When Xu Mengyao learned that the waitress was Wang Yalin and that she had prepared strong liquor to embarrass her, she gasped in shock and said with lingering fear, "I almost fell for it. I would have definitely been embarrassed in front of everyone."
Xu Zifan took her to the bedside to get some fresh air. "It's alright now. Just be more careful in the future. The more beautiful and glamorous a place is, the easier it is to hide filth and dirt. To survive in this kind of circle, you need to be cautious and have the ability to stand firm. That way, no one can bring you down."
Xu Mengyao let out a breath and smiled again. "I know, brother. Confidence is key. Confidence and self-reliance are always a strong support. By the way, brother, did you deliberately send Qi Xiangheng there? Did you want him to see Wang Yalin's true colors? Should we tell Dad and the others about this?"
Xu Zifan leaned against the railing, looking at the banquet hall, a glass of wine in his hand swirling gently, a half-smile on his face. "No need to tell them. Let's leave it at that. As long as the banquet I prepared for you wasn't ruined."
Yao Yao, people have short memories. Those who don't hear things often gradually forget them. But if you always hear them, whether good or bad, it will deepen the impression, which isn't good. As for Xiang Heng…"
He chuckled softly, "The important thing is not to make him see clearly, but to completely cut off Wang Yalin's escape route. The more Wang Yalin does, the further Xiang Heng will be pushed away. Look at her, she always treats others as her support, but now none of her supporters want her anymore."
Xu Mengyao deeply understands this. In just a few months, she witnessed Wang Yalin go from being pampered to being disliked by everyone, which fully proved her brother's theory of relying on others: only she herself was the only reliable support.
At this moment, she became even more determined to become stronger and decided to speed up her pace. She didn't want her brother to worry about her anymore; her brother should have his own life too.
On the other side, Qi Xiangheng caught up with Wang Yalin. Wang Yalin had come to find him, so she was naturally overjoyed. But when she saw the "juice" in his hand, she couldn't smile anymore.
Qi Xiangheng stared intently at her and demanded, "What are you doing here? And what's the deal with this drink? Why did you give it to Xu Mengyao?"
Wang Yalin was flustered, but her face showed confusion: "I came to see you! What's wrong with this juice? I was pretending to be a waitress to avoid being recognized, so I hid in a secluded spot. I didn't expect to run into Xu Mengyao, which startled me. Luckily, she just took the juice and left without recognizing me. What's wrong? Do you suspect I came to harm someone? Xiang Heng, is that what you think of me?"
Qi Xiangheng took a deep breath. "This isn't juice, it's strong liquor."
"How is that possible?" Wang Yalin's eyebrows shot up. "Xiang Heng, are you starting to target me too? Last time you came to my house, you said I posted a video of myself deliberately climbing into your bed. This time, I risked being recognized and laughed at to come see you, and you actually suspect me of harming Xu Mengyao?"
Tears welled in her eyes. "I've been so worried about you all this time, trying every possible way to contact you, and you don't believe me? Fine, since you think there's something wrong with this stuff, I'll drink it and show you!"
Wang Yalin snatched the "juice" and poured it into her mouth!
Qi Xiangheng was startled and quickly knocked away his wine glass to support her. "Yalin, are you alright?"
The wine glass shattered on the floor, its "juice" soaking into the carpet. Actually, Wang Yalin had only taken a sip; it wasn't that strong. However, she went along with it, feigning dizziness and muttering, "It really is wine... no, it wasn't me..."
Qi Xiangheng looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, quickly helped her leave through the back door and took a taxi to Dijingyuan.
Wang Yalin lowered her head and curled the corners of her lips. She knew Qi Xiangheng would bring her out. She could prove that she didn't know there was anything wrong with the drink, and she could also speak the truth after drinking. Perfect!
She had already planned to find Qi Xiangheng today and have sex with him while he was drunk, so this development is even more natural now!
