Chapter 66 Qin Shuyi, You’ll End Up Worse Than Me

Chapter 66: Qin Shuyi, You'll End Up Worse Than Me

Even Ji Xiuhang couldn't understand and thought he was being excessive.

She just looked at a handsome guy a couple more times—where did all that anger come from?

Qin Shuyi blinked, snapping out of it.

"It's fine, I didn't eat it," she said softly, calming Ling Jue down.

Then she turned to the others who were clueless and apologized, "That sweet dessert soup had iron-clad dendrobium flowers added to it. I'm allergic to those."

Everyone suddenly understood.

They were both surprised that Master Jue was observant enough to even remember his ex-girlfriend's dietary restrictions, and amazed that even though he hadn't been looking at Qin Shuyi just now, he was fully aware of her little actions and what she was eating.

Is this really how you treat an ex-girlfriend?

But Qin Shuyi knew why Ling Jue was so angry—probably because the scare had left too deep an impression.

...

She hadn't known she was allergic to dendrobium flowers before. Once, at a restaurant, she had a drink made with them and loved the flavor, so she had some extra.

But on the way home, she started to feel off. After returning home, she discovered a lot of red rashes on her body, and eventually, even her breathing became difficult.

Ling Jue was truly frightened that day. His usually indifferent and calm eyes were red with anxiety as he raced her to the hospital.

Because they arrived in time, it wasn't serious, but the red rashes plagued her for almost two weeks before fading.

Qin Shuyi wasn't a delicate flower in daily life, but that time she genuinely suffered, often whimpering and crying in her sleep from the discomfort.

Ling Jue could only hold her, keeping her hands and feet still to stop her from scratching.

He would take her shirt off again and again to apply anti-inflammatory ointment.

When she was too upset and miserable to sleep, he would pick her up like a child, letting her wrap her legs around his waist, and walk around the room with her, soothing and patting her until she fell asleep.

Qin Shuyi took two weeks off, but Ling Jue also did most of his work remotely.

After she recovered, she had lost a noticeable amount of weight, and Ling Jue was equally run ragged.

Even after follow-up visits confirmed her recovery, on those nights when Qin Shuyi was drifting in and out of sleep, she would occasionally sense someone getting up now and then to check her forehead, lift her shirt to check on the rash, then turn off the light, kiss her forehead, and gently pat her back.

He seemed more affected by it than she was.

From then on, she never saw dendrobium flowers appear at home or in any restaurant they went to.

...

Qin Shuyi shook off the memory and sighed.

She tugged at the sleeve of Ling Jue, who still had a stormy look on his face beside her.

"I care about my own health and wouldn't joke about my life. I really didn't notice just now, but didn't you catch it for me? Thank you. I promise I'll be more careful next time, okay?"

Her gentle tone made Ling Jue's expression soften a bit.

"Next time? Next time I won't care about you," he snorted coldly.

Qin Shuyi smiled, "If I do it again, punish me by drinking ten cups of dendrobium flower drinks."

Hearing her make such a flippant promise, Ling Jue shot her an exasperated look.

Shi Qilan and Fan Chaochao, sitting close together, shivered in unison, goosebumps rising.

Goodness, who is this guy that gets placated with just a casual word?

Is he the same person as the one who was so angry earlier?

Seeing Qin Shuyi effortlessly turn a raging lion into a docile big dog, the others were also wide-eyed in disbelief.

But no one dared to gawk at Ling Jue; everyone pretended nothing had happened and started chatting again.

However, Qin Shuyi leaned close to Ling Jue once more and whispered something to him.

Ling Jue frowned slightly, "I'll handle it. You behave yourself."

After saying that, he left the dining table.

But the very second he left, Qin Shuyi saw the figure she'd glimpsed earlier out of the corner of her eye.

This time, she was certain it was the person she suspected.

...

Using the restroom as an excuse, Qin Shuyi left and followed that figure.

Today's engagement banquet was split into two parts. The first part was the traditional rites and engagement ceremony, attended by elders from both families, relatives, friends, and business partners.

The second part was reportedly a special outdoor party for the younger guests, and Zhao Jinyu had even hinted at a surprise in advance.

At the moment, the outdoor lawn had no guests yet; only staff were busy running around.

In the preparation area with long tables, a waitress placed two glasses of red wine on a tray, took a deep breath, took a small packet from her pocket, and surreptitiously poured its contents into both glasses, shaking them to mix evenly.

Once she couldn't see any issues, she intended to take them away and hide them to avoid mixing with other glasses.

But at that moment, a slender, pale hand pressed down on the tray on the table.

Her heart skipped a beat. She turned her head and met a pair of bright, beautiful black eyes.

...

"Xu Yan."

Qin Shuyi called out the name with certainty.

Even though she was disguised and, being a frequent stage performer skilled at adjusting her makeup and appearance, had altered her originally pure and delicate image.

But Qin Shuyi, who worked with human bones long-term, still recognized her original features at a glance.

She looked surprised at the woman dressed as a waitress, her face tense. "What did you put in the wine glasses?"

She had only met Xu Yan twice, the last time when Ling Jue took her on a seaside trip.

That day, after they returned from kite surfing, they heard Xie Muchen had sent Xu Yan away. Since then, Qin Shuyi hadn't heard any news about her.

But they had parted amicably. Xie Muchen wouldn't be stingy with a companion, and besides, Xu Yan herself was a principal dancer in a ballet company. No matter how down on her luck, she shouldn't have fallen to working as a waitress at a wedding banquet.

Besides, it's Xie Muchen's engagement banquet.

Xu Yan went pale. She pressed her lips together and pleaded, "Can you pretend you never saw me?"

Qin Shuyi stared at her steadily and shook her head.

Xu Yan was never skilled at doing bad things; being caught red-handed right from the start completely broke her.

In a low, defeated voice, she lashed out, "Yes, I wanted to ruin his engagement. But he has it coming! My life is already completely destroyed—is it wrong for me to seek revenge?"

Qin Shuyi didn't get sidetracked. "I don't know what went down between you, but if you want to get back at Xie Muchen, have at it. Just not today. He's not the only player in this game."

Zhao Jinyu had also put her heart into this engagement banquet, and Shi Qilan had mentioned in jest that Miss Zhao's grand plan would make or break based on this event.

Xu Yan avoided her gaze.

"I didn't mean to involve anyone else. If anyone's to blame, it's her for being unlucky enough to choose Xie Muchen."

Qin Shuyi countered, "Oh really? Then why did you prepare two glasses of wine? Who was the other one for?"

Xu Yan's expression changed abruptly. She suddenly shoved Qin Shuyi hard.

Of course, Qin Shuyi easily sidestepped her, and Xu Yan ended up stumbling and falling to the ground, her knees scraping against the floor, instantly drawing blood.

Tears sprang to her eyes from the pain and fear as she glared hatefully at Qin Shuyi.

"Do you think everyone is as lucky as you, has someone watching their back even after a breakup?"

She had just overheard two rich guys chatting—one had taken a liking to Qin Shuyi's beauty and wanted to approach her, but the other stopped him, mentioning how fiercely Master Jue protected her and jokingly warned him to watch his head.

They were both just playthings to those men, so why was she living in such misery and disgrace while Qin Shuyi remained so carefree and unbothered?

"We're the same, you and I. Why are you standing with those arrogant elites? Do you think letting you sit at their table means they accept you? Qin Shuyi, you'll end up worse than me."

"I think you should worry about yourself first."

A woman's irritated voice cut in from behind them.

Behind her stood Xie Muchen with a grim expression and Ling Jue, whose eyes were filled with displeasure.

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