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

"What happened to your hand?" Pei Zhan noticed the wound on Jiang Hua's index finger.

"I am fine."

Actually, Jiang Hua was in her father's room watching him take his medicine. When she got water, she accidentally dropped and broke the cup. When she bent down to pick it up, she accidentally cut herself. Pei Zhan held her hand, sat on the edge of the bed, took out the bedside sticker from the bedside table, and bandaged the wound with a waterproof bandage.

"What did you just say?"

"Dad suddenly asked me if I wanted to study abroad, and said that the Jiang family's focus is still on its overseas business, so as not to have you travel abroad for business. Dad said he also has this plan and wants to settle down abroad. I just find it strange, why would Dad suddenly want to go abroad?"

Pei Zhan: "So what are your thoughts?"

"Want to go?"

Jiang Hua: "I thought about it before, but then I decided against it. If we leave the capital, we have to take Mom with us and find a new place to bury her. It's not that I find it troublesome, but I just feel that if we all leave, we can't leave Grandpa alone in the capital. Grandpa is getting old, and we can't leave him alone."

"Why would Dad say these things out of the blue?"

Pei Zhan looked at her, paused for a few seconds, and then told her, "This is Chairman Jiang's idea. Perhaps he also has things he wants to do. We can find a suitable opportunity to ask him about it tomorrow."

"If you don't want to leave, then don't leave."

"There are no major problems with the overseas branches at the moment."

"I'll go and run your bath."

"Hmm." Dad would never suddenly say things like settling abroad unless someone told him something that would make him make such a decision.

The night before, in Jiang Weiguo's study at Yulong Bay.

"If you don't want Huahua to know about the Zhou family, the only option is to take her away from the capital. The truth will eventually come out. What I can think of, Huahua will eventually guess. She's my daughter; no one knows her better than me. Do you think... if she knew about you and Zhou Xu, she would easily forgive you?"

"I know, your purpose in coming to the Jiang family is to avenge her."

“I…can’t be with Huahua for more than a few years, but on the day I die, I hope someone can accompany her through the next few decades. As long as we can find a suitable second heart for her, she can live a good life again. I know you are the heir of the Huo family, and your way of finding a matching heart for Huahua is much simpler than the Jiang family’s.”

"So... I hope you can take her away from the capital, away from these truths, the farther the better."

“Pei Zhan, Hua Hua… can’t bear it. You entered the Jiang family with the purpose of revenge.”

"The reason I side with you is because you were able to tell me honestly that when Huahua was abducted, it was you who stayed by her side, not... Ji Liangchuan!"

"There are too many regrets between you and Huahua. If Ji Liangchuan hadn't taken your place back then, perhaps... none of this would have happened. But in the end, things can't be reversed. These are things you two have to solve yourselves. The only thing I can do to help you is to make sure that Huahua doesn't hold grudges about the past and that she has less hatred for you while I'm still alive."

"Regarding the Zhou family, it's always been me who has wronged them."

“But Huahua is my only daughter, I can’t lose her. Back then… that was all I could do.”

"You can hate me! I'm even willing to pay with my life, but don't hate my daughter..."

“Huahua is innocent.”

"If you truly love Huahua, when she's about to die, you'll make the same choice as me."

In the bathroom, Pei Zhan filled the bathtub with water. Jiang Hua stood in front of the mirror, put her long hair up, and casually placed her jewelry aside. Unexpectedly, he walked over and hugged her from behind. His strong arms held her slender waist tightly. "You want to study abroad? I can accompany you. As for the domestic business, Xiang Nan can handle it all by herself now."

"It will only take three years, it will be very soon."

Jiang Hua had reservations: "I don't want to leave my father's side."

Pei Zhan ultimately respected her decision, "Okay, I'll go with you when you want to."

"Actually, I think this is already pretty good. You... manage the company well and make money. As for me... I just stay at home with my dad, go shopping when I have nothing to do, buy bags and jewelry, and when I'm happy, Bao'er will go shopping with me. Then I can do some things I want to do."

This is the life she has always wanted.

"it is good."

Pei Zhan said he was afraid her wound would get wet and wanted to wash it for her. How could Jiang Hua not know what he was thinking? The man carried her into the bathtub, her injured hand resting on the edge of the fish tank. She closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed his care.

By the time she finished washing up, Jiang Hua was already asleep.

