My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

Qiu Tong stood in the doorway, her hair slightly disheveled, a flustered look on her face. She raised a hand to tidy her stray hairs, forced a smile, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "You...you're back?"

Su Ming hummed in agreement, his gaze lingering on her face.

Despite her efforts to hide it, he still saw it. There were tear tracks at the corners of her eyes, and her eyes were red, clearly she had just been crying.

Qiu Tong noticed his gaze and quickly lowered her head, pretending to straighten her clothes. Then she saw the gift box in his hand, paused for a moment, and asked, "Did you run into him downstairs?"

Su Ming nodded and handed over the gift box: "Yes, Mr. Jiang asked me to give this to you."

Qiu Tong took the gift box, glanced at it, and a cold smile appeared on her lips.

"Slap someone, then give them a treat," she said softly, her tone full of sarcasm. "You're quite the smooth operator."

Su Ming was stunned.

He looked at Qiu Tong, at her tear-streaked face, at her mocking smile, and a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up inside him.

"Sister-in-law..." he asked softly, "What did he do to you?"

Qiu Tong stiffened slightly, then shook her head, forcing a smile: "It's nothing."

As she spoke, she casually tossed the gift box into a corner, as if it were a piece of trash.

"This is donkey-hide gelatin; it's good for women to replenish their blood," she said casually. "I'll send it back to your mother sometime!"

Su Ming shook his head: "Sister-in-law, this is for you. It wouldn't be appropriate to send it to my mother, would it?"

Qiu Tong smiled and said, "I have plenty. It's okay, I'm off this weekend, you can take some and send it to your mom."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to brush her long hair aside, tilted her head back, and tried to make her voice sound normal: "Go take a shower. It's getting late."

Su Ming grunted in agreement and turned to go to the restroom.

Just as he turned around, his gaze inadvertently swept over Qiu Tong's arm.

On her fair arm, there was a purplish-red bruise.

Su Ming's heart tightened suddenly, and he felt inexplicably heartbroken.

He stopped, turned around, took two steps closer, and stared at the bruise: "Sister-in-law, what happened to your hand?"

Qiu Tong panicked for a moment, quickly covering the bruise with her hand and shaking her head, saying, "No...it's nothing. I accidentally bumped into the corner of the wall."

Su Ming was skeptical. He moved his gaze downwards and swept it over her again—he was shocked by what he saw.

Qiu Tong also had a bruise on her thigh. The bruise was just above her calf, and the purplish-red color stood out starkly against her fair skin.

Su Ming felt a surge of heat rush to his head.

"Sister-in-law..." His voice trembled slightly, "Did he hit you?"

Qiu Tong stood there, opened her mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out.

Then, she couldn't hold back any longer.

She burst into tears.

She threw herself into Su Ming's arms, hugging him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder, and sobbing uncontrollably. The sobs that had been suppressed for so long were exceptionally clear in the quiet night, like a knife, cutting into Su Ming's heart again and again.

Su Ming froze for a moment, then raised his hand and gently patted her back.

He didn't know what to say or what to ask. He just held her, feeling her body trembling and the damp heat of her tears soaking his shoulder.

A strong sense of hatred welled up inside him.

Hatred towards Jiang Jian.

That man, that arrogant man, that man who said "I'll take responsibility if anything happens," actually hit a woman?

After a while, Qiu Tong's crying gradually subsided.

Su Ming asked with a hint of anger, "Sister-in-law, what exactly happened?"

Qiu Tong gently pushed Su Ming away, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and brushed her tear-dampened hair aside. She smiled bitterly and said, "It's nothing. It's a matter between adults, children shouldn't interfere. My cousin-in-law is fine now."

Su Ming, however, put on a stern face and said seriously, "No. Sister-in-law, you must be very sad. You must have suffered a lot of grievances, right?"

He looked into her eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Tell me. If he bullies you, I... I'll avenge you."

Qiu Tong was stunned.

Looking at the eighteen-year-old boy in front of her, at the serious expression on his face, at the burning light in his eyes, a part of her heart suddenly softened.

She smiled. There was bitterness in that smile, but also warmth.

She reached out and gently hugged Su Ming, resting her head on his shoulder, and held him quietly for a while.

Then she let go, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed his forehead before letting go again.

"My cousin-in-law is so lucky to have such a good brother like you," she said softly, her voice hoarse but gentle. "I'm willing to endure any injustice, no matter how great."

Su Ming gently pushed her away and asked earnestly, "Sister-in-law, tell me. What happened? Why did he hit you?"

Qiu Tong looked at him, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally sighed helplessly.

"Okay!" she said. "I'll be frank with you."

She sat down on the sofa, and Su Ming followed suit, turning to look at her.

"He comes to my place once or twice a month, sometimes even three times," Qiu Tong said slowly. "But he never stays overnight. You've lived here for so long, you should have guessed why he's looking for me, right?"

Su Ming nodded. Of course he knew.

"Then why did he hit you?" he asked. "Was it because he wanted to stay here overnight, and you wouldn't let him, so he..."

Qiu Tong couldn't help but laugh, but there was a hint of bitterness in that laugh.

"I'm someone's mistress, my body is kept by someone else," she laughed. "How can I not let my sugar daddy spend the night here?"

Su Ming was stunned: "Then why did he hit you?"

Qiu Tong stood up, walked to the dining table, picked up the wine glass, and took out a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet. She used the corkscrew to open the bottle, poured herself a small half-glass, and gently swirled it.

The dim light shone through the wine glass, casting a dark red glow on her face.

"He wanted to do 'that' with me," she said softly, taking a sip of her drink. "I wouldn't let him. He really wanted to, he even begged me several times. But I just wouldn't give in."

She paused, then rolled up her sleeve, revealing a bruise on her arm: "So, he pinched me five times."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming jumped to his feet and couldn't help but curse, "That bastard! He's not even human!"

Qiu Tong shook her head, her expression calm: "Never mind, we can't entirely blame him for this."

"He pinched you until you were bruised, and you can't blame him? I think he did it on purpose." Su Ming got angrier and angrier as they talked.

"Men, sometimes when they've been holding back for too long, they get aroused, it's understandable!" Qiu Tong sat back down on the sofa, placed her wine glass on the coffee table, and said slowly, "His wife isn't pretty and isn't very romantic. I'm his only mistress. He hasn't been with a woman for many days while on this business trip, so it's normal for him to be thinking about sex."

She gave a wry smile: "It's just that I really can't give it to you."

Su Ming was taken aback, then became curious: "Sister-in-law, since you care about him, why don't you let him...do that?"