Ch. 1151..1160

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1151

S-Shower?! After the kiss, Yan couldn’t stop herself from getting the wrong idea when she heard that word. Her mind that was blank before was painted over with a touch of color.

Han Qing saw the young lady looking at him in astonishment, and her eyes held a weird expression in them. Then, he realized that she had gotten the wrong idea, so he explained gently, “You should take a shower and try to calm down.”

“Oh! Oh…” She nodded her head dumbly, then walked toward the bathroom. The bathroom was just ahead in a visible spot. Therefore, she walked into it by herself and automatically closed the door behind her. After locking everything else out, she finally looked into the mirror. Her face in the mirror was blushing hard, and her lips were also flushed from the kiss just now. Quietly looking at the mirror, a long while passed before she slowly lifted her hand to touch her lips with her fingertips.

Was that just my imagination? Did Han Qing kiss me just now? Moreover, it wasn’t just a light kiss! He gave me a deep kiss… Compared to the sneak attacks she made on him in the past, the strength of this kiss was enough to overturn 10 of her sneak attacks. It must be fake, right? If it isn’t my imagination, then it must be a dream!

Yan suddenly raised her hand and pinched her cheek hard. Instantly, her expression twisted as a result of the pain, and she nearly yelped from the excruciating pain. However, she soon recalled something and hastily covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening in shock. We are so close to each other; wouldn’t he hear me if I screamed?

Swallowing her cry of pain, she turned on the shower and stood underneath the rain of hot water. The nasty thoughts from before had vanished without a trace—his kiss was very effective. Her entire being was fully occupied by thoughts of the kiss. Then, she covered her face in her hands. She did not know how long she had been in the shower when a knock sounded on the door. She panicked and turned off the shower, then stood there, not daring to make a sound.

“I’m going to hang the clothes up by the door, then I’ll go outside. Remember to take them.” The words were followed by the rustling sound of a plastic bag, then the sound of Han Qing’s footsteps disappearing into the distance. She heard the bedroom door being closed after that.

After some hesitation, she stepped forward barefooted, quietly cracked open the door, and reached her hand out to pick up the bag. Inside the bag was a thick, black shirt; she took one glance at it, then her face flushed beet-red again. There is no other man in the house, so this shirt must belong to him, right? Why did he give me his shirt to wear? She bit her lower lip lightly, her mind was a nervous mess.

What do I do? Do I wear it? But, if I wear his shirt, won’t it be too risqué? However, reality did not give her much leeway to hesitate. Her clothes had been soiled by mud and were completely wet after being splashed by the water from her shower. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken a shower. What do I do now?

After procrastinating for a long time, she dried her body off then put on the black shirt. As Han Qing was tall while Yan was petite, when she put the shirt on, it fell below her knees and covered her fair knees properly. Furthermore, it was not see-through since the shirt was in a dark color.

She finally felt relieved after looking at herself in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the bathroom door and walked out. The room was silent; it was filled with only the sound of her breathing. She walked through the room barefooted, leaving behind a trail of wet footprints.

“Are you done?” A clear, male voice sounded from the door. Yan jumped in fright and reflexively raised her hands in front of her in a defensive posture. Her actions made Han Qing feel awkward; he pursed his thin lips and uncomfortably shifted his gaze away from her. “There’s a jacket on the sofa. You should put it on.”

Currently, she was like a wooden marionette controlled by strings, and he was the puppeteer—she did whatever he said. So, when she heard his suggestion, she walked over to the sofa and put on the jacket she found there. The jacket was meant for spring; it was thin and light. After putting it on, she felt that it took away a lot of her awkwardness.

He saw that she had put on the jacket, so he carried over a pair of slippers in his hands, then bent down to put it in front of her. Then, he said in a low, hoarse voice, “There are no other slippers, so wear mine.”

She lowered her head. The slippers placed in front of her was a pair of light-gray male indoor slippers. Since the size of male slippers were much larger than female slippers, there was a large gap between her foot and the back of the slippers once she put them on. “If I wear yours, then what about you?” Glancing over at him, she realized he was not wearing any shoes. Weird; don’t tell me there’s only one pair of slippers in this house?

