Contract Marriage: The Tycoon's Pampered Wife
Chapter 109: You have to avenge your second brother (1 update)

Chapter 109: 109: You have to avenge your second brother (1 update)

At 11:30 p.m., Ning Guiwan was wheeled out of the emergency room. The girl lay on the gurney, her eyes closed. Under the harsh, pale light of the hospital, her complexion appeared even more pallid, much of the color drained from her delicate lips.

"Is she okay now?" Qiao Youning’s voice was choked with sobs.

"A mild concussion and excessive blood loss. She still needs to be observed..." The doctor glanced at the two black-clad bodyguards standing not far away, answering with extra caution.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Youning breathed a sigh of relief, and Qiao Yishen did as well.

As long as she was alright, everything else could be managed.

This was the public hospital closest to Emerald Villa, and even its best room was just a single.

The hospital corridors were eerily silent at night, footsteps echoing ominously from every direction.

When Ning Guiwan was pushed to the bedside, Quan Yu lifted her onto the bed. Even though his movements were gentle, he still felt they were too heavy, yet he didn’t know how he could be gentler, which was frustrating for him.

Ning Guiwan’s head was wrapped with gauze. Qiao Youning had struck her head from behind with a blue-and-white porcelain vase from Baiyu Palace. Fueled by rage, the blow was not light. Her head bled profusely on the spot, terrifying the ladies around her into breaking into high-pitched screams.

The blood on her skin had been cleaned by the nurses, but her hair was still sticky and clumped together.

Girls love cleanliness. When she woke up, she would surely be discontent with her current state.

Quan Yu instructed Zhan Yan to fetch clean towels and hot water. He wrung out the excess water from the towel and gently wiped the traces of blood from the girl’s hair, bit by bit.

His eyes were focused, and also tender.

Qiao Yishen watched this, suddenly feeling somewhat sentimental.

Quan Yu was sent to Canada when he was sixteen, where foreigners often discriminated against Chinese. He was cast out; his family was indifferent and unresponsive, to say nothing of financial support. He once struggled greatly, taking on menial jobs and enduring oppression.

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the coddled son of a prominent family. Never before had he faced such hardship, falling gravely ill multiple times.

Emotionally and physically battered, the once merry young man—who had been described with classical lines meaning something akin to ’so wild and free he defied restraint, the very essence of an untamed spirit’—became restrained and silent. All his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were now hidden behind his calm eyes.

Qiao Yishen watched as Quan Yu’s gaze softened and his features grew increasingly gentle. It was only then that he looked like a normal person.

"Come out with me for a moment." This was addressed to Qiao Youning.

Qiao Youning’s eyes were still red and swollen, though her tears had dried. "Fifth Brother, Second Brother Quan and that bad woman..."

Qiao Yishen turned his head toward his sister, his gaze stern.

Qiao Youning shrank back, her voice changing. "Alright, alright, it’s Ning Guiwan. Could Second Brother Quan also have been bewitched by Ning Guiwan? He’s so nice to her..."

When they reached the end of the corridor, Qiao Yishen pushed open the glass window.

Cold air rushed in instantly. Qiao Youning dodged to the side, wrapping her coat tightly around her. "It’s so cold, Fifth Brother, are you trying to freeze me to death? I’m only wearing a dress inside."

Qiao Yishen lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and then turned to his sister, his tall figure leaning against the windowsill. "First tell me, why were you at the Nanchang Group’s annual meeting tonight? Today is Wednesday, your piano practice day."

"I..." Qiao Youning cast her gaze downward, her eyes darting left and right.

She dared not admit she went there for Lu Ziqi.

She liked Lu Ziqi, and Fifth Brother knew it.

But Fifth Brother had also warned her that Lu Ziqi was an engaged man.

"I just heard that Nanchang’s annual meeting invited many famous singers, and my admired music idol was also coming, so I just wanted to see him..."

Qiao Youning fiddled with the hem of her garment, twirling it unconsciously.

Qiao Yishen looked at his sister’s telltale fidgeting that appeared whenever she lied and massaged his aching forehead with the hand holding the cigarette.

"So, who told you that your admired music idol was invited to the Nanchang annual meeting? Ning Rongyue?"

"I begged Sister Rongyue to take me there, please don’t blame her!" Qiao Youning hurriedly spoke in defense of Ning Rongyue.

Sister Rongyue? Qiao Yishen looked at his sister. She seemed to have a surprisingly good relationship with Ning Rongyue.

Men are naturally philandering, especially those with wealth and power. Almost every prominent family has a few illegitimate children.

Their father, who appeared upright and strict, also had his indiscretions. These even gained public attention, causing great turmoil in the family. Qiao Youning was in her teens at the time, an impressionable age. The incident affected her profoundly, leading her to especially despise illegitimate children.

It seemed then that Ning Rongyue had some skills, to be able to endear herself so much to his sister.

