Mr. Yan, wake up! Your wife isn't a delicate little flower.

"Second Miss, you're back."

When Butler Ye saw Cheng Xihe return in a menacing manner, he stood at the door to greet him.

His voice was loud and clear, and everyone in the room could hear it.

Especially Qin Yebai, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Upon hearing that Cheng Xihe had returned, he jumped up and hurriedly ran back upstairs.

"Snapped!"

A slipper rolled down the stairs, and Zhang Zhiyue called out from behind, "Ye Bai, why are you running so fast?"

"Mom, the devil is back!"

Qin Yebai simply took off both slippers and ran back to his room.

"elder sister?"

Qin Shengxia perked up and got up from the sofa, eagerly anticipating the moment.

Upon entering the living room, Zhang Zhiyue greeted Cheng Xihe with a smile, "Oh, Xihe, you're back."

"Don't give me that," Cheng Xihe raised his hand, stopping Zhang Zhiyue's polite formalities. "Just keep an eye on Qin Jian and your daughter."

Zhang Zhiyue's smile lingered awkwardly for a moment before she said without changing her expression, "Okay."

"elder sister!"

Qin Shengxia threw herself into Cheng Xihe's arms, looking at her pitifully, "Sister, you're back."

"Why did you come back here?" Cheng Xihe looked down at her, his expression displeased.

Holding onto Cheng Xihe's arm, Qin Shengxia said aggrievedly, "Those are my mother's belongings, I can't leave them here."

"How many of my mother's belongings do you have?" Cheng Xihe asked Zhang Zhiyue with a cold gaze.

Zhang Zhiyue quickly raised her hand: "No, he only let me choose one item. I thought the earrings matched my cheongsam, so I took them."

"I, Zhang Zhiyue, have everything I want. Who knew that those were your mother's belongings?"

That's what your father told me that night.

Zhang Zhiyue looked disgusted: She didn't care for things from dead people.

"Qin Jian told you?" Cheng Xihe raised an eyebrow, her gaze growing even colder.

Qin Shengxia tugged at Cheng Xihe's sleeve and whispered, "Sister, your expression scares me."

"What are you afraid of?" Cheng Xihe withdrew his gaze and looked coldly at Zhang Zhiyue beside him.

Zhang Zhiyue quickly defended herself: "It really was Qin Jian who told me, otherwise how would I know? I thought it was a gift from him, and that I could choose whatever I wanted."

I'll trust you this once.

After Cheng Xihe finished speaking, Zhang Zhiyue breathed a sigh of relief.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Xihe asked again, "Do you know where the other things are?"

"I don't know. Why don't you go check your father's study? Just don't get involved with me." Zhang Zhiyue frantically tried to clear herself of suspicion.

Cheng Xihe glanced at Zhang Zhiyue and sneered, "You certainly know how to protect yourself."

"Standard procedure," Zhang Zhiyue said, then sat back down on the sofa.

Cheng Xihe patted Qin Shengxia's head: "Wait here for me, I'll go upstairs and take a look."

"Hey, don't touch your dad's important things. If they get lost, don't blame it on me," Zhang Zhiyue reminded him, then fell silent.

A short while later, Cheng Xihe came downstairs.

Qin Shengxia asked curiously, "Sister, did you find Mom's belongings?"

"no."

Cheng Xihe's expression was calm, but his eyes held a hint of anger.

It seems that Qin Jian had already made preparations and was determined to get her to help him establish connections with those so-called wealthy families.

"I'm back."

Qin Jian happened to enter the room at that moment and went into the living room.

His suit jacket was casually draped over his arm, and seeing that no one paid him any attention, he said unhappily, "Why isn't anyone here to greet me...?"

Before he could finish speaking, he met Cheng Xihe's icy gaze and stopped in his tracks.

Zhang Zhiyue kept her mouth shut and didn't say anything.

"Cheng Xihe, what are you still doing here? Are you going to cause a scene even when you get home?"

His gaze fell on Zhang Zhiyue, and seeing that she was unharmed, it finally settled on Cheng Xihe, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Bang!"

Before Qin Jian could react, a fierce fist, accompanied by a whistling sound, came and slammed into Qin Jian's face.

Caught off guard, Qin Jian was struck and staggered backward.

He accidentally bumped into the screen at the corner.

The screen shook violently, causing several expensive ornaments to fall to the ground and shatter.

"what!"

Zhang Zhiyue cried out even before Qin Jian, quite frightened: "Xihe, he's still your father, one punch is enough."

"Aunt Zhang, please go upstairs first and don't worry about what's going on here."

Cheng Xihe glanced at Zhang Zhiyue.

Zhang Zhiyue helped Qin Jian up from the ground, didn't dare to say much, patted Qin Jian's shoulder, and ran away.

She dared not offend Cheng Xihe.

"Xiaxia, wait for me outside."

Cheng Xihe pushed Qin Shengxia away from the living room.

Qin Shengxia hurriedly said, "Sister."

"Be good, be obedient." Cheng Xihe's voice was cold.

"Sister..." Qin Shengxia opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the sensible housekeeper Ye dragged her away.

Butler Ye said in a low voice, "Third Miss, don't let Second Miss have the chance to shine. It's alright."

"Uncle Ye." Qin Shengxia knew that Butler Ye was doing this for her own good, so she turned to look at Cheng Xihe and left.

With his back against the wall, Qin Jian's cheeks quickly swelled up, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Cheng Xihe's punch was like rubbing his face on the ground like dust.

"Cheng Xihe, are you crazy?" Qin Jian looked up in disbelief, glaring at Cheng Xihe.

Cheng Xihe sat on the armrest of the sofa with a smirk on his lips, legs crossed. "Qin Jian, you're ruthless. You'd better keep your word, or I'll turn your entire Qin family upside down."

A cruel smile appeared on her face, sending a chill down Qin Jian's spine: "You, you... unfilial daughter!"

"filial piety?"

Cheng Xihe finished, bent over, rested his chin on his knees, and asked, "How can you be filial? By bursting into laughter?"

"you……"

Qin Jian then realized that Cheng Xihe was no pushover at all.

This daughter, who has just returned from the countryside, is not as simple as she appears on the surface; she is utterly unfathomable.

She didn't care about reputation, family background, or even the money in his hands, nor the meager kinship they shared.

"I'm warning you, don't mess with me again, or I don't know what I might do."

Cheng Xihe stood up and stopped looking at the Qin bamboo slips.

She walked out, each step striking Qin Jian's panicked heart.

As Cheng Xihe reached the door, he turned back and said calmly, "Qin Jian, I have plenty of time to play with you."

I've done it, and I hope you can too.

The door clicked shut, leaving the room in a deathly silence.

"Thump!"

Qin Jian collapsed to the ground, his heart sinking rapidly due to the fear of the unknown.

Outside the door, Cheng Xihe saw Qin Shengxia, who had been waiting for a long time.

"Xiaxia, let's go."

"Sister!" Qin Shengxia rushed over and hugged Cheng Xihe's arm. "Are you alright, sister?"

He patted Qin Shengxia's head and said, "Let's go home."

"Okay, sure!"

The two sisters got into the car and drove away...