Perceiving her thoughts, he lightly answered her concerns, “I rarely visit this place; that’s why there’s only one pair.” Then, he reached out and held her slim arm. “Come here, I’ll apply the medicine for you.”

She walked over to the sofa and sat down under his gentle urging. Then, she watched as he opened the medical kit and took out an ointment for scratches. He started with the injuries on her face, applying the ointment carefully. He leaned in closely while applying the medicine, causing their breaths to mingle with each other from time to time. Trying to control her breathing as much as possible, she did her best to avoid her breath from tickling his face.

When he was done with her face, he looked at her and asked, “Which part of your body is injured?”

Yan froze in place. My body? Is he going to help me apply the medicine on my body too? In truth, she didn’t seem to have suffered many injuries on her body because he had appeared in a timely fashion. She only suffered a slap across the face and had her clothes torn to pieces. Apart from that, she didn’t receive any substantial injuries.

Although she wasn’t sure whether it was because she had been pushed against the wall just now, her back stung slightly while she was taking her shower. Still, it was on her back. How could she tell him about it? She could not be expected to remove the shirt for him to apply the medicine on her back, could she?

Han Qing watched as her expression froze for a while, then seemed to think of something, so he asked in a low voice, “Is it… inconvenient?”

She nodded her head blankly, then hastily shook her head instead. “No, no, it’s not. I-I’m not injured.”

He frowned at her words. When he arrived at the scene, he saw her being pressed against the rough wall. A young lady’s skin was so tender; there was no way she was not hurt by it. However, they were of different sex, so that made it rather inconvenient for him to help her. He handed the ointment to her. “Can you reach it yourself? This medicine is good for healing wounds, plus it also helps to reduce inflammation and pain. If you can, apply as much as possible; otherwise, let me know, and I will help you.”

“It’s fine. I can do it myself.” He could not possibly help her with it. She quickly took the medicine, then got up and went into the bathroom.

When she was applying the medicine, she found that the injury was on her back. Thus, it was difficult for her to spread the medicine. She could reach it, but could not rub it in evenly. Besides, it was hard for her to control her strength, causing her to scratch her wounds accidentally. Even so, she was determined to finish applying the ointment. Unfortunately, when she was done, she felt that her wounds seemed more severe than before. Putting on her clothes again, she went out and handed the bottle back to him.

“It’s done?”

She nodded awkwardly. “Yes…”

Now that the treatment for her wounds had been completed, they faced each other in silence. After calming down, Yan felt that the atmosphere around them was very awkward and she did not know what to say. On the other hand, Han Qing handed her her phone. “It’s late; you should give your Mom a call and let her know you’re safe.”

As if she had just woken up from a dream, Yan nodded. “Okay.”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1152

Luo Huimei had been extremely worried ever since Yan and Li Sihan left, and she began to regret being such a useless mother to her daughter. She had discussed with Yan once about how she felt that Li Sihan was so unremarkable and unassuming that it was strange. So, why did I still let Yan leave with him? As time ticked by, her anxiety grew stronger and stronger. It reached a point where she wanted to close the shop for the day and go out to search for her daughter.

Mr. Zhou saw her fidgeting anxiously, so he said, “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been anxious since our daughter left. Did something happen?”

Hearing those words, her worry grew. Then, she sat down in front of him. “Don’t you think that there is something strange about that Li Sihan?”

“He seems fine. Why are you being suspicious of him? What’s the problem? Isn’t he getting along well with Yan?” he replied.

“It’s suspicious precisely because there’s not a single thing wrong with him! Think about it; when Mrs. Zhang introduced potential suitors to the others, has she ever introduced a good man to them? There was always one problem or another with them. Originally, I was against this. Anyway, it’s not like we are desperate to find a partner for our daughter, right? I don’t know what Yan was thinking when she accepted the blind date!”

