Chapter 6: Chu Li Wants to Make Amends

Chu Li took a pillow and propped it behind Qin Xingwan, then rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing his sturdy forearms.

He opened the insulated container on the bedside table and poured out some soup.

The aroma of the food filled the air, and Qin Xingwan's stomach growled quite fittingly.

She reached out to take it.

Chu Li avoided her hand and sat on the edge of the bed, "I'll feed you."

At this moment, his brows and eyes looked soft, with a hint of attentiveness.

Qin Xingwan was even dazed, as if they had never had a conflict because of Qin Yunshu.

"I'll do it myself," she refused Chu Li.

Chu Li unhurriedly brought the spoon to Qin Xingwan's lips.

Qin Xingwan frowned; she could not fathom Chu Li's thoughts. When they were in the car, he had blamed her for bullying Qin Yunshu and made her apologize.

Yet now, he was as calm as if nothing had happened.

Could it be that the words in the car had stirred up his meager conscience?

Qin Xingwan looked at the milky-white soup in the spoon, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Chu Li's deep black eyes held a hint of tenderness, "The matter with the child is my fault; I want to make amends."

He spoke earnestly.

Tears welled up in the corners of Qin Xingwan's eyes, and a stifling sensation churned in her chest.

Make amends?

How was he going to make amends?

The soup in the spoon suddenly became disgusting.

"I have no appetite; I don't want to eat."

"Don't throw a tantrum," Chu Li's expression darkened.

"If you still like Qin Yunshu, I am willing to let you two be."

"Let's part on good terms," Qin Xingwan said seriously.

Chu Li set the soup bowl down and leaned in close to Qin Xingwan's cheek.

Their gazes met.

"We were in a contract marriage to begin with..."

She interrupted him: "Yes, I know. When we signed the agreement, we stipulated three years, and now there are three months left."

Her nose felt sore, and her voice was already hoarse when she spoke.

The marriage was indeed a transaction at the start, but she had earnestly nurtured this relationship.

She had treated Chu Li as a husband, as family with whom she could spend her life.

But perhaps, things that were not hers were destined not to belong to her from the very beginning.

"There is a one-month cooling-off period for divorce..."

"Even if there is only one day left, you are still Mrs. Chu," Chu Li suddenly became angry.

He picked up the soup bowl again, "Taking care of my wife after a miscarriage is what I, as a husband, should do."

Qin Xingwan held back her tears and drank the soup.

So, he was merely fulfilling the responsibilities a husband should fulfill.

It was not because of guilt or any other emotion.

Once the bowl of soup was finished, the atmosphere in the room was already sufficiently stifling.

Qin Xingwan slowly slid down to lie flat and closed her eyes.

Chu Li put the insulated container back in place, his gaze landing on Qin Xingwan's bloodless face; she was clearly so weak, yet she still had to throw those inexplicable tantrums and act out so recklessly...

He could not understand a woman's mind.

The next morning, when Qin Xingwan woke up, Chu Li had already left at some point; the domestic help had arrived early to watch her eat breakfast.

Just as she finished breakfast, a graceful and luxurious middle-aged woman stormed in and began questioning her aggressively.

"What did you do to Yun Shu?"

Qin Xingwan leaned against the head of the bed, looking at the woman with a detached expression—Zhou Yalan, her mother by blood and law.

Lady Qin did not like this daughter; seeing her expressionless face, she felt even more displeased and spoke very rudely.

"Your younger sister has just returned to the country. Instead of helping her, you bully her like that in front of outsiders. What is your intention?"

"You insisted that Yun Shu take off that gown for you, and then when she gave it to you, you didn't even want it and gave it to a waiter. With so many people watching, is that how you humiliate your sister?"

The matter of the gown had already spread through the circle; Qin Xingwan herself had a reputation for her outstanding perfume-making skills and low-key style, and besides, Chu Li was there yesterday.

Qin Yunshu had become a joke and a topic of conversation overnight, and her eyes were swollen from crying.

Qin Xingwan swallowed the bitterness in her heart, waited for her mother's questioning to end, and then said faintly: "I am hospitalized."

Zhou Yalan was stunned; she naturally knew Qin Xingwan was hospitalized, otherwise she wouldn't have found her way here.

But she assumed it was just another one of her schemes.

This daughter of hers had been raised in the countryside and was very lacking in upbringing.

To compete for her husband's favor, she had thrown quite a few tantrums this past month.

"A Li and Yun Shu are childhood sweethearts; why are you acting out like this?" She frowned, her tone full of reprimand.

Qin Xingwan's heart felt painfully astringent; her mother, just like Chu Li, felt that she was doing it on purpose.

That it was to compete for favor.

"My child is gone," she looked up, her pale face as indifferent as ever.

Lady Qin was completely stunned.

The child is gone?

She was speechless.

Qin Xingwan watched this, feeling both ironic and desolate; she deliberately drew out her tone and said softly, "That very night you were celebrating Qin Yunshu's birthday, I called you many times, but none of you answered."

Her tone was understated, yet it recounted the despair and pain in the heavy rain one by one.

Lady Qin's expression stiffened; she had, of course, seen Qin Xingwan's calls that night, but because she had never liked this daughter, she had chosen to ignore them.

She had intended to call back afterward, but she had been busy with other things and had forgotten.

"Xingwan, I..." She instinctively wanted to say she was sorry, but she could not bring herself to say it.

There was no reason for a mother to apologize to her daughter.

Besides, it was an accident; no one had wanted it to happen.

Moreover, the fact that she lost her child had nothing to do with them, and even less to do with Yun Shu.

Thinking this way, her confidence seemed to return.

"This matter has nothing to do with Yun Shu." Lady Qin frowned, her delicate brows furrowed, unable to understand why Qin Xingwan was venting her anger on Qin Yunshu. "Besides, you are still young; you will have more children."

"You shouldn't have made your sister lose face in front of so many people. We are a family; do I need to teach you the principle that we prosper together and suffer together?"

Qin Xingwan thought of that medical report, and the sound of Lady Qin's voice in her ears was annoyingly noisy.

She kept repeating that she shouldn't have vented her anger over the child onto Qin Yunshu, and that she had caused her to lose face at the Perfume Conference.

"Can you stop talking?" Qin Xingwan could no longer endure it and interrupted her mother.

"I want to rest."

Lady Qin was dissatisfied; one of the reasons she disliked Qin Xingwan was her personality.

Indifferent and cold, she was not close to anyone, as if everyone owed her something.

"Yun Shu has been crying uncontrollably at home; you should call her and apologize." Lady Qin finally stated the purpose of her visit. "A family should be harmonious, and besides, you are the older sister..."

"Does being the older sister mean I deserve to die?" Qin Xingwan retorted coldly.

"How are you talking?"

"She grew up being held in the palm of your hands since she was little, while I was dumped in the countryside and ignored. What do I owe her that I need to yield to her?" Qin Xingwan's eyes turned red.

She had held these words in for three years, and now she finally vented them.

Lady Qin was annoyed. "Those years your father was struggling to start his business, we had no choice. We didn't skimp on your food or clothing; why are you so full of resentment?"

Resentment—that word was well-chosen.

Qin Xingwan was indeed full of resentment, which was why she had developed such a cold personality.

"Yes, you were struggling to start your business, but you could afford to raise Qin Shen and Qin Yunshu, yet you couldn't afford to raise me." Qin Xingwan laughed desolately.

Lady Qin was questioned by her daughter, feeling both embarrassed and angry, while also harboring a sense of guilt she herself did not even recognize.

She said perfunctorily, "Even if we have let you down, Yun Shu is innocent, and she thinks of you as her sister in her heart..."