Scarred Hearts — A Girls' Love Tale - Chapter 22

“Stop scratching!” Luo Qinghan smacked away Yan Shuangfei’s restless hand reaching for her back. She lowered her head and carefully checked her injuries. “It’s almost healed. If you keep scratching, it won’t recover properly.”

“It itches,” Yan Shuangfei whined as she lay on the bed, twisting uncomfortably.

The wounds on her back had already scabbed over, leaving crisscrossed marks. The skin around the cuts had peeled slightly, revealing tender, pink new flesh that looked like it would tear at the slightest touch.

And that’s exactly what happened—Shuangfei kept scratching the scabs, making the old wounds worse and opening up new ones. This constant picking had significantly delayed the healing process.

The faint red of fresh bl00d worried Luo Qinghan. She applied the medicine again and warned her over and over not to scratch anymore.

Shuangfei nodded obediently and started buttoning up her clothes. “You go first later, I’ll follow after. Better if we don’t show up together—it’ll avoid suspicion.”

Without turning her head, Luo Qinghan replied while putting on makeup in front of the mirror, “Alright.”

Shuangfei looked at Qinghan in her red evening gown—not flashy at all, surprisingly. Instead, it highlighted her elegant aura, making her seem untouchable.

“What are you staring at?” Luo Qinghan teased with a sideways glance.

Shuangfei scratched her head with a goofy smile. “You’re really beautiful.”

Luo Qinghan smiled, then lightly hooked her finger under Shuangfei’s chin and gave her lips a quick peck. With a smug expression of victory, she turned and walked away.

The New Year’s gathering was a big deal. Every major family had spent a fortune to make the event extravagant. Whether it was to show off or outdo others, the more money you spent, the more influence you had.

But the Yan family was an exception. They always attended, but never paid a cent. With centuries of history and power behind them, they didn’t need to throw money around to make a statement. On the contrary, many families were eager to curry favor with them. The Yan family had long been a leader among the clans.

Luo Qinghan leaned against the wall, holding a wine glass, surrounded by men trying to win her over. Since her husband’s death, these men saw a golden opportunity to climb the social ladder—marrying into the Luo family meant a life of ease and power. Add to that Qinghan’s beauty, and it was no wonder she attracted suitors like flies. Some of them even naively believed that if they tried hard enough, they could win her heart.

How laughable. If she doesn’t love you, she doesn’t love you. They didn’t even understand her personality, yet they dreamed of being with her?

Yan Shuangfei hated those men, but because of Qinghan, she didn’t dare do anything behind the scenes to mess with them.

Shuangfei was still nowhere to be seen, so the gathering couldn’t start on time. People in the crowd began whispering, wondering what the Yan family was up to this time. Their sudden, aggressive move against the Chang family had already caught everyone off guard. Now, everyone feared Yan Shuangfei was about to cause more trouble.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting!” A low, calm voice rang out. It wasn’t loud, but it carried authority, immediately silencing the chatter in the hall. All eyes turned to Yan Shuangfei, who walked in with a cold smile, clearly enjoying being the center of attention.

Luo Qinghan stayed by the wall, sipping her wine. Her brows furrowed slightly. Shuangfei’s outfit was far too casual. Everyone else had dressed formally for the event—even the most flamboyant outfits were still appropriate. But Shuangfei? She wore a plain black jacket and fitted black pants—the exact same type she always wore. In fact, she owned more than a dozen identical pairs just for convenience.

“First off, apologies for interrupting the evening. But I have to take this opportunity to clean house,” Shuangfei said. As she spoke, she suddenly pulled out a gun and fired into the ceiling. The shot startled the crowd, but none of them were ordinary people—they quickly drew their own weapons and pointed them at her.

“Relax, everyone,” Shuangfei said easily, unfazed by the sea of gun barrels aimed her way. “I said this is an internal matter. It doesn’t concern any of you.”

Yan family security rushed into the hall. Shuangfei raised her hand and clapped twice in the air. She smiled faintly. “Uncle, how long are you planning to hide? Come out and stop wasting everyone’s time.”

Gunfire erupted in the distance. Shuangfei calmly sat down and poured herself a drink, sipping leisurely as she waited. The awkward tension in the room grew, but no one dared to question her.

Soon, Yan Qi was dragged out, looking battered and ashamed. Behind him were several other relatives—some familiar, some not—all forced to kneel before Shuangfei. Then came several corpses, their bl00d scent slowly filling the room.

“Perfect. Got them all in one go,” Shuangfei said, then poured her half-finished drink over Yan Qi’s face. “Planning to kill me after the party? You were pretty confident, huh?”

Yan Qi had been pushed to this point. Yan Yudie kept stealing business from him, leaving his men strapped for cash. If things kept going that way, he wouldn’t just fail to take over—he wouldn’t even survive without the Yan family’s support.

But Yan Qi wasn’t reckless. He wouldn’t have made a move without solid backing. Shuangfei didn’t give him the chance to speak, though. She pulled out her gun, pressed it to his forehead, and fired without hesitation. Clean, fast, and ruthless.

“As for the rest, handle them as usual.” Shuangfei gestured to her subordinates to take them away.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know who was backing Yan Qi—she already knew. The Shen and Han families had been supporting him. But if she forced the truth out of him now, it would worsen the relations between the families. For the sake of maintaining the fragile peace, she let it slide—at least for now. After all, Chinese New Year was just around the corner. No one wanted to cause a scandal during the holidays.

After wrapping things up, Shuangfei finally looked a little more relaxed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Shen and Han family heads letting out a visible sigh of relief.

“Sorry for the disruption tonight,” she said, getting to her feet and walking toward Luo Qinghan. “To make up for it, the Yan family will cover all expenses for this evening.

“Also, I have a little gift for the beautiful head of the Luo family.”