“What else would she be thinking about? Doesn’t she just want to get married? If she doesn’t want to get married, why would she go on a blind date?” he retorted.

She kept silent. A straight man’s way of thinking could really drive a person nuts.

“It’s fine if a young man couldn’t figure this out, but you’ve lived out half your life! How can the mind of such an old man be so narrow? Can’t you think out of the box for once? Yan is your daughter! How can you be so dismissive toward her?”

Mr. Zhou, who had been insulted for some unknown reason, said nothing in response. What did he say wrong? If it wasn’t for marriage, then why would she agree to the date? If she didn’t want to get married, then she could have simply rejected it.

Luo Huimei couldn’t be bothered to explain further. Instead, she picked up her phone. “I can’t wait any longer; I’m going to give her a call and see how things are.”

“I say; our daughter is a grown-up now. She has her own way of thinking. You should stop bothering her so that she doesn’t find us annoying.”

“I’m not trying to create an issue out of nothing. I’m worried about her. I’m worried that Li Sihan might do something unsavory to Yan. Can you understand that?”

Hearing that, he finally seemed to understand what she was worried about. T-To think that it was something like that! “Wait a minute; are you trying to say that Li Sihan will do something to Yan? What do you mean by that? Why would he do something bad to her when they’re getting along so well?”

“Did you not see the expression on Yan’s face when she left? I think she has decided to come clean with Li Sihan and break off their relationship tonight. Although Li Sihan seems like a polite gentleman on the surface, there are too many beasts wearing masks in this day and age. I’m just thinking of her safety.” While talking, she had already hit the call button. However, the phone rang for a long time, but nobody answered. She frowned. “What’s going on? Why isn’t she answering?”

Thus, she called again, but there was still no answer. Accordingly, Mr. Zhou started to get anxious. “Did something actually happen?”

Luo Huimei’s face turned solemn as she continued to call again and again, yet all her calls went unanswered.

“Quickly, call the police!” Mr. Zhou got up to walk outside, but Luo Huimei pulled him back. “What are you going to say to the police? We don’t know anything yet. Besides, they can’t have gone far. We need to close up the shop first. Then, let’s go to the nearby restaurants to look for them.”

“Alright.”

Due to the special circumstances, the husband and wife closed the shop early and let their employees leave work ahead of time. As they were preparing to leave, her phone finally rang.

“Is it Yan?”

“Yes, it is!” She answered the phone agitatedly. “Yan, are you alright? Did anything happen to you? Where are you? I called you so many times but you never answered the phone!”

Yan had expected this barrage of questions when she saw the many missed calls on her phone. After listening to all her mother’s questions, she slowly replied, “Mom, I’m fine…”

When they heard that their daughter’s voice was relatively normal, they were finally released from being on tenterhooks. “It’s good that you’re fine. You nearly scared us to death. What is the situation now? Where are you?”

Where am I? Looking around at her surroundings, she chewed on her lower lip. “I’m… at a friend’s house.”

“A friend’s house?”

“Yeah.”

“Which friend?”

“Dad, Mom, I won’t be going home today. I’ll go back tomorrow.”

Mr. Zhou and Luo Huimei exchanged a glance and saw a dangerous expression in each other’s eyes. Their daughter sounded relatively fine, but she mentioned being at a friend’s house. Furthermore, she wasn’t coming home tonight, and will only return tomorrow. No matter how they put it, something was amiss.

Luo Huimei was tempted to tell her daughter to blink her eyes if she had been kidnapped. However, they were on the phone right now, so that kind of communication was not suitable for this situation. Mulling over it, she asked, “Yan, didn’t you promise me that we’ll go back to our hometown together tomorrow? Why are you coming back so late? I can’t help but worry like this. What if we miss the train tomorrow?”

Yan was a little confused. “Mom, when have I ever agreed to go back to our hometown with you? Besides… when did we have a hometown to go back to anyway?”

Luo Huimei was speechless. This silly child! What kind of situation is she in right now?