"On the way here, you told me that you saw Ning Guiwan seducing Lu Ziqi and it made you very angry, so you hit her with a porcelain vase." Qiao Yishen looked at her. "When Ning Guiwan was talking to Lu Ziqi, I was beside them. It was just a normal conversational exchange. Where did you see her seducing Lu Ziqi?"

Qiao Youning was startled. "You were by Lu Ziqi’s side at that time? How come I didn’t see you?"

Qiao Yishen replied, "Your eyes only see Lu Ziqi; how could you have noticed me, your fifth brother?"

"I didn’t..." Qiao Youning fiddled with the hem of her clothes, fell silent for a while, and then said, "Ning Guiwan is so enchanting, and Second Brother Lu even smiled at her..."

"It’s a social event. If not a smile, should he have cried? Is that little thing enough for you to conclude that she seduced Lu Ziqi?"

Qiao Yishen was losing patience, becoming more assertive.

Seeing her fifth brother speak in favor of that awful woman, Qiao Youning also felt somewhat unhappy. "Second Brother Lu even dined with her! He often has meals with her!"

"Who told you that?" Qiao Yishen slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Your ’dear friend’ Ning Rongyue?"

He emphasized the words ’dear friend’ heavily, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Brother, why are you so hostile towards Sister Rongyue? Even if she was the one who told me, what she said is true! And... that Ning Guiwan is a wicked woman who plays with men’s feelings! I saw it myself! She disliked that man for being poor, played him, and then dumped him! The man knelt and begged her, but she wouldn’t even say a word to him. She’s so heartless!"

"I had no idea my sister was such a righteous heroine, one who despises evil."

His obvious sarcasm made Qiao Youning’s face turn red.

Qiao Yishen flicked the cigarette ash onto the windowsill and glanced outside at the dim lights. "I’ve told you before to stay away from Ning Rongyue. She’s not who you think she is."

"Then what is she like? She’s not like you all, always managing me, controlling me. She encourages me to pursue what I want. I’m a person too; I have my own feelings and thoughts, but you all always use your methods to suppress me!"

Qiao Youning said this, feeling very wronged as tears fell. "I hate you all! I want to go home!"

"You dare to leave and see what happens."

Qiao Yishen’s voice carried a hint of anger. "Until Ning Guiwan is discharged from the hospital, you will stay here in the hospital, serving her tea and running errands as penance, until she forgives you."

He was well-intentioned, but Qiao Youning was ungrateful. "Fifth Brother! Am I still your real sister?"

To think that she would serve such a woman; she would not agree!

"You don’t have to atone if you don’t want to," Qiao Yishen said, "but you’ll have to bear the consequences. Your Second Brother Quan is vindictive. You wounded his favorite, and even if she has no lingering injuries, he will not let you off easily!"

"..." Qiao Youning remembered the words that Quan Yu had said when he walked past her holding Ning Guiwan, and her little face turned pale.

...

At the entrance to the ward, Zhan Yan and Xu Ruohuai looked solemn.

When Qiao Youning followed Qiao Yishen through the door, Quan Yu was just coming out of the bathroom.

The bloodstain on his chin had been washed clean. He had taken off his waistcoat and now wore only a white shirt with black trousers; the sleeves were rolled up, revealing his masculine arms.

"Old Quan, I will get to the bottom of this and give you an explanation," Qiao Yishen stated, his hands in his pockets, looking at his friend. "Youning is naive, but she’s not bad. Let her stay here until Xiaowan is discharged. If there’s anything you need, just tell her to do it."

"Get to the bottom of this?" Quan Yu took Ning Guiwan’s hand from under the blanket, holding it in his palm. Upon hearing Qiao Yishen’s words, his brows knitted slightly.

They were all smart people, and some things did not need to be spelled out in detail.If there truly was something else behind all this, Quan Yu could find out on his own.

His gaze fell on Ning Guiwan’s face. All the lights above the bed were off, leaving only a corridor lamp lit near the bathroom door. Under the dim light, the man’s features were shadowy and indistinct.

"We don’t need too many people here. Take your sister home. We’ll settle everything later."

"Just let her..."

"Zhan Yan." Quan Yu didn’t give Qiao Yishen a chance to continue. "Show the guests out."

Zhan Yan immediately stepped forward and made a ’please’ gesture to Qiao Yishen. He didn’t speak, but his attitude was very firm.

The atmosphere was tense, and the air seemed to thin. Qiao Youning, sensing the unusual tension, fearfully tugged at her fifth brother’s sleeve.

"I’ll take her back first, then come back to visit Xiaowan tomorrow."

After leaving the ward, Qiao Youning clung tightly to her fifth brother’s arm, constantly looking back as if a ferocious wolf might pounce at any moment.

"Fifth Brother, aren’t you and Second Brother Quan close? Why did he treat you like that?" Qiao Youning asked indignantly.

Qiao Yishen’s expression grew serious. "If it weren’t for our relationship, do you think you would still be here? You would have been taken away and locked in a dark room long ago."

"..." After hearing this, Qiao Youning’s neck felt cold and numb. "It can’t be that serious, can it? That witch... that woman didn’t even die!"