Wang Yalin started trembling when she heard the words "Dijingyuan". She buried her face in his arms, crying and shaking her head. "I won't go back to Dijingyuan. Those people, those people will beat me and scold me. I won't go back."
Qi Xiangheng was taken aback. "Those people? Who?"
"The Wang family, me, my parents, my brother, my grandmother, and my second uncle, second aunt, and cousins," Wang Yalin cried, "They're so mean! They spend my money like it's worthless. That's my future livelihood, how could they do this? They even took over my bedroom, my study, and my living room, and forced me to sleep on the balcony. I want to move out, but they won't let me. They beat and scold me every day, treating me like their slave…"
"What?" Qi Xiangheng immediately rolled up her sleeve and saw the old and new scars on it. He felt a pang of heartache.
Wang Yalin pretended to be drowsy, "I'm not going home, I'm not going home..."
The Wang family really would beat her, but most of her injuries were self-inflicted, just so Qi Xiangheng would feel sorry for her today. Qi Xiangheng fell for the trap and took her to a nearby hotel.
He wanted her to rest, but Wang Yalin was drunk. She cried and complained, then ordered drinks for him in a hotel room. Qi Xiangheng couldn't reason with a drunk person, so he had no choice but to play along. In the end, they both got drunk.
Wang Yalin never forgot her purpose, and after Qi Xiangheng was almost drunk, she lured him into having sex.
The next day, Qi Xiangheng woke up with a splitting headache. He was stunned to find himself and Wang Yalin naked and embracing each other!
His first reaction wasn't happiness or guilt, but rather the words Xu Zifan had once advised him: "If she loses her wealth, she might have a one-night stand with you while drunk, making you feel guilty, heartbroken, and responsible for her."
He is simple-minded, he likes Wang Yalin, and he is more willing to trust the person he loves, but he is not stupid.
How could it be such a coincidence that Wang Yalin served Xu Mengyao that glass of "juice"? Who would serve that kind of thing at a banquet?
He had been confined to his home, and when he finally got out, he got drunk and committed adultery. Was it really unintentional for Wang Yalin to drag him into drinking so much and complaining?
If he's so prone to sexual misconduct when drunk, why didn't he do it before when he frequented bars?
And about that video incident, no matter how much they investigated, they only found Wang Yalin as a suspect. Was it really not Wang Yalin?
That time it was the same – crying, falling asleep, and molestation. This time it's the same – crying, drunkenness, and promiscuity. It's all Wang Yalin's scheme!
Qi Xiangheng closed his eyes briefly. At that moment, Wang Yalin woke up, screamed, rolled up the covers, and shrank to one side, crying in panic, "How could this happen?"
Seeing her as if she had suffered a great shock, Qi Xiangheng found himself wondering if she was acting. He noticed the bloodstains on the sheets revealed by the blanket being pulled back, and even suspected that Wang Yalin had deliberately exposed them. He also examined Wang Yalin's body for wounds, wondering if the bloodstains came from elsewhere.
He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, and gave a sad smile. It turned out that the seed of doubt he had planted back then had unknowingly grown into a towering tree. And once you start to doubt someone, you will unconsciously start to doubt everything they say or do.
Trust is easily broken but hard to rebuild; he can no longer trust the girl he has loved for so many years.
Wang Yalin sensed something was off about his reaction and looked at him through tears, "Xiang Heng, you...I..." She was waiting for him to say he would take responsibility.
Qi Xiangheng took a deep breath, stood up and said, "Yalin, we're all drunk. I don't know how this happened. Let's go wash up first."
He told Wang Yalin to go into the bathroom first. Although Wang Yalin was eager for him to take responsibility, she couldn't take the initiative herself, so she could only pretend to be flustered and run into the bathroom.
Qi Xiangheng put on his bathrobe, found his phone, stood on the balcony for a while in the breeze, and then dialed Xu Zifan's number.
