That smile seemed to carry a faint trace of doting affection.
It vanished in an instant.
By the time Su Jingya could take a closer look, the man's face had once again resumed its icy, expressionless demeanor.
Her tears had soaked her entire face, yet he didn't spare her a single glance.
Acting as if she didn't exist at all.
Truly, a man's heart is as hard as iron.
Su Jingya covered her mouth and left.
She hadn't run far before she bumped into someone.
Looking up, she saw the handsome, aloof, and noble Si Yanli. She muttered an apology and quickly ran off.
Si Yanli naturally knew about Su Jingya's feelings for his eldest brother.
Seeing her crying like that, he guessed she had been rejected by his brother again!
Si Yanli's mind was currently filled with thoughts of how to punish the Zhou brothers, Zhou Chongqian and Zhou Heran. He strode into the hospital room.
However, the moment he entered, he was stunned.
His famously woman-averse, iceberg of an eldest brother had actually grabbed Wen Yan's wrist and, taking advantage of the moment she looked down, forcefully bit her slender, fair neck.
Wen Yan, caught completely off guard by the bite, felt utterly exasperated.
[Damn it, this dog of a man, his vindictiveness is off the charts!]
[Ouch, that hurts, hiss~ my poor little neck.]
Although she was complaining internally, Wen Yan would never let it show on her face.
She clenched her small hand into a fist and lightly thumped the man's chest. "Husband, would you like to bite somewhere else?"
[I've already got a sharp pair of scissors ready. If you dare bite me recklessly again, watch out for that thing of yours.]
At the doorway, Si Yanli covered a cough with his fist pressed to his lips.
Seeing Si Yanli arrive, Wen Yan smoothed her long hair and coquettishly threw Simo Yan a seductive glance. "Husband, it's all your fault, now Third Brother is laughing at us."
[Ouch, my neck still hurts, I really want to—]
She secretly made a gun shape with her hand and mimed a gentle 'biu' at him.
[Biu! Turn him into Xiao Yanzi.]
Si Yanli, who had been feeling downcast lately, braced a hand against the doorframe, his chest shaking slightly.
He was desperately trying to suppress and hold back his laughter.
Simo Yan, however, darkened his handsome face.
This vicious woman, did she really want to make him a eunuch that badly?
What good would it do her if he became a eunuch?
Suddenly remembering her grand ambitions of running far away and keeping a young lover, his expression grew even more somber.
"Get out of my sight!"
Wen Yan gritted her teeth.
[Zhong Wuyan when you need me, Xia Yingchun when you don't. You're something else, you damn man!]
In a foul mood, Wen Yan sat down on the sofa.
Si Yanli entered the room. After greeting his eldest brother, he walked over to the sofa and handed a document folder to Wen Yan.
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow. "Third Brother, what's this?"
"Sister-in-law, you helped a lot the day Yunyun had her accident. This is my thank-you gift."
Wen Yan opened the folder.
Inside was actually the property deed for an apartment in a high-end residential district in Yecheng.
"Sister-in-law, whenever you're free, I'll transfer the title to you."
Wen Yan felt like manna had fallen from heaven.
[Si Jingyi gave me a sports car, now Si Yanli gives me an apartment deed. What are they up to?]
[I smell a conspiracy. They're not planning to pretend to be nice to me first, then gang up to kill and dismember me later, are they?]
Looking at Wen Yan's vivid imagination, Si Yanli spoke sincerely, "Sister-in-law, I misunderstood you before. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against your younger brother."
Wen Yan bit her lip lightly.
Si Yanli suddenly being so humble and giving her an apartment truly made her feel overwhelmed with favor.
But then again, who could blame her for being greedy!
[Should I tell him that although Zhou Heran has mental health issues, a demon actually lives inside him? He's been jealous of Zhou Chongqian since childhood and wants to sleep with any woman Zhou Chongqian has!]
[Zhou Chongqian is now with that divorced female superior of his. Actually, just notifying Zhou Heran of this news and setting a trap would make things easy. And—]
[Holy crap, I didn't dig deep into the Zhou brothers' drama before. They're actually murderers too? They did something so utterly unforgivable!]
[The woman they killed, her body is bricked up inside the wall of the Zhou family's old house. How horrifying!]
Si Yanli was utterly stunned.
As soon as he regained his senses, he immediately strode out of the room.
After finishing her mental gossip session, Wen Yan originally intended to tell Si Yanli a few things, but when she looked up, he was already gone.
...
Translation Institute.
Originally, Si Yanli was due for a promotion, but now Zhou Chongqian had been promoted to department head instead.
When Si Yanli arrived at the office, colleagues were all congratulating Zhou Chongqian.
Although they privately felt Zhou Chongqian's professional skills were inferior to Si Yanli's, who could deny he was better at currying favor with superiors?
Zhou Chongqian was beaming with satisfaction, not looking at all like someone whose wife had just died.
The colleagues' flattery greatly pleased Zhou Chongqian.
He glanced at the empty desk belonging to the person who had taken leave. "How many days of leave did Si Yanli take?"
"A week."
"Call him and tell him to come to work. If he doesn't come, he needn't come back ever again!" Freshly promoted to department head, he was already throwing his weight around.
"No need to call. I'm here to work."
Si Yanli walked into the office.
Si Yanli was handsome and aloof. Although somewhat dispirited lately, he still carried an air of graceful elegance and noble restraint.
Many female colleagues in the department secretly admired Si Yanli. Seeing him arrive, they went over to greet him.
Zhou Chongqian cleared his throat. He had his assistant place a stack of materials on Si Yanli's desk. "Translate all these materials before you leave today. If you can't finish, get out of the Translation Institute. This isn't a place for freeloaders!"
Zhou Chongqian entered his private department head office.
Once he left, some female colleagues spoke up for Si Yanli.
"Brother Yanli is the most skilled professional in our department. He should have been promoted."
"Translating such a huge pile of materials before the end of the day? He's clearly deliberately making things difficult for Brother Yanli."
Si Yanli shook his head at the female colleagues speaking up for him, his cool gaze distant. "Everyone, please return to your work."
Si Yanli endured several consecutive days of Zhou Chongqian's harassment. No matter how Zhou Chongqian provoked him, he didn't argue back.
Like a puppet with its spine broken.
Zhou Chongqian grew increasingly smug, feeling like he was walking on air.
One day, Zhou Chongqian and his female superior went on a business trip to the suburbs. On the way, their car suddenly broke down, and a torrential downpour began.
Noticing the breakdown spot wasn't far from the Zhou family's uninhabited house in the suburbs, Zhou Chongqian suggested to his superior that they take shelter there from the rain.
Zhou Chongqian cleaned the suburban house from time to time, so it was spotless inside.
By the time the two reached the house, they were almost completely drenched.
Seeing his superior's soaked shirt clinging to her skin, outlining the contours of her undergarments, Zhou Chongqian's eyes darkened. He reached out a long arm, pulled her into his embrace, and kissed her.
Zhou Chongqian was over ten years younger than his superior, relatively young and handsome. The female superior soon melted into his arms under his kisses.
Zhou Chongqian carried his superior into the bathroom. Just as the two were about to take a shower together and have some fun, the lightbulb overhead suddenly flickered.
Then, the room plunged into complete darkness—
