The Eleventh Year of Secretly Loving Her - Chapter 7

Qi Sinian’s tone was full of arrogance and disdain, as if he didn’t even see Huo Xin as a rival.

Such poise and presence made the gathered reporters unconsciously admire him.

In the blink of an eye, Qi Sinian had already taken Zhong Xiran into the car.

The car headed toward Jade Bay, leaving the reporters far behind.

Zhong Xiran felt a wave of relief. At least this matter had been dealt with in the eyes of the public.

It wasn’t until much later, after the car had been on the road for a while, that she realized she was still holding Qi Sinian’s hand. Startled as if scalded, she quickly let go.

Qi Sinian glanced at her once, then calmly withdrew his hand.

“Give Madam a bottle of water.”

After saying that, he leaned back, closed his eyes, and looked utterly exhausted.

From the front seat, Jiang Zheng immediately handed her a bottle of water and added at the right moment, “Madam, President Qi has only slept six or seven hours in the past three days.”

Guilt welled up in Zhong Xiran’s heart.

She nodded and took the Evian water bottle, suddenly realizing how attentive Qi Sinian had been.

She twisted the cap open and drank several gulps. The crisp sweetness soothed her thirst.

Her phone buzzed. Xie Yu had sent her a WeChat message.

Yu Beauty: President Qi is so handsome!!! That statement was absolutely epic!!!

She also attached a link.

The reporters had been lightning fast, uploading the video to multiple online platforms within minutes.

A domineering CEO declaring war on another CEO over a love rival on camera, such a rare and dramatic scene was naturally adored by the masses.

In just twenty minutes, the reposts had exceeded ten thousand.

Not wanting to disturb Qi Sinian’s rest, Zhong Xiran muted her phone and opened the video.

On screen, Qi Sinian’s cold, sharp features carried a faint hostility, giving off an aura that kept people at arm’s length.

But when he held her, his expression seemed to soften for no reason.

Almost without thinking, Zhong Xiran downloaded the video.

Afterwards, she casually opened the comments section.

[Good family background, handsome, competent at work, and doting on his wife, please give me a dozen husbands like this.]

[@Mr. Huo, how are you going to respond? Hurry up and fight, fight, fight!]

[This sister is a literal beauty sniper. Wait, is that barefaced on camera? How stunning must she be in real life?]

……

Perhaps as a way to repay him, Zhong Xiran gave a like to the first comment praising Qi Sinian.

Then she noticed another message from Xie Yu.

Yu Beauty: That gossip blogger better delete their account and run, it’s all fake news! Who said President Qi was divorcing our Xixi?

Yu Beauty: President Qi is head over heels in love with our Xixi [sparkly eyes emoji].

Love?

Zhong Xiran glanced at Qi Sinian from the corner of her eye. He was still in the same position as before.

A truck drove past outside, its headlights flashing across the glass, briefly illuminating his sharply defined face before fading into shadow again.

CiCi: That’s not true.

Yu Beauty: I think you’re just too close to see the truth.

Zhong Xiran didn’t even know why she suddenly had the mood to discuss this matter seriously with Xie Yu.

CiCi: Fine, let’s assume Qi Sinian does love me. Do you think he’s the kind of person who’d lose his head over love?

Yu Beauty: …That doesn’t really sound like him.

That was the crux of the whole matter.

Qi Sinian had always been calm and rational.

If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have spoken so aggressively in front of reporters.

The fact that he stood up for her, spoke on her behalf, and declared war on Huo Xin in public was precisely because he didn’t care, because the truth of the matter wasn’t enough to affect his emotions. He simply didn’t care.

What he cared about was dignity.

After finishing that topic, Zhong Xiran suddenly thought of something and asked: How did you find out about the news that Qi Sinian wanted to divorce me?

Yu Beauty: After all, I’m an agent. I have access to over eight hundred marketing accounts. This particular account we often work with, and he leaked the info through them.

Zhong Xiran: Can you help me trace the source of this information?

Qi Sinian clearly never intended to divorce her, so who had spread this rumor?

Yu Beauty: No problem. I’ll find out and let you know.

Hills Hotel Presidential Suite.

On the coffee table was the screen of the phone; Qi Sinian’s hand rested naturally on Zhong Xiran’s waist. “Mr. Huo, you’re welcome to try, but let’s see if you can take her from me.”

