Volume One, Chapter 86: Even when injured, she refused to become engaged to him.

Zhao Nianqiao was staying at the City Second Hospital, as it was the nearest tertiary hospital to the villa district.

Xu Heping came home drunk last night. Zhao Nianqiao tried to settle him into bed, but dealing with a drunk was never easy. Xu Heping jabbed a finger at her nose, spewing out every kind of venomous word.

He started with his usual litany, blaming her for not bearing him a son. When she didn't react, he flew into a rage and called her a hen that couldn't lay eggs.

Fury flared in Zhao Nianqiao. She retorted, "Who are you calling a hen?"

At that moment, Xu Heping was seething, desperate to vent his anger. He snapped, "Calling you a hen is already too generous. At least a hen can be sold. But you—you're old and washed out now, not even good enough to keep the bank manager company for a night."

Zhao Nianqiao was stunned.

She hadn't thought Xu Heping would sink so low. Selling his daughter wasn't enough; now he wanted to sell his wife as well. What kind of man would stoop to this?

She no longer cared to save his face. "Xu Heping, don't you deserve what happened to the company? You wouldn't let me go to the office, wouldn't let me handle the projects. Back when I was in charge, things went well. I'm sure if I'd been managing, the company wouldn't have ended up like this. To put it bluntly, you just don't have what it takes! All those deals you closed were trash! Even if you sell your daughter, it might save you for a while, but with your incompetence, the company will collapse eventually—"

Before she could finish, Xu Heping's palm landed hard across her face.

The slap rang out sharply, leaving her ears ringing.

He hadn't held back; maybe his pride and manhood had been provoked. Enraged, he shouted, "What do you women know! I was just unlucky! If you hadn't been running to the company all the time, you wouldn't have given birth to a stillborn child! That was my son; you killed him! Are you fit to be a mother? You raised our daughter to be like this—ruining a good marriage, tangled up with that bastard from the Liang family. Our son died because of you. You say I'm useless, but what about you? As a woman, don't you feel like a failure?!"

The stillbirth was a wound buried deep in the Xu family, one seldom spoken of.

But Xu Heping tore it open.

No one felt that pain more than Zhao Nianqiao. Men could never truly understand—she was the one who bled in that hospital bed, who had felt the baby kick, who was finally told by the doctors she might never conceive again.

She broke down and lunged at Xu Heping, intent on hitting him.

He actually got scratched—her nails left a bloody mark across his cheek.

Tears welled up in Zhao Nianqiao's eyes, but she refused to relent. "Xu Heping, do you even have a conscience? That was your son, but wasn't he my child too? I was the one in pain! What do you men know! You look down on women, yet in the end, you have to rely on us for everything! And you have the nerve to say—"

She shouted as she tried to hit him again.

Xu Heping thought she'd gone mad. In his fury, he shoved her hard.

She lost her balance, staggered, and finally fell, slamming into a large porcelain vase in the corner of the room.

The vase shattered. She landed among the shards, pain shooting through her body as the broken pieces cut her hand.

Xu Heping glanced at her once, but didn't help her up. He turned and went straight to the bedroom, muttering, "Crazy woman… Useless!"

The living room fell silent. Zhao Nianqiao lay on the floor, her slightest movement making the fragments clatter.

Again, tears spilled over. In despair, she closed her eyes.

She lay there most of the night before finally getting up to find the first aid kit. She dressed her wounded hand and checked her body in the bathroom—bruises of varying shades covered her skin.

She and Xu Heping had long since started sleeping in separate rooms. Back in her own bedroom, she couldn't sleep at all. By dawn, she was feverish.

In the end, she had to go to the nearby hospital on her own.

Running into Liang Muzhi was an accident. The outpatient department wasn't open yet; she met him in the night-duty pharmacy. Only then did she recall that Old Master Liang was also a patient here, so it wasn't strange for Liang Muzhi to be around.

He recognized her immediately, even though she wore a mask. "Aunt Xu, what brings you to the hospital? Are you unwell?"

Compared to Xu Heping, Liang Muzhi always showed her more respect, largely because Xu Heping treated Xu Zhi so harshly.

Yet, lately, Zhao Nianqiao had been rather cold toward him.