“Silly child, you must have forgotten. Last night, we discussed this when we were sleeping together. Who says we don’t have a hometown? It’s at your grandmother’s place. Her legs aren’t working too well due to her old age. Two days ago, she fell again. So, we need to go and visit her.”

The more Yan heard, the more confused she became. It had been a long time since she had slept together with her mother, and they did not have a hometown. More importantly, her grandmother had passed away a few years ago. Why is Mom saying all this weird stuff today? After thinking it over, she had a sudden realization and finally understood the underlying meaning behind her mother’s words. Feeling exasperated, she explained softly, “Mom, don’t worry. I’m okay. You don’t have to come up with all that weird stuff anymore; I did not get kidnapped, nor am I being threatened. Li Sihan… is not a good person, but he should be in a hospital by now.”

“What? So, something did happen?”

“Yes.” She nodded. Taking a deep breath, her nose was filled with Han Qing’s scent. This fresh scent calmed her frightened nerves slowly, then she softly explained, “It’s not easy to explain over the phone right now, so I’ll explain everything when I get home tomorrow.”

“What are you thinking? Why aren’t you coming home after something has happened to you? How are we going to sleep tonight? Where are you right now? Quickly tell us the address. Your dad and I will go and pick you up.”

Yan was silent for a bit, then she said, “Mom, Dad, it’s fine. I-I’m at Little Bean’s uncle’s house.”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1153

“Little Bean’s uncle’s house?” Luo Huimei was wondering who Little Bean’s uncle was… She was good at reading people; by combining the information she had gathered recently, along with Yan’s awkward tone of voice, she had an inkling of who he was. Still, she wasn’t certain. Thus, she continued, “Then, what will you do tonight?”

“Mom… please stop asking. My heart is a mess right now, I’ll explain when I get home tomorrow, okay?”

Her daughter was her precious treasure. When she heard Yan speaking to her in such an aggrieved tone, her heart melted. Before she could agree to it, Mr. Zhou, who was next to her, spoke out first, “Yan, have a good rest. If anything happens, you have to let us know. Don’t be afraid to tell us, okay?”

“Okay.”

After ending the call, she glared at him. “I had not agreed to it yet, so why were you so anxious to agree? Do you know who Little Bean’s uncle is? Although we get along very well with Little Bean, who is to say what kind of person his uncle is? How can you be so trusting?”

Mr. Zhou countered with a solemn expression, “Of course, I trust him. Little Bean was brought up so well; it’s difficult to be so well-taught if there is an unsavory element in their family. More importantly, Yan trusts him. As her father, I naturally trust him too.”

Tsk. At least the last sentence was the truth. At first, they were worried because Yan had gone out with Li Sihan. Thinking that she had been threatened to say that she was fine, they frantically came out with all sorts of hidden signals. Who could have expected her to tear apart their story, and with a touch of frustration in her voice too? Afterward, she even mentioned that Li Sihan should be in the hospital by now and that she was currently at Little Bean’s uncle’s house. While she was explaining, the tone of her voice had fluctuated greatly. Seeing as she was willingly staying there, and it was with no other than Little Bean’s uncle, they did not need to pursue it further.

…

After hanging up the call, Yan noticed that her phone was running out of battery. There was nothing she could do; she had been using it for the whole day. Moreover, Luo Huimei had made a lot of calls to her phone which emptied her battery in a flash. Luckily, there was still a bit left. After letting them know that she was safe, she held her phone in her hand and looked around at the space surrounding her.

Before this, she was still quite afraid. However, the incident that followed after had been so dream-like that it had overwritten the scary incident. She walked out hesitantly. The slippers on her feet did not fit her, so it was hard to control when she walked. Furthermore, it made a noise with every step, sounding absurdly loud in the quietness of the night. Embarrassed, she tried her best to curl her toes up and walk without making too much noise.

Pushing open the bedroom door, she saw the corridor was brightly lit, but there was no one there. The house was huge, and so was the corridor. Yet, she could not find a glimpse of Han Qing no matter where she looked. She didn’t know where he had gone, but she did not want to stay here alone. Thus, she walked forward with difficulty to look for him.

