Chapter 365 A Story on a Rainy Night
Shen Qingshu took out her phone and dialed Qi Mingxuan's number.
Qi Mingxuan answered the call quickly.
"I see you." The lights were on in the second-floor room, and a figure walked to the window.
Then, the window opened, and Qi Mingxuan stood by the window, waving at Shen Qingshu. "President Shen is quite security-conscious; she even brought bodyguards."
Shen Qingshu stared at the figure by the window. "Qi Mingxuan, this place is still deserted, and it's pouring rain now. It's hard for me not to suspect that you have ulterior motives for inviting me here."
"I won't do anything to you." Qi Mingxuan's voice came through the phone. "Fu Siyan is threatening me with Qi Yue for your sake. Although I'm not a good mother, Qi Yue is still the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to. The Qi family is waiting for him to inherit it!"
Since we're already here, there's no point in making any more fuss.
"Come in," Qi Mingxuan's voice came through the phone. "If you're worried, you can have your people come with you. I don't mind."
The torrential rain continued.
As soon as the car door opened, I was soaked in the time it takes to open an umbrella.
Shen Qingshu and Tan Yiyi walked quickly into the villa.
Upon entering, one discovers that while the exterior appears dilapidated, the interior of the villa is bright and luxurious.
The furniture and appliances are all complete, and every corner exudes the atmosphere of daily life.
It's obvious that someone has been taking care of it for a long time.
Even the flowers in the vase are fresh.
The storm raged outside, with rumbling thunder.
Footsteps came from the other end of the stairs.
Shen Qingshu turned her head to look—
Qi Mingxuan, wearing a wine-red nightgown and a shawl draped over her shoulders, walked down the steps one by one.
She wasn't wearing makeup, but she had lipstick on her lips.
The same fiery red as always.
“I come here to stay for a few days every month.”
Qi Mingxuan walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa, crossed her long legs, and looked at Shen Qingshu, "Sit down. Every time I come here, someone comes to clean the place the day before, so you won't feel uncomfortable, President Shen."
Shen Qingshu said coldly, "There's no need for me to be polite with President Qi. If President Qi wants to discuss terms, let's get straight to the point."
"So cold?" Qi Mingxuan chuckled, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and slowly exhaled smoke rings. "President Shen, there's no need for such hostility towards me. The reason I invited you here today is actually to give you a big gift. But before I give you the gift, I hope you can sit down and listen to a story."
Shen Qingshu frowned as she looked at her.
For some reason, Qi Mingxuan felt a sense of sorrow at this moment.
She said a big gift? And she wants to tell a story?
Shen Qingshu pursed her lips and remained silent, then walked to the sofa opposite Qi Mingxuan and sat down.
Tan Yiyi tactfully stood to the side.
Qi Mingxuan didn't care about Tan Yiyi's presence. She took a few more puffs of her cigarette before looking at Shen Qingshu.
"Eight years ago, my fiancé Qi Sinian and my older brother were in a car accident. The accident took Qi Sinian's life and left my older brother in a vegetative state."
Calm and slightly stunned.
Qi Mingxuan actually took the initiative to tell her these things?
"After handling Qi Sinian's funeral, I bought a bottle of sleeping pills, intending to end my life here. But on the way, I had an accident, was injured and unconscious, and was taken to the hospital by a kind person. When I woke up, the doctor told me that I was pregnant..."
Qi Mingxuan lowered her eyes, staring at the cigarette between her fingers.
"On the same day, the old housekeeper told me that she had overheard a conversation between my eldest uncle and third uncle. They said that the car accident was orchestrated by them, and their target was my eldest brother. It just so happened that Qi Sinian was also in that car. I hate them, but I have no evidence. Based on just one sentence from the old housekeeper, I know that I have no chance of winning."
"Eight years ago, Qi Mingxuan was just an innocent young lady from the Qi family. Her beloved and protective older brother was lying unconscious in a hospital bed. At that time, Qi Mingxuan could only choose to protect herself. So, I went abroad under the pretext of studying abroad and secretly gave birth to Qi Yue overseas."
"During my three years abroad, I seized every opportunity to learn finance, investment, and resource management. But I was still missing one opportunity: my eldest uncle and third uncle had to turn against each other. So I secretly plotted and schemed to gradually split Ronghao into two factions. That's when I returned to China, appeared at the shareholders' meeting with my brother's will, replaced my eldest uncle as acting president, and took the position of president of Ronghao. What followed was a four-year power struggle. I fought alone with no way out. I knew that as long as my eldest uncle and third uncle were not eliminated, Qi Yue could not be openly involved."