"It's nothing, just a cold," she replied, her tone indifferent.

Her nasal voice was unmistakable. Liang Muzhi couldn't help but look at her hands, noticing they were wrapped in bandages, and suspicion stirred in his mind.

Zhao Nianqiao took her medicine and left, but Liang Muzhi, sensing something was off, quietly followed her.

He saw her remove her mask in a temporary ward in the emergency department; her face was swollen.

She lay on the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. Her whole body ached, her gaze dull as she watched the drip. Footsteps sounded nearby; turning her head, she saw Liang Muzhi, and her expression darkened instantly.

"Weren't you here to look after your grandfather? Why are you following me?"

Her tone was cutting, but Liang Muzhi didn't mind. He replied, "Aunt Xu, I mean no harm. Xu Zhi has run off, Uncle Xu isn't here, and I wondered if you needed any help. I've called you Aunt for over twenty years—if something's wrong, I can't just pretend I didn't see it."

Zhao Nianqiao's eyes flicked to the man in black at the door and she frowned. "You brought someone with you?"

"That's a bodyguard, not my choice—my father arranged it," Liang Muzhi said, sitting in the chair next to her bed. "I'm being watched all the time now. Xu Zhi managed to escape, but I can't even run if I wanted to."

Zhao Nianqiao looked at him and suddenly said, "You used to call her Little Zhi."

Liang Muzhi froze.

She looked away. Over the years, Xu Zhi had always been Liang Muzhi's little shadow. She was often temperamental and distant from her mother, but close to the young master of the Liang family.

Zhao Nianqiao knew that her daughter relied on Liang Muzhi more than anyone. In the environment she grew up in, there was no one else she could lean on.

Now, there was always a trace of guilt in her heart toward her daughter. She wondered if Xu Zhi had been hurt when Liang Muzhi got a girlfriend; Xu Zhi had never told her.

Between mother and daughter, there was always an invisible barrier.

Liang Muzhi scratched his head, "Well… Xu Zhi and I do have some issues now."

Zhao Nianqiao closed her eyes. "You dismissed her in front of both families, said she had no personality, and made her take the blame for your girlfriend… It’s normal for there to be issues. Even as friends, you can’t hurt her like that."

A wrenching pain twisted in Liang Muzhi’s chest, leaving him speechless.

He sat silently for a while, then said with difficulty, "I’m sorry. I sometimes act without thinking, but I never meant to hurt her."

Zhao Nianqiao said nothing more.

Feeling dejected, Liang Muzhi got up and sought out the doctor on duty to ask about her condition.

The doctor, noting the widespread injuries, suspected she’d been beaten, and, from experience, concluded it was likely domestic abuse. Such cases were sadly common.

Shock washed over Liang Muzhi, but recalling Xu Heping’s increasing depravity, it all seemed horribly plausible.

Before messaging Xu Zhi, he hesitated a long while.

Xu Zhi would definitely come if she knew, but… what Zhao Nianqiao had just said made his conscience stir. He hadn't realized it before, but now he found it hard to face Xu Zhi.

They’d grown distant; he didn’t even know where she was anymore. The emptiness gnawed at him, as if a part of his life had suddenly vanished. Thinking of her left an aching hollow inside.

That morning, after visiting his grandfather’s ward, he bought breakfast for Zhao Nianqiao and brought it to her.

She hadn’t slept, but no matter what he said, she ignored him, not even touching the food he’d brought.

But she needed to eat, so he set aside his inner turmoil and finally sent a message to Xu Zhi.

He texted her the hospital and department details, and this time, his WeChat message went through.

Xu Zhi arrived quickly; he saw her in the corridor.

Seeing her now, he was struck by a strange, unrecognizable feeling—as if everything had changed. His heart skipped a beat for reasons he couldn't name.

She was hurrying, but her steps were uneven—her leg was clearly injured.

He frowned, "Your leg…"

Before he could finish, he remembered—she’d jumped from the second floor to escape. That must have been when she was hurt.

Compared to his empty words about not wanting her, she had shown her disdain for him far more directly—she’d rather get hurt than agree to an engagement with him.

That feeling of being rejected washed over him again, weighing his heart down.