The Eleventh Year of Secretly Loving Her - Chapter 9

What Qi Sinian wanted as sincerity was for the bedside lamp to stay on.

The apology that Zhong Xiran had promised could only be offered with half-hearted resistance and half-hearted acceptance.

Fortunately, it was nighttime, and in the privacy of the bedroom, it didn’t feel completely unbearable.

Their marital intimacy was rare, and in the past, he always asked her to turn her back.

But tonight, Qi Sinian was different. She couldn’t tell if it was because he wanted to see her face under the light, or if he simply wanted a change.

His fingers slid into her soft hair, his breath warm against her ear. “Not close with me? Then what would count as close?”

Zhong Xiran’s cheeks burned. She wanted to explain that this wasn’t what she meant by “close,” but instead she just turned her head away, unable to meet his eyes.

At a particular movement, a sharp sting made her frown slightly, but she instinctively endured it in silence.

Qi Sinian caught her expression and paused. “Does it hurt?”

She hesitated for two seconds, torn between lying and telling the truth. In the end, she gave a slight nod. “A little.”

Qi Sinian recalled her muttered words in her sleep the other night, and suddenly it all made sense.

His voice deepened. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Propping her hands against his shoulders, Zhong Xiran suddenly felt aggrieved, her eyes stinging with moisture.

Did she even have the right to complain?

He had given her family resources, money, opportunities, while she, in return, could only give him this.

Qi Sinian was silent for a moment. Then, using his fingertip to wipe away the tear at the corner of her eye, he said evenly, “Even if this marriage were arranged, I would never let you suffer like this.”

He got up. “You sleep first. I’ll have a cigarette.”

Exhausted from the past few days, Zhong Xiran soon drifted off. When she woke the next day, it was already past ten.

Perhaps due to nonstop work, Qi Sinian had finally allowed himself a rare morning of sleeping in.

Moving carefully, Zhong Xiran picked up her phone and opened WeChat. Xie Yu had sent a message.

Yu Beauty: That gossip account said someone paid him to leak it. As for who did, he won’t say. Professional ethics, apparently.

Frowning, Zhong Xiran opened Weibo, found the gossip account that had posted the video of her and Huo Xin, and played it again.

The first time, she’d been too anxious, only vaguely sensing something off without thinking deeper.

Now, looking again, she realized the camera angle was far too high, it wasn’t something a paparazzo could capture. It was from the hallway surveillance camera at Ting Club.

Which meant this video had leaked from Ting Club itself.

And who had done it was almost self-evident.

Her fingertips trembled. The disappointment was crushing.

She had never imagined that the one to harm her would be Huo Xin.

The video replayed on a loop. The man’s figure on the screen now seemed utterly foreign.

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded by her ear, “Is your ex-boyfriend really that good-looking?”

Zhong Xiran nearly dropped her phone.

She turned. “You’re awake?”

Qi Sinian didn’t reply, his expression cold and distant.

Closing her phone, Zhong Xiran said quickly, “No, I think Huo Xin leaked the video. I was analyzing it.”

His expression eased slightly. “Not too slow to catch on.”

Zhong Xiran, “You already knew?”

Qi Sinian gave a noncommittal “Mm.”

No wonder he’d said it wasn’t unexpected, and why he could clearly state that she had only been in the private room for twelve minutes.

She stared at him.

Qi Sinian saw right through her. “Do you think I had someone follow you?”

“You’re not that petty.” Zhong Xiran quickly dismissed the thought. “Then how did you know?”

Before Qi Sinian could answer, his phone rang.

He was on leave for two days; unless it was urgent, Jiang Zheng wouldn’t dare disturb him.

He answered, and Jiang Zheng’s anxious voice came through, “President Qi, Huo Xin has responded.”

Close enough to hear, Zhong Xiran quickly opened Weibo trending topics. The pinned headline was right there.

In the video, a reporter asked, “President Huo, what do you think of President Qi’s statement?”

Huo Xin had just stepped out of his car. Standing beside his Bugatti, he gave a faint smile and replied in a calm, gentle tone.

“Since President Qi has so graciously invited me, I’ll gladly accompany.”

