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

Chapter 285 Always saying things that people don't like to hear.

"I'll give you five days plus time to process the contract. Of course, any extra time can be used for you to catch up."

Pei Zhan simply tugged at her, and Jiang Hua sat on his lap. The man tilted his head back slightly, his eyes as deep as a still pool. "Two days! One day, the legal department will finalize the contract terms. The second day, I'll have Xiang Nan negotiate in person. If that fails, I'll go myself."

Jiang Hua: "Why bother with all this pretense and unnecessary formalities? If you're going to talk, just talk openly and honestly."

"You'll only make yourself look guilty if you do that."

Pei Zhan nodded. "Then I'll listen to Mrs. Pei and go see her myself."

"Don't look at me like that, it's disgusting."

Jiang Hua pushed him away and went downstairs on her own.

When they went downstairs for dinner, Jiang Wei also brought up Song Qingran's matter. Pei Zhan had just undergone surgery and needed to avoid certain foods, so Xu Ma cooked him some porridge with a very mild flavor. Even the dishes on the table today were not spicy at all.

After listening to what Pei Zhan said, Jiang Weiguo could only agree with Pei Zhan's approach. Jiang Hua ate her meal quietly, unable to get a word in edgewise. When she was almost finished eating, she suddenly remembered the sign at the door that read "Pei Zhan and dogs not allowed." Jiang Hua looked at the spot where the sign used to be, but it was gone. No wonder she felt something was missing today.

Jiang Hua eats slowly. Even with her favorite dishes, she chews them slowly and takes more than half an hour to finish. After her father finished eating, he went upstairs.

Pei Zhan remained seated, presumably waiting for Jiang Hua to finish eating. At this moment, Xu Qiulan brought over Pei Zhan's medicine and instructed him, "I saw Master Pei today, and he brought back some medicine. I noticed that these need to be taken after meals, so I came over to remind Master Pei that it's time to take his medicine."

Xu Qiulan said this to Jiang Hua, after all, the two had a falling out and their relationship had been strained. She did not allow the servants of Yulong Bay to serve Pei Zhan, and even things like serving tea and water had to be done by him personally.

Seeing that the relationship between the two had eased, and mainly because the master had instructed them not to neglect their duties, Xu Qiulan stepped forward to remind Pei Zhan to take his medicine.

Jiang Hua was expected to yell at her, but to everyone's surprise, she was just sitting there with her spoon, drinking her soup without any reaction or even glancing at anyone. After finishing half a bowl, she got up and went upstairs.

After taking a shower that evening, Jiang Hua sat on the bed reading a book. The dim light fell on her, casting a casual, scattered glow. There was a glass of milk beside her, and her aura gradually softened, like a painting.

Pei Zhan was still in his office, with endless meetings and documents to review every day. The Jiang family was now penetrating various industries, and he was so busy, mostly because of his own actions. Jiang Hua liked money, and he could give her a sense of security, but... he was also glad that he did have the ability to make money.

The phone beside him vibrated more than once. Pei Zhan saw that it was an unknown number calling. He put it to his ear and answered, "Who is this?"

"I'm your grandpa!" A furious voice, piercingly loud, seemed to burst his eardrums. Pei Zhan subconsciously glanced at the sliding door beside him, still tightly closed. His brows furrowed slightly, and he removed his gold-rimmed glasses, a sharp glint in his eyes. He could hear the person on the phone continuing to curse, "...You really are a piece of trash, Mr. Pei, President Pei...what exactly did you say to Qingran!"

"Why has she been so absent-minded ever since she went out? Now she's drunk herself to death. Do you know that Qingran hasn't recovered from her surgery and can't drink alcohol at all?"

In addition, an anxious voice came from the phone, "Qingran... say something!"

"Say something!"

"What happened to you?"

Pei Zhan didn't give the other party any response and hung up the phone. When he turned around, he saw a slight noise behind him and Jiang Hua appeared out of nowhere. He squinted his eyes and said impatiently, "You disturbed me." After saying this, Jiang Hua turned around and went back to bed. She had been woken up by the noise from the moment his phone rang.

It's already 10:30. Usually, Jiang Hua doesn't have anything to do, so she goes to bed at 9:30.