Huo Xin sneered coldly and suddenly smashed the phone at the TV.

With a loud clang, the TV screen shattered into a snowflake-like pattern, and the phone was deformed from the impact.

His assistant, Zhou Di, didn’t dare to breathe.

Everyone said Huo Xin was gentle, but only he knew just how ruthless Huo Xin could be; otherwise, he couldn’t have fought his way up in the business world so quickly.

Huo Xin was angry not only because of Qi Sinian’s words but also because of his actions.

He knew exactly what that intimate gesture meant.

His Xixi, the one he hadn’t dared touch for four years, had been claimed first by Qi Sinian.

“Try to let her go?” Qi Sinian was being overconfident.

If Zhong Xiran had no feelings for him, she wouldn’t have kept the things he gave her for four years, nor would she have gone out of her way to return them to him in person.

He looked at the cardboard box on the floor beside him.

At that time, he was just a poor student who couldn’t afford expensive gifts, yet Zhong Xiran had never looked down on him.

A little teddy bear, a music box, a plain gilded rose silver necklace…

From today’s perspective, it was just a pile of junk.

But she had kept that junk all this time.

He lowered his gaze, calmed himself, took a voice recorder from his briefcase, and played it repeatedly.

“I did like you, but I’m already married.”

“But you don’t love him.”

“Whether I love him or not, he is my husband.”

“…”

A trace of coldness flashed in Huo Xin’s eyes as he handed the recorder to Zhou Di.

“Handle this properly.”

The black Bentley slowly drove into Jade Bay and stopped in front of the villa.

The confined space inside was extremely quiet.

Qi Sinian opened his eyes, didn’t glance at Zhong Xiran, and pushed open the door to get out.

She followed him.

His figure in the deep night looked exceptionally cold.

It wasn’t until this moment that Zhong Xiran realized Qi Sinian was angry.

He had helped her so decisively, and she had thought he didn’t care about the matter at all.

After changing into indoor shoes, Qi Sinian threw his black coat onto the entryway cabinet and said coldly, “This is a one-time exception.”

His demeanor was completely different from the confident man in front of the media earlier.

Zhong Xiran pursed her lips and tried to explain, “I went to see him because…”

Qi Sinian cut her off.

“I have no interest in you and your ex.”

He strode into the bedroom.

Zhong Xiran froze in place, staring at his figure as it disappeared from the living room, unmoving for a long moment.

He was really angry, not even willing to hear an explanation.

She felt a little bewildered.

It wasn’t what she had expected.

Zhong Xiran wasn’t sure why he was angry, but she knew she was the cause of the whole incident.

Qi Sinian had been dragged into this innocently, and even with his busy schedule, he had to spend energy dealing with her situation. He had every reason to be angry.

She hurried into the bedroom. Qi Sinian stood in front of the wardrobe, back facing the door, changing his clothes.

Zhong Xiran spoke, “I went to see Huo Xin to return the things from the past, so we could completely draw a boundary between us.”

Qi Sinian tore off the last button of his shirt without even turning his head.

“Mrs. Qi, from the moment you married me, you’ve already drawn a complete boundary with him.”

Zhong Xiran froze.

Qi Sinian, now in his pajamas, glanced at her coldly as he walked past her, “Since you have no intention of divorcing, put away any feelings you still have for him.”

A faint scent of tobacco passed under her nose and quickly vanished, impossible to grasp.

A few seconds later, Zhong Xiran snapped back to reality.

Put away my feelings for him???

Could it be that Qi Sinian thought she still loved Huo Xin?

She was instantly furious.

Was she the kind of fool who would keep longing for someone after being abandoned once?

This accusation was too shameful. She absolutely couldn’t take it on herself.

Zhong Xiran immediately turned and chased after him.

Qi Sinian had just entered the bathroom.

Zhong Xiran stormed down the hallway, pushed open the door, and declared righteously, “Who said I still have feelings for him? I haven’t liked him for four years, okay? Don’t insult me—”

She suddenly froze.

She realized Qi Sinian was completely naked, standing in front of her, his gaze carrying a trace of surprise.

Zhong Xiran’s face instantly turned bright red—he had just gone in, so how had he taken off his clothes so fast?

She turned to flee.

But the man grabbed her wrist with precision.

With a slight pull, he drew her into his arms.

A cold, clear voice whispered into her ear, “Explain yourself.”