Chapter 56: Chen Mo Enlightens Shazhu, Qin Huairu’s Heart Trembles
The door slammed shut with a heavy bang, a sound that struck directly at Qin Huairu's heart.
She was utterly stunned.
It's over.
Completely over.
Those few words from Chen Mo were a hundred times more damaging than a hundred provocations from Xu Damou!
In just a few sentences, he had completely ruined the carefully laid trap she had painstakingly set up.
Not only did he make Shazhu give up on her entirely, but he also sowed seeds of doubt about Jingru in his mind!
Qin Huairu’s body trembled uncontrollably. She stared in the direction Chen Mo had left, her eyes filled with bitterness and a bone-deep terror.
Was this man a devil?
Why could he always see through what she was thinking?
Why did he always have to make things difficult for her?
"Sis... sis, Brother Zhu... what happened to him?" Qin Jingru was terrified, tugging at Qin Huairu's sleeve, her voice trembling with tears.
She couldn't understand how things had suddenly taken such a turn when everything had seemed fine just moments ago.
"It's nothing, nothing. He just drank too much and was acting crazy," Qin Huairu forced out a smile, one uglier than crying, trying to comfort her cousin.
But deep down, she knew things were serious.
That look in Shazhu’s eyes just now—she would never forget it in her life. It was pure disgust and suspicion.
"Let's... let's go back," Qin Huairu no longer wanted to stay in the courtyard for even another second. She felt the stares of everyone around her piercing her like needles.
She grabbed Qin Jingru and slinked back to her own home.
Xu Damou, taking advantage of the distraction, quickly got up with his bicycle and dashed away. Though he had been frightened by Shazhu earlier, seeing him so lost and dejected brought him a dark satisfaction.
The crowd that had gathered slowly dispersed.
The courtyard returned to calm, with only a puddle of broken glass on the ground left to testify to the earlier farce.
…
At the Jia family residence, Qin Jingru burst into tears the moment she stepped inside.
"Sis! What’s going on? Who's that Doctor Chen? What did he say to Brother Zhu? Why did Brother Zhu suddenly act like that?" she sobbed, feeling utterly wronged.
Qin Huairu’s mind was in chaos; she had no patience to explain.
"I told you, he was drunk! Why do you keep asking?" she snapped irritably.
"Qin Huairu! How can you yell at a child like that!" Jia Zhangshi disapproved from the side. "Jingru was only trying to help, and you scold her instead?"
"Mom! Can you please say less!" Qin Huairu felt like her head was about to explode.
She plopped down on the edge of the bed, wrapping her hands around her head as her mind swirled in turmoil.
The line to Shazhu was about to snap.
Who else in this courtyard could she rely on?
Yizhonghai was barely able to look after himself now; he avoided her.
Liuhai Zhong was useless.
Yan Bugui was already ruined.
She felt as if trapped in an invisible net—the more she struggled, the tighter it tightened.
And the one weaving this net was Chen Mo!
No, she couldn’t just sit and wait for death.
A flicker of madness flashed in Qin Huairu’s eyes.
She couldn’t let Shazhu slip out of her grasp. Shazhu was her last and most important “blood bag.” Without him, what would this orphaned and widowed Jia family eat or drink in the future?
What about Banggeng, Xiaodang, and Huaikuai—the three children? What would become of them?
She had to find a way to bring Shazhu back!
But how?
Shazhu already doubted her now; the old tricks of tears and pleading definitely wouldn’t work.
The one who tied the knot must untie it.
The root of the problem lay with Chen Mo.
If she could make Shazhu hate Chen Mo once more, then united by a common enemy, he would come back to her side!
But how to make Shazhu hate Chen Mo?
Qin Huairu’s mind spun rapidly.
Got it!
Her eyes suddenly brightened.
She had thought of a desperate plan.
…
Chen Mo returned to the room where he had lived before; there was actually nothing much to take.
He just wanted to come back and see how well the play he had directed with his own hands had gone.
The result pleased him greatly.
[Alert! Detected major scheming attempt by target “Qin Huairu” thwarted by host; her spirit has suffered severe damage!]
[Mission reward granted: Punishment points +150!]
[Current punishment points: 1350]
Not bad, not bad at all.
Chen Mo walked around the room in high spirits, grabbed a medical book he had read before, and prepared to leave.
He would never come back to this place again.
As he stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Lin Wanqing waiting for him at the alley’s entrance, riding a woman’s bicycle.
“Doctor Chen!” Lin Wanqing’s eyes lit up when she saw him, her face breaking into a joyful smile.
Today she wore a light blue dress with two braided pigtails, looking especially pure and charming in the glow of the setting sun.
“What brings you here?” Chen Mo was a little surprised.
“I... I was just passing by.” Lin Wanqing blushed slightly, pulling a cloth-wrapped package from her basket. “My mom made some mung bean cakes this afternoon and asked me to bring you some to try.”
“That’s very kind of your aunt.” Chen Mo took the warm package in his hands.
“Have you gotten used to your new home?” Lin Wanqing asked softly, her eyes filled with curiosity and concern.
“It’s fine, very quiet,” Chen Mo nodded.
An awkward silence fell between them, the atmosphere tense.
Lin Wanqing looked down, nervously twisting the edge of her dress. She had many questions she wanted to ask—whether he had gotten into a fight again in the courtyard today, what the new home was like.
But when the words reached her lips, she didn’t know how to begin.
She felt foolish whenever she was with Chen Mo.
“It’s getting late; you should head back. Be careful on the way,” Chen Mo noticed her discomfort and spoke first.
“Mm...” Lin Wanqing nodded, mounting her bicycle but didn’t leave immediately.
After hesitating, she finally asked, “Doctor Chen, will you still be involved with what happens in that courtyard?”
She had heard about the trouble at Yan Bugui’s house today and was worried. She feared Chen Mo had made too many enemies and might get into trouble.
Chen Mo looked into her clear, worried eyes and felt a slight stir in his heart.
He smiled faintly, a genuine smile.
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
“Some trash, if left too long, will rot. Someone has to clean it up.”
His voice was calm, but Lin Wanqing heard an unmistakable resolve.
She knew she couldn’t sway him.
Once this man made a decision, no one could change it.
“Then you... you must be careful yourself,” Lin Wanqing could only remind him.
“Will do.”
Watching Lin Wanqing pedal away and disappear around the corner of the alley, Chen Mo withdrew his gaze.
He looked down at the mung bean cake in his hand, then up at the engineer’s building that was now his.
This world didn’t seem so cold and desolate after all.
What he didn’t know was that not far away, at another alley entrance, Qin Huairu’s eyes, sharp and poisonous as forged steel, were fixated on the figure of him standing with Lin Wanqing.
A cruel, mad smile slowly curled at the corners of her lips.
Chen Mo, you care about that little nurse, don’t you?
You like to put on the appearance of a righteous gentleman in front of her, don’t you?
Good. Very good.
I will make what you care about most become your greatest scandal!
Qin Huairu turned and strode quickly back to the siheyuan.
She entered and said to a still sulking Qin Jingru, “Jingru, don’t be sad anymore. I’ve thought of a great plan, one that will definitely make Shazhu change his mind!”