After Teasing the Heroine and Running Away, I Was Forced into Love - Chapter 12

As He Roushuang smiled for the cameras, holding up the check like a trophy, the figures behind her were seething, their faces turning as red as bloated frogs.

They never imagined that a capitalist like He Roushuang, who they believed deserved to be strung up on a lamppost, would actually be doing charity work.

Shi Qing wore a mask, preferring to keep her face hidden from the public eye to avoid unnecessary attention.

After the noisy interviews and chaotic formalities subsided, the hospital room finally grew quiet.

“Thank you so much…” Huo Wenlan murmured, her voice weak.

“You’re truly kind-hearted, Miss. I never expected to receive such help. Our family was on the brink of collapse. My daughter has been carrying such a heavy burden alone. It’s all my fault for being such a burden to her, when she should be in school…”

Huo Wenlan’s gratitude was genuine, her rambling words a testament to her overwhelming emotions. For a cancer patient, this outpouring of emotion was clearly straining her.

“Mom… you should rest,” Shi Qing said gently. “I’ll thank Miss He properly for you.”

The last few words carried an odd inflection, but He Roushuang wasn’t foolish. She caught the unspoken meaning behind them.

Soon after, the two left the hospital room and found a quiet corner of the hospital grounds, where only lush, green gardenia bushes grew.

A few flower buds were faintly visible among the leaves.

A delicate, subtle fragrance filled the air.

Shi Qing finally broke the silence. The moment she saw Miss He, she knew this wasn’t an act of charity; it was a calculated move to resolve her immediate crisis.

With this donation, she could even conceal from her mother how the exorbitant medical bills had been paid off in one fell swoop.

Miss He had truly considered her well-being.

Shi Qing’s fingers tightened around the hospital’s aluminum railing, her heart racing for a moment. Who wouldn’t be moved by such a thoughtful sister?

“Thank you… but Miss He, you really didn’t have to do this. You don’t owe me so much.”

Shi Qing didn’t want to be indebted to anyone, even if their relationship was that of entangled and ambiguous lovers. She didn’t want things to be like this.

“Hmm…”

He Roushuang gently shook her head, dismissing Shi Qing’s words.

“Now you won’t have to work multiple jobs.”

The wind rustled through the gardenia leaves, carrying a wisp of fragrance. As He Roushuang turned her head, her eyes shimmered with deep concern, devoid of romantic undertones.

It was pure kindness.

But the moment passed quickly, replaced by an inscrutable emotion.

“We could spend more time together,” He Roushuang added, genuinely hoping Shi Qing wouldn’t realize she only wanted to rescue her from this mire.

Such words would sound like condescending pity, even more arrogant than a transactional arrangement.

He Roushuang slowly approached and gently placed her hand on the back of Shi Qing’s hand, the unspoken understanding clear between them.

Ahem… Now I sound like a greasy CEO, He Roushuang thought to herself.

She only wanted to be a stepping stone for the female lead, helping her climb higher and see further.

They always said… lesbians should never get involved with straight women. He Roushuang had always taken this advice to heart, knowing that once you got involved, you’d face the moral dilemma of turning someone gay and have to play whack-a-mole, fending off both men and women.

It was a complete headache.

Most importantly… Shi Qing was too popular with men. He Roushuang feared her jealous heart couldn’t handle it.

So, despite craving the female lead’s beauty, she had never truly wanted a romantic relationship with her.

The He Family mansion stood bathed in the glow of night. Ornate, gilded European-style streetlights illuminated the grounds, each one a testament to the estate’s opulence.

Jiang Hui’s arms had grown noticeably fuller since marrying into the He Family, her diet and lifestyle having improved dramatically. The mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist seemed almost impossible to remove.

At that moment, she was inspecting her son’s back, her fury as fierce as a snarling tiger.

“How could he do this to you!”

The mere thought that the belt marks on He Shanjian’s back had been inflicted by Father He himself made Jiang Hui’s chest ache with suffocating pain.

“All for that little b1tch!”

“Her mother hasn’t even married into the family, yet she acts like she’s entitled to boss you around all day. You’re the He Family’s only male heir!”

Before giving birth to He Shanjian, Jiang Hui had always felt inferior to He Roushuang, despite the fact that her parents had never officially married. He Roushuang’s maternal grandparents, with their own formidable family influence, had never missed an opportunity to belittle Jiang Hui.

After carefully carrying He Shanjian to term, Jiang Hui wept tears of joy in the delivery room when she learned she had given birth to a son.

At last, she had finally earned her moment of triumph.

She had finally given He Wenzhi an heir, ensuring that the He Family’s wealth would belong to her son. He Roushuang, after all, was a married-out daughter, water spilled from a cup.

But reality proved Jiang Hui’s narrow-mindedness wrong. True elite families didn’t solely value male heirs; many chose successors based on influence and power.

Compared to He Shanjian, who had nothing to his name, He Roushuang—backed by her maternal grandparents—was far more suited to inherit the Tianze Group.

So, even bearing a son didn’t guarantee succession to the throne.

This earth-shattering realization overwhelmed Jiang Hui, leaving her unable to accept it and fueling her resentment toward He Roushuang.

Yet He Roushuang was fiercely independent.

The moment Jiang Hui showed the slightest temper, He Roushuang would threaten to tear the roof off the house. He Wenzhi, ever the peacemaker, would invariably side with He Roushuang.

“She lost her mother,” he’d say. “I only wanted to find her a stepmother because she was so young. You promised me you’d take good care of her.”

“But now that you have Shanjian, you’ve abandoned Roushuang. Jiang Hui, who’s the unfit mother here?”

“If you insist on portraying Roushuang as an unreasonable and irrational daughter, then you’re a shrewish and manipulative mother.”

Having clawed his way through the business world for years, He Wenzhi possessed a silver tongue that often left Jiang Hui speechless.

But silence didn’t equate to agreement. Whenever the opportunity arose, she would still extend her venomous stepmother’s hand toward He Roushuang.

Now, staring at the scars on her son’s back, Jiang Hui’s fury reached its peak. She needed to find a way to punish He Roushuang, to make her understand that her son wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Recalling recent news reports and the rumors swirling throughout the Tianze Group, Jiang Hui hatched a sinister plan.

She couldn’t strike at the sun-like brilliance of the crown princess.

But surely she could target He Roushuang’s lover, couldn’t she?

After applying medicine to her son’s wounds, Jiang Hui dialed her elder brother’s number. Her family had started as shopkeepers, barely scraping by as a middle-class household. They were worlds apart from the He Family’s top-tier wealth and influence.

Yet, because she bore a faint resemblance to He Roushuang’s deceased mother, she had managed to marry into the He Family.

Every time she thought of this, Jiang Hui’s teeth itched with resentment.