Pei Zhan dried her off, changed her into pajamas, and put her in bed. He only got into bed after cleaning up the water stains on the bathroom floor.

A sudden downpour occurred during the night, but Jiang Hua slept soundly until dawn.

When she woke up, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. By the time she went downstairs, it was already ten o'clock.

Jiang Hua ate a little something and then went to the artificial lake behind Yulong Bay to fish with her father. She stood by his side, looking down and playing on her phone.

...

People's Hospital.

Song Qingran cooked some porridge and sent it to the hospital. By then, Xue Ruyao had already woken up. She stood outside the door without going in, and simply handed the things in her hands to Ye Qing.

"During this time, Ayao can only eat some light porridge. I have something to do, so I won't go in. Please take good care of her."

"Since you're already here, come in." Xue Ruyao had heard the noise outside earlier.

Ye Qing said, "Go inside, Qingran."

In the regular ward, Xue Ruyao looked quite badly injured. The redness and swelling on her face had almost subsided, but there were still some marks.

"Ayao and I were wrong before. The fact that you came means you've forgiven us, right?"

“These debts were originally our own business and had nothing to do with you. It was our greed and recklessness that led us to do these things without letting you know. It was our greed that ruined us.”

"Let's go in and see A-Yao."

Xue Ruyao sat on the edge of the bed, her body in a cast and with an IV drip attached. She looked somewhat disheveled, and there seemed to be lingering resentment in her eyes. "What are you standing for? Come and sit down."

Ye Qing, "Qingran".

She pulled up a chair and placed it next to the hospital bed.

Hesitantly, Song Qingran stepped forward and sat down on the chair. Looking at her injuries, she said to her, "Senior Jiang, you are now Mr. Pei's wife. No matter what, you should not provoke her."

"You should have listened to what I said. We can't afford to mess with such important figures. Ah Yao, Senior Jiang is not our enemy. Please don't do this again next time, okay?"

"Jewelry restoration studio, give up. Let's just focus on doing our own jobs well."

Xue Ruyao looked at her coldly, "There's no turning back now. Qingran, you have your Mr. Pei and Lu Yuanzhou, but what about us? What do we have!"

“Each of us is currently in debt for more than six million yuan. If we don’t reopen the studio, when will we be able to pay off this debt?”

"It's all because of that wretched Jiang Hua. Yesterday we were almost able to get Mr. Wang's investment."

Ye Qing also felt a little regretful and sighed, saying, "Yes, Yao and I drank so much, and we were just a little short of getting the investment."

“Qingran, I know that you have already helped us pay off part of the debt. We remember that. Now we just need the start-up capital to start again. Qingran... could you lend us that money again? We promise... once we pay it off, we will definitely repay the debt to the Jiang family.”

Song Qingran lowered her eyes, her hands clenched tightly in front of her, wrinkling the hem of her clothes. "Yuanzhou and I have already called off our engagement."

"What? It's canceled!"

Ye Qing looked anxious. "Why was it canceled out of the blue? Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Qingran, I know... you might be angry if I say this, but could you please help us borrow some money again?"

"Little Fish!" When Song Qingran looked at her, Ye Qing's heart skipped a beat. She had never seen such a stranger before, and her words caught in her throat. "I'm sorry, I really can't help you with the money."

"I don't want to bother him anymore."

"It's getting late, I have class this afternoon, I... I'll go now."

With that, Song Qingran stood up, turned around, and left the ward.

"Qingran".

Xue Ruyao felt a surge of irritation. She looked at Qingran's retreating figure with an icy tone and spoke these words without any regard for sentimentality, "Enough, stop shouting. Can't you see? Back then, whether it was the studio or the association, it was only because President Jiang's company was willing to invest in us out of consideration for Qingran. Now he's fallen for someone else and married Jiang Hua. She's nothing now, which is why she's taken everything back."

"In the end, without the Jiang family, we are nothing!"

Every word of these words reached Song Qingran's ears. She suppressed her sadness and left without looking back.

Yes, everything she had was given to her by Mr. Pei. Without him, she felt like a useless person who couldn't do anything right. Even the money she was earning now came from visiting several studios, pleading with each one with her resume in hand, before she could get any orders.