When she rounded the corner, a white cat sprang out at her from behind the corner and leaped past her. Due to the sudden appearance of a cat rushing toward her, she almost jumped out of her skin from fear and reflexively took a step back.

However, as the slippers were too big for her feet, she could not step back in time and she fell backward onto the floor. In the silence of the night, the hair on her body stood up straight and her heart drummed wildly in her chest. At the same time, a large hand latched onto her arm suddenly. Yan screamed in fright and was about to push the person away when a clear but familiar male voice rang out from behind her. “It’s me.”

This… is Han Qing’s voice. It was a voice that made her feel at ease. Hesitating slightly, she turned around and threw herself into his arms; she hugged him tightly and buried her face in his embrace, refusing to let go.

When the young lady threw herself at him, he was stunned. Then, he felt her soft cheek brush against his. His heart felt as if something had rammed into it; it became as soft as it can be. However, Han Qing quickly noticed that the young lady was trembling uncontrollably in his arms as if she had just experienced a huge scare. His eyes darkened considerably as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Then, he glanced to the side at the culprit that had frightened her so.

“Sky, why are you going around scaring people in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?” Sky was the cat—a purebred Ragdoll. It sat there listening to him reprimand it—almost as if it could understand his words. Then, it tilted its head to the side and meowed softly.

“Meow~” It was a gentle cry, almost sounding as if it was trying to get on her good side; it seemed to be saying, ‘I was in the wrong.’

Yan was curled up in Han Qing’s embrace. When she heard the cat’s cry, she was stunned. Releasing her death-grip slightly, she sneaked a glance at the source of the sound while still in his arms. Was the white shadow that ran past me just now this cat? Sky, the Ragdoll cat, sat there. When its eyes met with hers, it blinked, then meowed cutely again.

“Meow-meow.” It sounded like it was greeting her.

She had been extremely frightened just now. At the time, she had only caught a glimpse of a white shadow rushing toward her. Since she was already frightened, she immediately lost control and fell backward onto the cold floor. Now, she realized that the thing that had scared her so badly was just a cat. Once she came back to her senses, she felt extremely embarrassed. The little Ragdoll cat in front of her was very cute; its fur was smooth and clean, and it looked very vulnerable.

“It’s usually very well-behaved. Perhaps it noticed a stranger in the house tonight, so it came out to take a look. Were you hurt from your fall?”

Now that he mentioned it, falling in that position hurt a lot. However, she didn’t dare to say that in front of him. Shaking her head vigorously, she looked at the cat. “Sky?”

“Meow?” Sky tilted its head to the side. ‘Are you calling me?’

Its cute look made Yan relax and her emotions unwound slightly. She asked, “Can I pet it?”

“Sure. Sky is well-behaved.”

Therefore, she slowly walked toward Sky, then she crouched down and lightly rubbed its round head. It was soft and comfortable to touch—almost like touching cotton candy. Unable to help herself, she continued to pet it.

“Meow-meow.” Sky seemed to enjoy it and began to purr softly.

Yan had always liked cats. When Han Muzi and Little Bean had given shelter to the mixed breed little orange cats on the ground floor of their neighborhood, she had especially spoiled that little family of four. If not for their trip abroad and other ongoing matters, she would have liked to adopt them.

It so happened that a few young girls in the company had heard that she was looking for people to adopt the cats, so they had adopted them in her place. Only the big orange cat was still being kept in the company. That big orange cat had a human-like personality; it did not run about wildly while staying in the company. Later, Han Muzi had brought it back to Seabay Villa when she returned.

After that, Yan did not have another cat again. She did not expect Han Qing to have a cat here; based on his appearance, he did not look like somebody who would own a cat.

“Meow-meow!” Sky suddenly reached out its two front paws and seemed to be asking Yan for a hug.

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1154

Yan froze in surprise. Before she could react, Sky snuck into her arms. She paused for a few moments before she hastily hugged Sky close to her as she was afraid that it would fall. Rubbing its head against her arm, Sky nestled in her arms gently. It was so well-behaved and adorable that she felt like she was going to get a nosebleed from this.

