No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

"I'm not interested in your affairs." The TV was playing a melodramatic scene, and the male lead on TV was a male artist who had signed with the Jiang Group. The Jiang Group had invested in various industries, including a talent agency and a film company. This male lead was someone they randomly picked and signed at the Royal Dynasty Club on a whim, and in just three years, they heard that he had risen to the top tier.

Seeing that she was engrossed in the TV, Jiang Hua's view was blocked the next second. At a very close distance, she could clearly see Pei Zhan's firm abs. It has to be said that his physique, whether now or in middle age, is still very well maintained. Even in his forties or fifties, celebrities, socialites, and models all flock to him, wishing they could sleep in his bed that very night.

Jiang Hua crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back lazily on the sofa, her bare toes sticking out and pressing against his stomach. "I don't need you to remind me again about your relationship with Song Qingran. I'll look at the documents myself when Zuo Xiangnan comes over to deliver them. You should take care of your Qingran. She's had too much to drink and needs you right now."

Inside the royal VIP room, Xue Ruyao dialed the phone again and again, but no one answered.

The thought that Jiang Hua, that shameless person, actually seduced Qing Ran's boyfriend just to target Qing Ran was unbearable. She only did this because she was somewhat attractive.

Xue Ruyao had always felt indignant on Qingran's behalf over this matter, until... Song Qingran's phone rang again. The caller was a landline number. Xue Ruyao answered, "Hello, who is this?"

Xia He was taken aback when she heard the unfamiliar voice. "How did you get Qingran's phone? Is Qingran home?"

It was almost 9:30. The bodyguard said he hadn't picked her up from school. Qingran usually came back by 8 o'clock at the latest. If there was anything else, she would call back in advance. After thinking about it, Xia He was worried and called her. Unexpectedly, someone else answered the phone.

"Are you... Qingran's mother? Auntie... I'm Qingran's classmate. We were celebrating the opening of the studio at Royal Dynasty and had a few drinks. I didn't expect Qingran to get drunk so quickly. We were just contacting her family when Auntie called."

"Qingran's classmate? Then I'll trouble you to take care of Qingran for me for the time being. Tell me the address, and I'll have someone pick her up in a bit."

"Okay, Auntie."

When Xia He's bodyguards arrived, everyone in the private room was taken aback by the commotion. Even the person in charge of the Royal Dynasty had to come over. After Song Qingran was picked up, the party was almost over. When they went to pay the bill, the person in charge told them that someone had already paid for them and even gave them an extra VIP card. They could then book a private room next time without spending a penny.

Xiaoyu, Xue Ruyao, and the other people from the jewelry repair studio looked at each other, thinking that the woman who had called earlier must have paid the bill. They knew that the prices at the Royal Dynasty were not cheap. The studio had a total of twelve people, and just the fruit platter and a case of beer they ordered cost more than three thousand yuan. The most basic expenses here were several thousand yuan. Students from ordinary families like theirs simply could not afford it.

One of them tentatively said, "I remember Qingran's mother has uremia, which is why she's working and studying at the same time. That person just now... shouldn't be Qingran's mother, right? But from her voice, I feel like she's not an ordinary person."

"Could this be... a noble lady that Qingran met while working at the Jiang family and attending a banquet?"

"You know what, it's really possible. Sigh, I really envy Qingran. Not only did she secure a full scholarship to Imperial University this year, but she was also admitted without taking the entrance exam. In her freshman year, she started working as a jewelry designer at the Jiang Group. After graduation, the Jiang Group will even fund her to study abroad. Her life is amazing! I can't even begin to envy her. Even the heroines in novels aren't as happy as her."

"That's right, and she has the president of the Jiang Group as her boyfriend. Just like that, she's a whole social class away from us. It seems like it will be difficult for her to get in touch with Qingran again in the future."

Xiaoyu stepped forward and said, "Don't talk about Qingran like that. Qingran has always genuinely considered us her friends, and she's not that kind of person."

Xue Ruyao: "You're all just making wild guesses here. Instead, think about how to improve your jewelry restoration skills. While we still have some time, let's go back to the school's studio to study those videos to prepare for when we start working. Don't forget... we can't let Jiang Hua outdo us. Why should she monopolize all the school's resources?"

"We need to prove to the school that Jiang Hua isn't the only one who can earn a living in this field."

Xiaoyu: "Yes! Also... don't tell Qingran about tonight, I'm afraid she'll be sad when she wakes up."

Another person said indignantly, "No wonder, I've seen Qingran always looking sullen lately. Maybe she already knew. Blame that bitch, Jiang Hua is such a scumbag, she'll climb into bed with any man! What kind of person is she!"

"We can't let this go like this. We'll find another chance to give her a good beating later."

In the villa at Jinsha Shallow Bay, Jiang Hua's brow suddenly twitched. Looking at the blurry videos in her hand, she felt uneasy.