Immediately afterward, Zuo Xiangnan sent a message saying that there was another international video conference at 11 p.m. The message had just popped up.

Pei Zhan turned off his phone and headed towards the bedroom.

Just a few minutes later, Jiang Hua felt the bedside sink in as soon as he lay down. He didn't say anything with his eyes closed, but then... a strong arm reached out and pulled him into a hug. Jiang Hua opened his eyes instantly, all sleepiness gone. He felt a little flustered, but it only lasted for a moment.

He wanted to get into bed and lie down with her. Jiang Hua didn't say anything, but his sudden hug made her very uncomfortable. "Take your hands off me," he said, his tone cold and distant.

However, Jiang Hua underestimated Pei Zhan's shamelessness. "There's still a long time ahead, Mrs. Pei will eventually get used to it."

It's late at night, and he always says things that people don't like to hear; it's bad luck.

"Sorry for disturbing you. I'll go to bed early with you today. My phone is already off."

Jiang Hua rarely uses her phone and spends most of her time doing other things to pass the time. Since getting married, she has long been used to sleeping alone. Now that there is another person next to her, she is not used to it and does not feel very safe. Whenever he touches her, Jiang Hua always feels a tight line of vigilance in her heart.

...

Night bar.

With the last shred of consciousness remaining, Song Qingran left the chaotic place, leaning against the wall until she reached a quiet spot where she vomited for a while. Once the discomfort subsided, she slowly slid down the wall, squatted down, hugged her arms, and cried uncontrollably.

She didn't know why, but her chest felt so painful, as if it was being torn apart.

But she didn't know who to tell about these feelings.

She didn't know why she was so sad. She had only ever regarded him as an older brother, and after learning that he had a wife, she shouldn't have had any unrealistic fantasies. So for all these years, she had only regarded him as a family member like an older brother and kept her distance from him.

But now someone suddenly tells her that he is so good to her because she is just a substitute. She looks exactly like the person she loves, which is why he took her home when she was almost bullied, wove a beautiful dream for her, and even gave her the best of everything in the world.

She shouldn't have liked him in the first place... Why... When she realized that she was just a substitute for someone else, she felt suffocated and could hardly breathe.

She didn't understand why!

Song Qingran felt that she could not accept the facts that this matter had brought her, but she had no choice but to face it all. This pain was like peeling away layers of silk, densely covering her entire body, but the throbbing pain in her heart felt like it was bleeding. Why was she like this?

No one could give her that answer.

She couldn't find anyone to understand the answer.

At this moment, Song Qingran seemed to be possessed. In addition to a headache, her mind kept replaying the moments she had spent with Fan Hua Shi Jin, and even some... fragments that could only happen in dreams. In her dream... there was a wedding, and they had two children... but the images flashed by so quickly that she couldn't catch them. The more she thought about it, the more her head ached.

After that…after that…it all seems to have been shattered, and no matter how hard I try, I can't put it back together…

"Now I finally understand why Pei Zhan treats you differently."

"Since you love him, why don't you dare admit your feelings? Admit that you've fallen in love with a married man?"

Who, who's talking?

Song Qingran held her head, trying to clear her mind of all distractions. When she looked up at the person in front of her, his figure seemed unreal, so she kept looking at the burning crimson in the darkness and the figure slowly emerging. It was only after a long time that she could clearly see Xu Zhoulan standing in front of her. He stood under the moonlight, a wicked smile on his lips, exuding a charming yet dangerous aura.

"No... I didn't! I could never have fallen in love with Mr. Pei. We were just sponsors, and he only saw me as a substitute. It doesn't matter, we have no relationship whatsoever..."

At this moment, Xu Zhoulan knelt down on one knee in front of Song Qingran, carefully examining her pure and innocent face, as beautiful as the white moonlight. He reached out and lifted her chin, saying softly, "These words you say can deceive others, deceive yourself... but can you... deceive your own heart?"

"Even I can tell that he treats you differently..."

"Since you like it, why not just take it back?"

"So what if you're a substitute? No matter what, you still... won his heart."

Song Qingran looked at him with red and swollen eyes, tears welling up in them, "Don't say anymore, I will never do that."