She was filled with excitement as she stood up while carrying Sky, then she looked at Han Qing awkwardly.

“You can let it accompany you tonight if you’d like.”

“Can I?” she asked with uncertainty. The question she really wanted to ask was: ‘Can I really stay over for the night?’

“Yes.” Han Qing walked forward. “It’s late; I’ll bring you back to the room. You should get some rest soon.”

She held Sky in her arms as she followed after him. Entering the room together, he brought her to the bedroom as he said, “Sleep here for tonight. I’ll be right next door. You can call me on my phone, or just yell for me if you need anything.”

He is really going to let me stay here tonight. Hugging Sky to her chest, she nodded in confusion and made a noncommittal sound in reply.

“I’ll take my leave now.” Before he left, he paused and gave her another look; it made her nervous. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t think too much. I will deal with… the situation. Just get some sleep.” After saying that, he reached out his hand and placed it lightly on her head, then softly ruffled her hair.

Yan was speechless. She only came back to her senses at the sound of the door closing. Did Han Qing just… ruffle my hair? She was so stunned she forgot to react.

“Meow, meow, meow!” Sky suddenly started struggling in her arms. She lowered her head. “What’s wrong, Sky?”

“Meow!” Sky jumped out of her hands, then sashayed onto the bed. It snuggled into the blankets and looked at her as if inviting her to join in.

She looked at the cat silently. Why does this cat seem like a spiritual being? After pondering for a while, she climbed onto the bed. When she lay down, Sky immediately moved to her side and meowed next to her. Thus, she petted its head for a while until it lay down beside her.

Too many things had happened in succession tonight. However, the incident that stood out to her the most was the kiss with Han Qing. He suddenly kissed her, leaving her unable to react in time. She didn’t even know how she managed to respond to the series of actions and conversations that came after.

Reaching out her hand, her fingertips lightly brushed across her lips. At the same time, her heart felt like it was going to burst. Why did he… kiss me? Is it for the reason I’m thinking of? She closed her eyes. She did not dare to continue with her train of thought for fear of the disappointment that would come after hyping herself up.

Petting Sky’s head, she leaned over and whispered a question, “Sky, tell me… Why did he suddenly do that?”

“Meow?” Sky tilted its head and looked at her with big, round eyes.

“Sigh, you’re just a cat; what would you know? Let’s just go to sleep.” Covering both of them with the blanket, she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep. At first, she thought that the moment she closed her eyes tonight, she would be plagued with visions of Li Sihan forcing himself on her. Instead, all she saw once she closed her eyes was Han Qing—his eyebrows, his eyes, and his lips…

She shook her head vigorously, trying to get his appearance out of her head. Then, she rolled over and went back to sleep. Even so, he continued to occupy her mind. Yan’s eyes flew open and she stared at the snow-white ceiling. At this moment, she felt that she was done for in this lifetime. I’m firmly wrapped around his finger. If he has no interest in me, then… I’ll never get married. I’ll just live out the rest of my life alone. She tossed and turned throughout the night until she fell asleep from exhaustion when dawn came.

In her dreams, he gently held her face in his hands, lowered his head, and kissed her again and again—her dreams all night were filled with his kisses. Opening her eyes the next morning, she found that she had drooled all over the pillowcase. She panicked and jumped up, then reached out her hands to rub at her mouth frantically.

Sky, who had accompanied her throughout the night, was nowhere to be seen. The bedroom door was cracked open, indicating that it had escaped out the room. She sat there for a few seconds, then got up and went to the restroom to wash up. While she was at it, she also washed the pillowcase she used last night.

After sleeping through the night, she noticed that Han Qing’s shirt was extremely wrinkled; it looked very sloppy, but she had nothing else to wear. While she was mulling over what to do, a cat’s cry sounded from outside the bathroom. “Meow.”

“Sky?” Yan came out of the bathroom and saw Sky sitting on the carpet obediently. There was a bag in front of it that seemed to be filled with something.