Zuo Xiangnan stood aside and explained, "It took a lot of effort to recover this video footage. We found some hackers and finally managed to restore this segment from the deleted surveillance videos. Too much time has passed, and many videos in the database have been cleared from memory. This segment was recovered and copied from the memory of the abandoned surveillance equipment before being restored. The rest are still being repaired and will probably take another week."

"In the video footage, you can clearly hear arguing about the transfer of Jiang's shares. However, Mrs. Jiang was then taken away by a group of bodyguards. As for where she was taken... we don't know."

Jiang Hua knew.

My mother was forcibly taken to an abandoned suburban house by my second uncle, who intended to kill her and destroy the evidence. My eldest uncle was also involved and harmed my mother, who was about to give birth...

My maternal grandfather never liked my father. After learning that my mother was pregnant, he forcibly separated them. Unexpectedly, my eldest and second maternal uncles took advantage of the situation and gave them the opportunity to do something. By the time my father found my mother, she was already dead. At that time, my eldest maternal uncle was about to throw her to her death. When my maternal grandfather appeared, he found a child on the ground who was also on the verge of death. That child was the newborn Jiang Hua.

My father developed a heart attack because he couldn't accept my mother's tragic death, which led to emotional distress. When my mother was found, she was already lying in a pool of blood.

For profit, they'd do anything, but even though my grandfather knew they were the murderers, he still chose to cover it up…

Such a person has no right to her forgiveness.

As for why Jiang Hua knew, it was because she had overheard it secretly outside her father's study when she was a child.

These things are too dark to be seen in the light of day and can only be buried underground. Perhaps her father was afraid that she couldn't bear such a truth, so everyone kept it from her from childhood to adulthood. He told her that her mother died from a difficult childbirth due to congenital heart disease, and that her death actually came from her own closest relative.

In fact, Jiang Hua's heart condition was never something she was born with. Rather, it was a sequela of the time when her uncle threw her to the ground and she survived, which is why her heart has always been fragile.

That's why her father never talked to her about her mother's side of the family, and even kept everything from her, never letting her know anything.

The fact that members of the Jiang family don't live past thirty-five has never been a curse. My aunt... she... was also killed by her two uncles. The whole thing about hereditary congenital heart disease is a lie!

It was all just to cover up the truth about her mother's death.

People... will do anything for profit, and Pei Zhan is no exception. From an ordinary person, he wanted to climb up step by step, so he used every means possible. To reach such a high position, you never need to be cunning, just ruthless.

She had a miserable life in her past life, and her father and mother had no better. From her father's perspective, Jiang Hua felt that he was probably in more pain than she was. He had endured this pain alone for decades, seeing his mother murdered and his own child almost being thrown to his death. He knew the murderer was right in front of him, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

Because of Jiang Shi's death, my father went to great lengths to protect everything my mother had desperately left behind.

She was willing to sacrifice her happiness for the sake of becoming an heir to the Jiang family.

People are selfish.

So... Jiang Hua never blamed her father. From the day she learned the truth, she never mentioned her mother.

Jiang Hua put down her tablet. Her heart had long been numb from all these things. She stood up from the sofa and walked to Pei Zhan, who was extinguishing his cigarette. The smoke around him hadn't dissipated yet, and the smell was barely tolerable to her. "Pei Zhan... have you killed someone before?"

"What do you want to do?" Pei Zhan looked at Jiang Hua in front of him and felt a moment of unfamiliarity. In her eyes, she showed emotions that she had never shown before.

"Let's make a deal. Haven't you always wanted me to go back to the past with you? As long as you help me get rid of my grandfather, uncles, and... what happened between you and Song Qingran, I'll pretend it never happened..."

Pei Zhan's deep, sinister eyes showed a hint of melancholy. The man simply pursed his lips. Looking at him like this, Jiang Hua felt as if she had returned to... the time when they hated each other, when he was cold and distant towards her... when she was the one who deserved to die.

Back then, whenever she harbored any wicked thoughts towards Song Qingran, Pei Zhan would look at her with the same gaze, a mixture of cold hatred.

Perhaps, in Pei Zhan's eyes, she was just a pampered rich girl with no bad intentions. But now, because of his words, all his filters and perceptions have probably been overturned.

Not only Pei Zhan, but even Zuo Xiangnan was startled by Jiang Hua's words. She actually... openly wanted to trade away the lives of the people in the Jiang family. It was intentional murder. If she were caught red-handed, not only would President Pei be implicated, but she would also be implicated. Was Jiang Hua crazy?

Pei Zhan, with one hand in his pocket and his head tilted to the side, maintained his previous posture. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he spoke in a low voice, "You think that just because I love you, I would kill someone for you? Huahua... do you know what you're saying?"

Every time he called out to Huahua, it was with tenderness, but now Jiang Hua felt extremely cold listening to it.

