Mother is just worried about you. Even if you resent me, you can’t say such things, can you?”
“Worried about me?” Qiu Chi retorted. “Then during those two suffocating years at the Nie residence, I never saw you visit. The letters I sent you went unanswered. And when I finally managed to return to the Zhai family, didn’t you keep saying that I was the Nie family’s daughter-in-law and that their affairs were none of your business?”
“So now that I have nothing to do with the Nie family, have more money in my hands, and can live freely, you’ve come to worry about me? Don’t you think your timing is a little off?”
“Are you really worried about me? Or are you worried about my money?”
Qiu Chi’s words were anything but subtle. Madam Zhai twisted the handkerchief in her hands, no longer able to maintain her loving-mother facade.
Her face darkened. “No matter what you say, you still came from my womb. Now that the Nie family has cast you aside, where else can you go but back to the Zhai family with me? You should be grateful that we’re willing to overlook the past and take you back!”
“Tsk, showing your true colors, are we?”
Qiu Chi was a little surprised—not that Madam Zhai would have this attitude, but that the weak and sorrowful Madam Zhai from Zhai Jiayue’s memories could become so sharp and cruel.
After all, in the original plot, Zhai Jiayue never saw Madam Zhai again after her divorce from Nie Zhicheng. Seeing her like this now was a novel experience for Qiu Chi.
She didn’t hit women, but she could certainly get under her skin. “How is your precious son doing? Do you want me to come back so badly just so he can spend a little more time in bed?”
As she spoke, Qiu Chi pondered seriously for a moment. “If that’s the case, I suppose I could be benevolent and help you out. Don’t worry, no thanks or payment necessary.”
Qiu Chi’s tone was light, but it infuriated Madam Zhai.
“He’s your own brother! How could you, how could you lay a hand on him!”
“My own brother?” Qiu Chi raised an eyebrow. “Even if he were my own father, I’d beat him without a second thought. If you have nothing else to say, you can get lost. Don’t think I can’t do anything to you just because you’re a woman. I won’t do it myself, but I can hire someone. But I’d rather not, so you should hurry up and scram.”
With that, Qiu Chi went straight into her room.
Madam Zhai clutched her chest, nearly fainting from rage. “Zhai Jiayue, you unfilial daughter! Since you’re so ungrateful, don’t blame us for disregarding our old ties.”
Qiu Chi heard her but couldn't be bothered to respond.
Some people just couldn’t read the room and insisted on acting tough, completely unaware of their own limitations.
After Madam Zhai left, Qiu Chi had barely begun to relax in her room when another acquaintance arrived at the hotel.
However, this acquaintance wasn't here to see her but had other business.
The acquaintance was Nie Zhicheng. Beside him was a girl with delicate features and a gentle air, who could be none other than Fang Caiyue.
They walked together, their smiles exceptionally sweet.
Qiu Chi had only one thought: with the Nie family in such turmoil, Nie Zhicheng still had the heart to chase girls. What a textbook prodigal son. Wouldn't Old Master Nie die of anger if he found out?
Besides, if she remembered correctly, Nie Zhicheng was still injured, wasn't he? Coming to a hotel with someone while injured?
Qiu Chi had to admit her mind had gone to a dirty place.
It turned out they came to the hotel just to look at Nie Zhicheng’s injuries…
Qiu Chi was a little speechless.
But since she was idle at the moment, she didn’t mind watching the show.
In a room not far from Qiu Chi's, Fang Caiyue looked at the wounds on Nie Zhicheng’s body. Her sweet smile vanished, replaced by pearly tears streaming down her face.
She gently touched a scabbed-over wound and asked in a choked voice, “Does it hurt?”
Nie Zhicheng gritted his teeth and smiled. “It doesn’t hurt. For you, it’s all worth it.”
Fang Caiyue was incredibly moved. “You silly fool. You could have taken your time breaking off that feudal marriage. I’ll always be by your side.”
“It doesn’t matter if people misunderstand. As long as I know we truly love each other and that your heart is mine, I feel like I have endless strength. Why did you have to pay such a high price and even endure your family’s punishment? If something were to happen to you, what would I do?”
Nie Zhicheng took Fang Caiyue’s hand. “For you, any price is worth it. You’re the woman I love; how could I bear to see you misunderstood or wronged? Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me. I still have to marry you. How could I let anything happen to me?”
Qiu Chi, watching the show: “…” Wow, what a load of crap. Family punishment? I’ll show you what “family punishment” really is in a minute.
The two were lovey-dovey in the hotel for a while. Nothing too scandalous happened, but there was certainly no shortage of kissing and hugging.
Just as they were about to leave, Qiu Chi opened her door and leaned against the frame.
As luck would have it, they had to pass her room to get to the stairs.
Fang Caiyue didn’t know Qiu Chi and at most cast a few curious glances her way.
Nie Zhicheng, on the other hand, recognized Qiu Chi, but his impression of her was still stuck on the frumpy, rigid woman from the day she returned home.
Seeing Qiu Chi now, he didn’t recognize her at first. He just found her stunning and somewhat familiar, and couldn't help but look twice.
Qiu Chi said with a grin, “I’m here to give you another taste of ‘family punishment’.”
As she spoke, Qiu Chi took out her whip. Nie Zhicheng’s eyes widened. He desperately wanted to pull Fang Caiyue and flee, but his feet felt as if they were rooted to the spot, refusing to move.
He blustered, “Zhai Jiayue, we’re already divorced! We’ve given you everything you wanted. If you lay a hand on me again, don’t blame me for getting rough!”
At this moment, he could no longer care about saving face in front of Fang Caiyue.
After striking him once with the whip, Qiu Chi asked curiously, “How exactly do you plan on ‘getting rough’ with me? I’m quite curious. Why don’t you give me a demonstration?”
Nie Zhicheng offered no demonstration, but Fang Caiyue cried out, “Ah Cheng, you’re bleeding!”
After her cry of alarm, she glared at Qiu Chi. “You must be Ah Cheng’s ex-wife, aren’t you? You’re already divorced, so what more do you want? No matter how wonderful Ah Cheng is or how much you still like him, we are the ones truly in love! That feudal marriage was nothing but a cage for him. If you truly loved him, you would let him go find his real happiness!”
Honestly, Qiu Chi was a little nauseated.
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