Qin Shu stared at the door for a while before looking at the food in front of her. She had not eaten since this morning and was famished. Yet, looking at the food in front of her did not ignite her appetite. She seemed to remember something—she hurriedly picked up her phone and dialed Gu Yan’s number.

  As Gu Yan went down the stairs, he saw two people—a man and a kid—sitting on the sofa. He knew who they were, but he did not have the time for them today. He averted his gaze and walked out of the living room.

  Meanwhile, the phone in his pocket rang. He took out his phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Qin Shu. Quickly, he picked it up.

  “No matter what he asks, you must not say it was a bullet.”


  Before Gu Yan could reply to her, Qin Shu had already hung up.

  Gu Yan was surprised. He put his phone back into his pocket and continued walking. From Qin Shu’s tone just now, he had already guessed that knowing Fu Tingyu, and he would ask once he had suspected something.

  “Let’s have a cup of tea together, shall we?” Came Fu Tingyu’s deep voice from behind him just after taking two steps. He could not ignore it even if he wanted to. He stopped and turned to Fu Tingyu. He was standing very straight, with his deep, black eyes staring at him. Gu Yan smiled to hide his guilt. “Sure.”


  ***

  Next to the living room, Fu Tingyu brewed a pot of tea and poured it into two cups. He placed one of the cups in front of Gu Yan.

  Gu Yan was eyeing the teacup in front of him. With his slender fingers, he raised his cup and took a sip, but his heart was pounding. If Fu Tingyu asked, would he be able to conceal the truth?

  Fu Tingyu drank his cup of tea as well. He looked up at Gu Yan, “What did you think was the cause when you examined her?”


  Fu Tingyu’s tone was conversational, yet a cold sweat broke out on Gu Yan’s forehead. He placed his teacup on the mahogany table in front of him.

  He pondered for a while before he said, “I didn’t think it was a collision. It might have been caused by something sharp, like a steel pipe. Also, the wound should be recent. It happened because Qin Shu bumped into the table corner, which led to the bleeding.”


  Fu Tingyu came to the same conclusion when he saw the wound—it was not new, and the bleeding had happened by coincidence. There was a strong possibility what Gu Yan said was true.

  “I thought it looked like a gunshot wound.” His fingers around his teacup tightened, and he pursed his lips. He focused his eyes on Gu Yan.

  Gu Yan raised his head and met Fu Tingyu’s stare—he felt bad for lying. He knew Fu Tingyu would have guessed it correct. “It did look like a gunshot wound to me.” He shifted his eyes downwards and took a sip of tea, trying to hide his guilt.

  As Fu Tingyu thought about it, he could not bear someone pointing a gun at his woman, her fear when she was under threat, and the intolerable pain she had to put up. Why was he not by her side to protect her when she needed him? He thought. It was as if there was a savage beast inside of him, looking for a way to get out and unleash hell on the world with rage and anger.

  His clench was so tight that his teacup had almost broken into pieces. “When did the wound appear?”


  Gu Yan answered, “Within a week.”


  Fu Tingyu started recalling everything about Qin Shu within this week. After Gu Yan left, Fu Tingyu called Ye Luo over to him.

  While in the master bedroom, Qin Shu had already hung up the phone. As she clutched her phone in her hands, she looked at the food in front of her, and she decided to pick up her chopsticks and start eating slowly. After using half an hour to finish her rice, she asked Ning Meng to clear the table.

  As Qin Shu glanced at her leg, she pulled down the leg of her pants and walked out of the bedroom. She was about to play with Fu Songlan when a tall figure standing in the doorway blocked her path. She lifted her head to look at Fu Tingyu’s dark eyes. He was giving her a cold-eyed stare, and it sent shivers down her spine. Did Gu Yan tell him?

  “You’re back. I was about to go downstairs and play with Xiao Lan for a while.”


  Fu Tingyu frowned. “You’re playing with Songlan even though your leg is injured? What if you accidentally hurt yourself again?” While saying that, he reached out and lifted her in his arms. He brought her back into the room before closing the door. Then, he put her down gently on the sofa and sat beside her. He turned his head and stared at her for a moment, “When did you get injured?”


  Since he asked that question, does that mean he knew nothing of the truth? Qin Shu guessed. She lowered her voice, “I got injured in an accident a few days ago.”


  “Who did it?” Fu Tingyu’s stare turned ice-cold, with his eyes filled with killing intent.

  Qin Shu could read his emotions. She explained, “I fell at the rock garden backyard when I was looking for Boss—I slipped, and my leg hit the edge of the stone.”


  Fu Tingyu’s eyes were on her. Gu Yan’s words from before came into his mind—if the rock was sharp, it could have caused such injury from slipping.

  “Then why did you not tell me? Why did you hide it from everyone?”


  “I was afraid that you would laugh at me for not being able to walk steadily—it was not serious. Ning Meng is always making a fuss over nothing. If she had known about it, everyone in Bright Garden would have gotten the news immediately.”


  Qin Shu lowered her eyes. There was a hint of stubbornness within her soothing voice.

  In the eyes of Fu Tingyu, Qin Shu could not let down her sense of pride—she would not want to show her vulnerable side and embarrass herself in front of others. It killed him to see her like that—she had slipped and fell and was severely injured, yet she had decided to keep it to herself. She had endured such pain and treated her injuries all on her own.

  “Who dares to laugh at my woman?” He declared, his voice filled with arrogance.

  Qin Shu glanced at Fu Tingyu. It was true that no one had the guts to laugh at her, the woman of Jiangcheng’s Lord Fu.

  With a sullen face, Fu Tingyu demanded, “Next time, do not hide anything from me no matter what happens. You have to tell me in the first place, do you hear me?”


  Out of pressure, Qin Shu compromised by nodding her head guiltily.

  His voice softened, “Does it hurt?”


  Looking at her injured leg, he knew that it would have hurt even if she had not spoken about it. He wanted her to understand that she could let her guard down, that she could admit her pain and be frail as she cried in front of him. It would have broken his heart, but it would also make him feel validated.

  “It hurts.”


  The moment the bullet hit her flesh, the pain was indescribable—even for a well-built man. One would have staggered. As she got shot, her legs fell to the ground. Walking was a struggle with a bullet in her leg when there was no one she could lean on.

  Still, Fu Tingyu was a little mad when he heard that. She had told him nothing when it happened. Abruptly, he got to his feet and stormed out of the room.

  Qin Shu watched him leave, wondering if he was mad at her.