Jiang Hua's earlier emotions vanished in an instant. She smiled and reached out to help tidy up the cigarette ash that had fallen on the man's clothes. "Just kidding, no need to be so nervous. You... you've really surprised me once again. Pei Zhan, I've discovered you're truly omnipotent. You even found surveillance footage from over twenty years ago. Well done." As she spoke, Jiang Hua stood on tiptoe and kissed Pei Zhan on the cheek. "This is your reward."

Get some rest early, goodnight.

Jiang Hua turned around deftly, picked up the tablet from the sofa, and went upstairs.

The man stared at the slender figure, his eyes narrowed, not having time to appreciate the 'reward' that had fallen upon him; his eyes were only unfathomably dark.

Pei Zhan glanced away, his eyes coldly fixed on the floor-to-ceiling window. The pitch-black night was reflected in the glass, revealing the disappointment in his eyes.

Was it right or wrong for me to be soft-hearted towards you time and time again?

Is human life so insignificant in your eyes?

Zuo Xiangnan stepped forward and said, “What Miss said just now didn’t sound like a joke. Actually, I found some rumors that Madam Jiang’s death was related to Old Master Jiang. Perhaps that’s why Miss had such thoughts. But no matter what, it’s just a rumor… That’s three lives. Wouldn’t it be too heinous to do that?”

"President Pei, should we continue investigating this matter?"

Pei Zhan: "Continue. Don't let me hear what you just said outside. Mind your own business."

Zuo Xiangnan nodded and said, "Yes."

Jiang Huayi's words did indeed give Zuo Xiangnan goosebumps.

There's really nothing Jiang Hua isn't capable of doing.

No matter what, he's still my maternal grandfather, and my uncle...

After Jiang Hua returned to her room, Pei Zhan came upstairs not long after. She took off the ring on her hand, picked up a pill from the cabinet, swallowed a few, and the two looked at each other in silence. Jiang Hua didn't care what Pei Zhan thought of her at all. After taking the pill, she lay down and fell asleep.

Pei Zhan thought she was taking heart medication, but actually she... was taking sleeping pills...

Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Pei Zhan turned off the room light. That night, Pei Zhan smoked all night in the room.

For Jiang Hua, love is now the most useless thing in the world. It can't be exchanged for anything. Profits, on the other hand, can... at least they are solid and unbreakable.

Her words might have swayed Pei Zhan immediately. After all, she was so vicious, how could she be as kind as Song Qingran? She would always be a suitable wife for him.

At six in the morning, Jiang Hua was half asleep, but her nightmares persisted during that time.

On a rainy day in the wilderness, a cold corpse lies beside a dying infant…

The sleeping pills had no effect on Jiang Hua at all. She was completely out of sorts that night because of her grandfather's appearance. She had almost forgotten about these things.

Pei Zhan was experiencing mixed emotions. On his way to the company, his phone suddenly vibrated. Seeing that it was Jiang Weiguo calling at this hour, he suppressed his impatience and ignored the call…

In the study at Yulong Bay, Jiang Weiguo looked at the photograph hanging on the wall.

Wang Qi couldn't bear it and offered a word of advice: "Young Master Pei still hasn't answered the phone. I think you can rest assured, sir. With Young Master Pei here, he will comfort Miss."

"But you, sir, have been looking at Madam's photo all night without sleeping. You should go and rest. If you continue like this, your body won't be able to take it."

"The young lady cannot live without you."

Jiang Weiguo shook his head: "Should I not have deliberately let Huahua hear those truths? It would have been too cruel to her."

Wang Qi: "The young lady will find out about the lady's death sooner or later. She was almost killed when she fell. It was a miracle that she survived. The longer it goes on, the more damage to her body will be, even with a heart transplant. If she finds out the truth then, she will be even more devastated. Let her know sooner rather than later that the master did not do anything wrong."

"Unexpectedly, after so many years, these videos were still able to be found by Master Pei."

"Is the gentleman testing the young lady? Will he reveal his secret about his heart condition to her?"

Back then, there were too many obstacles between him and Qingcheng. He thought that as long as he persevered, he could overcome these obstacles. But what he got in return was the tragedy of his family being destroyed and his family dying.

If he had known it would end like this, he probably would have let go, even if it meant letting her marry into the Huo family; it would have been better than this tragic end.

The death of Qingcheng was the greatest pain of his life.

Jiang Weiguo's heart condition was a result of watching her die, a lifelong ailment he had suffered. He had even considered ending it all, just going with her. But they still had Huahua; he couldn't…

Jiang Weiguo closed his eyes and said in a weak voice, "I'm still worried about Huahua. Go contact Aunt Xu and ask her to keep an eye on Huahua."

"Yes, sir."

...

Bai Ze, the doorbell rang, and Shen Yebai opened the door to see Jiang Hua, dressed in a white silk nightgown, with her long hair loose and her face pale, standing in front of him.

"Huahua?"