As Song Qingran left numbly, she heard an impatient voice in the corridor downstairs in the hospital ward, "That country bumpkin Pei Zhan is so annoying, all he does is hog Huahua. I haven't had a meal or gone shopping with Huahua in ages."

“I just bought a pair of bracelets at auction yesterday for over 30 million yuan, but I haven’t even had a chance to give them to her.”

"No, I have to go find her."

"My brother said that Huahua has a heart condition and we can't make her angry. If I give her a gift, will Huahua be very happy?"

The bodyguard standing nearby chimed in, "Yes, Miss Bao'er."

"Let's go then, to the Jiang family!"

Song Qingran: Jiang Hua...does she have a heart condition?

Shen Bao'er was looking down at her phone when, just as a figure was about to bump into her at the corner, she was immediately pushed aside by the bodyguard. Song Qingran was pushed to the ground by the powerful force, crying out, "Ah!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Are you... alright?"

Shen Bao'er was startled, and when she saw the person on the ground clearly, she exclaimed, "Song Qingran?"

“Miss Bao’er. I’m sorry, I came to the hospital to visit a friend, but I was a little worried, so I left in a hurry.”

Shen Bao'er, however, refused to listen. She put on a weak and helpless act, saying, "If you're blind, go see an ophthalmologist."

"Get out of my way!" Shen Bao'er kicked Song Qingran as she passed by.

Song Qingran cowered in fear, not daring to utter a word. Her timid gaze softened into indifference after Shen Bao'er left, her long eyelashes trembling slightly as she watched Shen Bao'er and her bodyguards depart...

...

Xue Ruyao was penniless and had no money to stay in the hospital, so she had to leave. Fortunately, Lu Yuanzhou had already settled the previous hospitalization expenses.

She went to the police station to report that her hand had been broken, but the police station replied that it was self-defense. They also claimed that she picked up a waiter's wine bottle while drunk and tried to attack Jiang Hua, which was captured on camera.

If they really want compensation, they can only hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit, but they don't have the money right now.

When Xue Ruyao came out of the police station, Ye Qing rushed to her side in a panic. "Ruyao, what do we do now! Boss Wang said we offended someone we shouldn't have. I've made all the calls, but no one wants to see us."

As she spoke, Ye Qing was almost in tears.

"Jiang Hua!"

"You're so damned good!"

"I don't believe that all the wealthy wives we've served have to defer to Jiang Hua."

However, a few days later...

As expected, Xue Ruyao encountered a setback this time. She tried calling all the clients on her previous list several times, but they either hung up on her or blocked her.

Even the new phone number is unreachable.

Both the Xue and Ye families were in debt and were being harassed by debt collectors. As a result, Xue Ruyao's parents lost their jobs and returned home to find everything in chaos. Every day, all they faced was constant arguing, and their relationship had even deteriorated to the point of divorce.

Xue Ruyao dared not go home and could only hide in the school dormitory, occasionally working part-time as a waitress to maintain basic food and clothing.

Jiang Hua's studio gradually took shape, mainly thanks to Pei Zhan's help in creating the business plan. Two people were indeed not enough; they needed more manpower.

Fang Liang was mostly the one doing the work, while Jiang Hua just made decisions from the sidelines.

At noon, Jiang Hua had a simple meal with Pei Zhan in the staff canteen. She had only taken a few bites when she received a call from the school, asking her to go there.

During the hour and a half of free time, Pei Zhan took her to school. Jiang Hua was afraid of causing a commotion, so she didn't let him in.

When Jiang Hua arrived at the office, she found more than a dozen people who were clearly in opposition to her.

Professor Guo: "You should talk to her about it."

Xue Ruyao stepped out from the crowd, exuding arrogance. Facing Jiang Hua, she took a deep breath, as if making a momentous decision, and said, "Alright..."

"Congratulations, in the end... you won!"

“We are willing to listen to the professor, go to your studio, work under you, and follow your instructions to manage your studio. With us here, you don’t have to do anything; just leave everything to us.”

"But... don't think that just because of this, we will all do what you say, and don't get too cocky."

"Our demands aren't high; the benefits you give Fang Liang, we all must have too..."

"A guaranteed base salary of 35,000 per person, plus commission and an additional 80% cut..."

"I've already been very lenient with you by making such a request."

"If you nod, we can sign the contract now." With that, Xue Ruyao tossed the prepared contract in front of Jiang Hua.