At this point, Qi Mingxuan paused, turning her gaze back to Shen Qingshu: "After hearing this part of the story, do you think I'm head over heels in love with Qi Sinian?"
Shen Qingshu paused slightly, "Isn't that right?"
“Yes, everyone thinks I love Qi Sinian…” Qi Mingxuan took a drag of her cigarette and smiled, “But I don’t love him. The person I love is his brother.”
Shen Qingshu: "..."
"Do you know who his brother is?" Qi Mingxuan stared into Shen Qingshu's eyes. "It's Han Mingyu."
"Holy crap!" Tan Yiyi, who was watching the drama unfold, widened her eyes in surprise.
But her exclamation of "Holy crap!" somewhat ruined the atmosphere.
Qi Mingxuan stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, seemingly unaffected by Tan Yiyi's actions.
"The elite circle in Beicheng is only so big. The Han family and the Qi family are both centuries-old families. Han Mingyu, Qi Sinian and my older brother have been studying at the same prestigious school from junior high to high school. Han Mingyu and Qi Sinian are good brothers who grew up together. I am two grades younger than them. Because of my brother, I often hang out with them. Qi Sinian likes me, and I like Han Mingyu."
Shen Qingshu never expected that Han Mingyu and Qi Mingxuan had such a relationship.
However, Han Mingyu never mentioned Qi Mingxuan to her.
For a moment, Shen Qingshu didn't know what to say.
Qi Mingxuan raised an eyebrow. "President Shen, don't you have anything you'd like to ask?"
Shen Qingshu stared at her, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
"If you like Han Mingyu, why do you deliberately spread rumors online? Since you can send people to follow us, you should know that the child has nothing to do with Han Mingyu."
"I just want to see how far Han Mingyu will go for the woman he loves?" Qi Mingxuan chuckled as she said this, "He really has opened my eyes."
Tan Yiyi couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to ask, "Since you liked Han Mingyu, why did you end up with Qi Sinian?"
Qi Mingxuan raised an eyebrow, looked at Tan Yiyi, and scoffed, "Of course it's because Han Mingyu doesn't want me!"
Tan Yiyi: "..."
Qi Mingxuan lowered her eyes, and the smile on her face faded.
“I started pursuing him in the third year of junior high school, but he dismissed me with a simple ‘You are the girl Qi Sinian likes.’ He said that Qi Sinian was his best brother and he wouldn’t compete with his best brother for a woman.”
Tan Yiyi's expression was indescribable. "Hard to judge."
Shen Qingshu also felt that Han Mingyu's reason was somewhat far-fetched.
"Don't you all think Han Mingyu is ridiculous?"
Tan Yiyi nodded, "If you don't like it, you don't like it. Using your brotherhood as an excuse is hypocritical!"
Qi Mingxuan: "Yes, he kept saying that he treated Qi Sinian as a brother, but after Qi Sinian died unexpectedly, he avoided us mother and son like the plague."
By now, Shen Qingshu understands.
Even after all these years, Qi Mingxuan still hasn't let go of Han Mingyu.
She resented Han Mingyu.
She resented him for rejecting her under the pretext that he didn't want to compete with his brother for a woman.
If he truly considered Qi Sinian a brother, he shouldn't have ignored Qi Mingxuan and her son after Qi Sinian's death.
This approach is indeed somewhat hypocritical.
But Shen Qingshu always felt that there must be another hidden story.
Han Mingyu shouldn't be the kind of heartless person. With the Han family's traditions, they wouldn't raise someone so cold-hearted.
However, from Qi Mingxuan's perspective, Han Mingyu's actions were indeed too extreme.
As an orphan and widow in the fiercely competitive Qi family, one can only imagine how desperate Qi Mingxuan must have felt back then.
“My parents passed away when I was in elementary school. My older brother is four years older than me. He took over the Qi family business at a very young age. If it weren’t for that car accident, the position I’m in now would be his.”
Qi Mingxuan looked at Shen Qingshu.
“You know what? I actually begged Han Mingyu. The day before I decided to commit suicide, I went to his company to see him, but he wouldn’t even see me. He had his secretary give me a check for five million and that was it.”
Shen Qingshu never expected that Han Mingyu would be so ruthless.
Qi Mingxuan lit another cigarette.
Wisps of smoke enveloped her cold and beautiful face, her eyes half-closed.
She looked at Shen Qingshu through the smoke, "Actually, compared to Han Mingyu, don't you think Fu Siyan is much better? He's a man who truly has a strong sense of justice and love. Although I know that as his wife, you've suffered a lot of injustices, I still think you're much luckier..."
At this point, Qi Mingxuan lowered her voice, "At least, Fu Siyan has always loved you. At least, when you were in your most difficult time, he was willing to sell himself to save you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com