Xu Zifan was already at work, but this time he didn't reject the call and answered it casually, "Hello? Did you find out?"
Qi Xiangheng paused for a moment, then said, "I had sex with Ya Lin."
Xu Zifan also fell silent for a moment, mainly because he was somewhat surprised. "Why are you telling me something like this?"
"I'm so confused. I feel like so much has happened in the past few months, completely upending my understanding. I can't tell what's real and what's fake anymore. You said before that she would come to me after losing her wealth, so everything you told me before was true?"
Xu Zifan chuckled. "Of course it's true. Actually, it's easy for you to know if it's true or not. Didn't I advise you to hire a private investigator to look into her? I'm not interested in hearing about Wang Yalin. You don't really think we can still be brothers without any resentment, do you? Brothers who don't trust each other?"
"That's not what I thought." Qi Xiangheng's feelings were complicated. "I don't know why I called you and said I believed you, even though I didn't believe you before. Am I a failure?"
"It's quite a failure that you even dared to ask that question." Xu Zifan had studied psychology and, of course, knew what was going on with him. He had suddenly overturned his perception and was relying on the person closest to him who knew the whole story and with whom he used to have the best relationship. The subtext was, "I'm in trouble, what should I do?"
Xu Zifan wasn't stingy either. Considering that Qi Xiangheng had never helped Wang Yalin deal with them in the original owner's world, he gave him some advice: "Remember to use contraception. Don't create an innocent child that will make things more complicated. As for the rest, do as you please. Be careful. Since you haven't given her wealth and status, she'll soon show her true colors."
Xu Zifan hung up the phone after speaking. Qi Xiangheng himself did nothing wrong; he just lacked experience and was blinded by emotions and sweet talk.
On one side is his brother, on the other is his childhood sweetheart. Without concrete evidence, why should he be expected to believe his brother and not his sweetheart? Many people would choose to believe their sweetheart. With more experience, he won't be so naive and easily fooled.
However, he's not a babysitter and has no obligation to educate his "former" brothers. They'll go their separate ways in the future, and they won't be able to get along.
Qi Xiangheng's chaotic thoughts seemed to be illuminated by a bright light. If he had misunderstood Wang Yalin, he would make it up to her and give her everything. If Wang Yalin had really schemed against him, then he was being foolish, and he wouldn't let Wang Yalin benefit from the Qi family's influence.
As for the child, even if they had a child after drinking so much alcohol, it would be bad for the fetus. Besides, they absolutely cannot have a child until the truth is found out. This is indeed something that should be taken into consideration.
Qi Xiangheng called the front desk and had someone deliver emergency contraception.
After Wang Yalin came out, Qi Xiangheng asked her directly, "Yalin, do you like me? Would you like to be my girlfriend?"
Wang Yalin feigned a wronged and flustered look, "I...I've never thought like this before, we're good friends...but now...I don't know..."
She held her head in her hands, looking very distressed. "I'm so confused right now, Xiang Heng, can you let me think about it? I need to think things through..."
"Okay, I respect your decision." Qi Xiangheng poured her a glass of warm water and handed her the birth control pill. "I'm sorry, I don't remember last night and I didn't take precautions. I can't let you risk getting pregnant before you've thought things through. Take this."
Wang Yalin froze, staring incredulously at the birth control pills in his hand, never expecting his reaction afterwards.
He hasn't said a single word about marrying her or taking responsibility, hasn't made a single promise, and he even told her to take birth control pills?
Doesn't this mean he doesn't want her child? He's had a crush on her for so long, and instead of feeling guilty or overjoyed, he's afraid she'll get pregnant? What's going on?!
Qi Xiangheng didn't see anything wrong with it and said seriously, "I hope our child will arrive after our marriage, amidst everyone's blessings. Last night was an accident. Since you're not ready yet, let's take precautions."
That makes sense. Wang Yalin racked her brains but couldn't come up with a reasonable way to avoid taking it, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and swallow the birth control pill.