Chapter 85: Counterattack (1)

After spending the night at a hotel with a man, what could she possibly buy at the pharmacy the next morning? Lan Yanzhi glanced at Mu Sichan, worry etched across his face, expecting him to erupt at any moment.

Yet, to his surprise, aside from the deepening bloodshot veins in his dark eyes, Mu Sichan showed no sign of fury. On the contrary, he grew eerily calm, his expression cold and unfathomable—a glacial composure that was even more terrifying than rage.

“Fourth Brother, you…” Lan Yanzhi began.

Without a word, Mu Sichan drove straight back to the company, parked in his reserved spot, and said in an icy tone, “Get to work.”

Lan Yanzhi shivered. Should he remind his fourth brother to perhaps consider some medication? This calmness was truly unsettling.

…

Achoo—

As Nan Zhi reached her apartment door, she sneezed several times in quick succession.

Rubbing her blocked nose, she slid the key into the lock, but before she could turn the handle, the door was pulled open from within.

“Yu Bing messaged me that you were on your way back, so I figured you’d arrive around this time,” Xia Yanran said, untying her apron. “I’ve already made breakfast.”

The two sat down at the table, and Nan Zhi sipped some porridge.

“Honestly, aren’t you being a bit too self-sacrificing? You knew Fu Shaoxiu would stoop to anything to get you, and you still drank that wine?”

Nan Zhi’s head felt heavy. Listening to Yanran’s chiding, she offered no rebuttal, only a faint, resigned smile. “There was no other way—he threatened to burn my diary.”

“Zhi Zhi, is that diary really so important to you?”

Lowering her lashes, Nan Zhi answered with a heavy, nasal hum.

“Well, that little brother did save your life, after all,” Xia Yanran remarked, a spark of excitement flashing in her eyes as a thought struck her. “Zhi Zhi, with that scumbag threatening you and trying to sleep with you, how are we going to strike back?”

That day, when Fu Shaoxiu invited Nan Zhi to the Hyatt at the private restaurant, she had already guessed his ulterior motive. She deliberately left him waiting for three days, knowing men only covet what they can’t have.

During those days, she learned from Yanran that Fu Shaoxiu had kept a woman who resembled her about a year ago. That woman became pregnant, but Nan Yao discovered it. Nan Yao’s bodyguards forced an abortion, leaving the poor woman with lasting health issues and possibly unable to conceive again.

The matter was swiftly suppressed and never made public, but Yanran, being a journalist, had picked up some inside information.

Nan Zhi then hired a private investigator and tracked down the woman—who loathed both Fu Shaoxiu and Nan Yao with every fiber of her being. When she miscarried, Fu Shaoxiu hadn’t spared her a glance, not even paid for the surgery.

Hearing Nan Zhi’s plan, the woman instantly agreed. Anything that would make Fu Shaoxiu and Nan Yao suffer, she was willing to do.

Nan Zhi fingered the vintage ring on her middle finger, her gaze icy. “Fu Shaoxiu probably never dreamed that my ring was laced with aphrodisiac as well.”

Once he was under its effects, she excused herself to the bathroom—when, in fact, she switched places with that woman. After the substitution, Nan Zhi slipped away to Qin Yubing’s room, which she’d rented long-term at the Hyatt, and spent most of the night soaking in a cold bath to counteract the drug.

The aftermath of all that scheming was a splendid cold; once the drug wore off, she was left exhausted and aching all over.

“I’d love to see Fu Shaoxiu’s face when he finds out the woman he slept with wasn’t you. That must be priceless!” Yanran exclaimed.

Nan Zhi tapped her slender fingers on the table, her eyes clear and astute. “We mustn’t reveal it now. I’m too isolated for a head-on confrontation—I have to play along, step by step. Yanran, did you handle what I asked for the day before yesterday?”