Xu Zhoulan smiled wickedly: "How about I tell you something else... a secret that no one knows?"

"Pei Zhan's true identity is the heir to the Huo Group." His voice echoed in Song Qingran's ears like a spell. Seeing her stunned and surprised expression, as if he had expected, he laughed out loud, "That's right, it's the Huo family from back in the capital. Pei Zhan is Huo Tingshan's son, the Huo family's only... heir."

"You should understand what the heir of the Huo family represents!"

"Endless wealth and fame..."

"You're just one step away. If you're willing to compromise, to lower your head... so what if you're a substitute? Pei Zhan owns the entire country, and if you just give in a little, you'll win his heart. As long as he loves you, everything he has will be yours. Then... not only the Jiang family, but everyone in the entire capital will have to defer to you..."

"Not to mention... that Jiang Hua..."

"No matter how good she is, she can't compare to your face, including... the organs you received to survive were from her."

"By the way, Xia He is Pei Zhan's biological mother, or you could say your... future mother-in-law..."

Song Qingran was shocked. "You... what did you say?"

"Mr. Pei's mother is her!"

Xu Zhoulan saw the emotion slowly shifting in her eyes. Hearing the approaching voices not far away, he stood up, put one hand in his pocket, and looked at the tearful girl beneath him. "None of that matters. What matters is... letting you understand your own heart."

"It's best to keep this a secret and not tell anyone that I told you this."

"Understand?"

"As for Pei Zhan's wife... I believe you'll soon find out who she is!"

Song Qingran felt a dizzying sensation, unable to distinguish between dream and wakefulness. She felt that everything Xu Zhoulan said was unreal.

When Xue Ruyao found Song Qingran, he had already fallen into a deep sleep. The fruit wine tasted sweet, like fruit juice, with little alcohol flavor, but it had a strong aftereffect. It would only last a short while, so she had to call a car and send him back.

Last night, Jiang Hua woke up once in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep no matter what she tried, but in the end...

When she woke up this morning, it was almost noon.

When Xu Qiulan entered the room to clean, she found a bed sheet soaking in the bathroom. "Miss, this bed sheet is made of silk and cannot be soaked in cold water. It needs to be cleaned by a professional dry cleaner."

Jiang Hua sat in front of the dressing table, combing her hair. Her heart was pounding for no reason, and her eyes seemed to be deliberately avoiding something. Her words revealed a hint of panic as she explained, "It's nothing, I just accidentally spilled some milk last night."

"Aunt Xu, you can take it and deal with it."

Xu Qiulan disagreed, "Yes, Miss."

Thinking about what happened in the middle of the night last night, Jiang Hua still gritted her teeth; it was too shameful.

How could he possibly get down like that...?

It's really driving me crazy.

The weather outside was a bit gloomy, and it was likely to rain in the afternoon. Just then, the maid knocked on the door. "Miss, someone downstairs has come to pick you up to go back to Jinsha Shallow Bay. They say it's the butler sent by Young Master Pei."

"I see."

When Jiang Hua came downstairs, she was wearing a blue knitted cardigan and a rose gold knee-length skirt. She saw her father chatting with Kager at the top of the stairs. It wasn't until she noticed the person on the stairs that Kager looked at her respectfully and said, "Mr. Pei asked me to take you back."

Jiang Weiguo thought he looked familiar, so they chatted for a few minutes, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

"Aunt Xu, help Miss carry the things we prepared earlier into the car."

"Ok sir."

Jiang Weiguo then added to Jiang Hua, "Dad just caught a big whitebait yesterday. I'll have Aunt Xu steam it for you tonight."

"Thank you dad."

Jiang Hua couldn't find a reason not to go back. She went to the passenger seat, which was a stretched Lincoln business van. A blanket had already been placed in her seat.

As soon as the car left the city and exited the overpass, at the turn, Jiang Hua caught a glimpse of a gray sedan parked on the side of the road. There was also a woman standing by the roadside, who appeared to be five months pregnant and seemed quite anxious.

Zhou Wenqing?

Upon seeing that familiar face, Jiang Hua suddenly remembered something. "Kagher, drive the car over there."