On camera, a golden necklace gleamed around his neck, impossible to miss.

—It was the matching couple’s necklace he and Zhong Xiran once wore together.

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

Zhong Xiran pressed her lips together, clutching her phone, motionless for a long moment.

Had Huo Xin completely lost his moral compass? How could he say such a thing?

She had returned that necklace to cut ties once and for all, not for him to wear it again!

She was married now! Married, did he not understand?!

—Didn’t he know that the best ex is one who vanishes from your world as if dead?!

The video ended, freezing on Huo Xin’s face, smiling gently at the camera, as if to answer Qi Sinian’s earlier look of challenge.

Zhong Xiran didn’t dare look at Qi Sinian’s expression for a long time.

Only when her arm grew stiff did she force herself to set down the phone casually and glance at him.

Qi Sinian was looking at her too, his eyes utterly calm, yet like the stillness before a storm.

Gritting her teeth, Zhong Xiran picked up her phone. “I’ll call him and make things clear.”

Qi Sinian, “You still have his number?”

Zhong Xiran: “…”

“No.” Zhong Xiran answered quickly. “I deleted it, but—”

There were always ways to reach him.

Qi Sinian said flatly, “Wasn’t what you two said last time clear enough?”

“……”

Qi Sinian reached over, took her phone, and casually tossed it onto the headboard. Then he gripped her wrist tightly, enunciating each word, “Mrs. Qi.”

“Do not contact him again.”

Her wrist hurt from his grip, but Zhong Xiran could only endure it—he had every right to be angry.

She answered obediently, “Okay, I won’t.”

Realizing belatedly that he had used too much force, Qi Sinian immediately let go. He said nothing further and rose to leave.

The fragile reconciliation they had just managed seemed once again on the verge of collapse.

Zhong Xiran ate her breakfast absentmindedly.

The image of that rose necklace kept flashing through her mind, filling her with unease.

She still needed to tell Qi Sinian; otherwise, she didn’t know what waves it might stir up. Last time’s lesson was already enough.

When Qi Sinian finished eating and was about to leave, Zhong Xiran reached out to stop him.

She hesitated. “There’s something…”

“Say it.”

“The necklace…”

Qi Sinian cut her off, “A token of love?”

Zhong Xiran, “You… how do you know?”

Qi Sinian’s voice was calm and steady, “You wore a rose one.”

It was the Little Prince and Rose couple’s set, hard to mistake.

Zhong Xiran let out an “oh,” feeling a bit embarrassed, as if someone had unearthed her black history.

She stirred the coffee before her with a spoon. “As long as you know. I’m just worried he’ll make an issue out of it, so at least you’re mentally prepared.”

“It’s you who needs to be prepared,” Qi Sinian said, pushing up the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and lowering his gaze to her. “I’m afraid everything from your past with him will be dragged into the spotlight.”

Zhong Xiran froze.

He was probably right. It seemed Huo Xin wouldn’t let things rest.

A restless, indescribable frustration welled up in Zhong Xiran’s heart.

Qi Sinian suddenly lowered his head.

Her vision was suddenly shadowed.

Leaning close to her ear, his voice dropped low, “Mrs. Qi, will you switch sides?”

“No.”

Zhong Xiran answered firmly. “Even if we weren’t married, I wouldn’t.”

She was a perfectionist in love, unable to tolerate even the smallest flaw.

Qi Sinian said lightly, “Remember your words.”

It was a long while after he left that Zhong Xiran collected herself.

Just then, her phone rang.

“Director Zhong? This is Yin Tai. I was wondering when you might have time. I’d like to arrange a meeting to discuss investment in detail.”

Zhong Xiran instinctively glanced toward the study room.

The door was ajar, and she could vaguely see the corner of Qi Sinian’s plain gray pajamas.

As if sensing her gaze, Qi Sinian suddenly turned his head.

Zhong Xiran immediately looked away, bowing her head and focusing on the call. “Alright, President Yin…”

The study room’s door closed.

This was the first time since their marriage that Qi Sinian had taken time off to stay home. Sharing the same roof with him for long hours in the day made her feel a little uneasy.

Presumably, Qi Sinian felt the same.

“Would today work out fine?”