“What is this?” Crouching down to check it out, she found that the bag held some female clothing. She was bewildered. “How did you—” Halfway through her sentence, she seemed to realize something and was stunned by the realization. How can I be so stupid? One glance is enough to tell that the clothes were prepared by Han Qing!

Since arriving here last night, there had been no other people; it was only the two of them and the cat. I can’t believe he sent the cat to deliver the clothes to me!

“Meow?” Sky seemed to say, ‘I’ve completed my mission.’ Then, it turned around and ran out.

Yan took the clothes with her into the bathroom. Opening the bag, she realized that even her undergarments had been prepared for her. She changed into the undergarments, her face flaming red. It fitted her body perfectly, and she wondered how he managed to guess her size, much less obtain such an accurate estimate. She rarely wore dresses, but the clothes he had prepared for her today was a sweet white floral dress. She looked good in it, but… it felt strange wearing the dress; perhaps because she was not used to it.

Scratching her head, she decided to tie up her hair, then left the room. In the beginning, she thought that there were no other people in the house. However, the moment she left the room, she ran into a middle-aged lady. When their gazes met, the lady smiled at her. “You must be Miss Zhou. I am the servant Mr. Han hired to clean the place. He asked me to let you know that you can go downstairs for breakfast when you wake up.”

“Huh?” A servant comes here to clean? Well, that makes sense too. The house had been spotless when they arrived yesterday. Since Han Qing rarely lived here, there must be a servant who came here to clean it out once in a while; otherwise, it would be dirty after some time.

Shyly smiling at the other party, she asked, “Good day to you. How may I address you?”

“You are too kind, Miss Zhou. Please call me Mrs. Lin.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Lin. I’ll be going then.”

“Please go ahead. Do be careful when you go down the stairs, Miss Zhou.”

After bidding farewell to Mrs. Lin, she went downstairs. Although she had changed her clothes, the slippers on her feet were still Han Qing’s slippers, so it was hard to walk down the stairs.

Halfway down the stairs, a voice came from downstairs. “Stay there and don’t move.”

Hmm? Yan looked toward the direction of the sound and coincidentally met Han Qing’s eyes.

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1155

Hearing those words, Yan stopped walking and stood where she was. Then, she watched as Han Qing brought a pair of slippers over to her and bent down to place them in front of her. “Change into these; those slippers are too big for you. It’s easy to slip and fall wearing those.”

Looking at the light-blue female slippers placed in front of her, she thanked him and put them on. She then bent down to pick up the male slippers she had been wearing before, but his movements were faster than hers. Picking up the slippers, he went downstairs. Afterward, she remained where she was as she looked down at the dress she was wearing, then looked at the color of her slippers. She let out a happy sigh.

Luckily, his aesthetic sense was unlike that of a stereotypical straight man’s despite being an inflexible man himself. If he was like a stereotypical straight man, then he might have assumed that all girls liked pink. If so, the dress and slippers she wore today could have turned out like a hot-pink mess. Then, she followed him downstairs. Sky was already sitting in its seat waiting for its meal. When it saw her coming down, it tilted its head to the side and meowed at her. Thus, she immediately took the seat next to it.

Many breakfast dishes were laid out across the table—even the milk was still steaming hot. It was her first time sitting down, face-to-face, with Han Qing for a meal, so she felt very uneasy. Thus, she just sat there petting Sky’s head for a long while. Sky meowed loudly, feeling as if its head was going to go bald from the constant petting. It shifted its head to the side, trying to get out of her clutches.

“Don’t go,” Yan softly murmured. She picked up the cat before it could escape. Due to her nervousness, she did not know what to do with her hands, and so she could only continuously pet its head.

“Meow!” Sky struggled slightly while voicing out its displeasure.

“Let it go.” Han Qing’s voice sounded from opposite her, frightening her. She lifted her eyes to look at him, her hands unwittingly loosening their grip.

Sky immediately jumped out of her arms the moment it got free, then ran off somewhere far. In the beginning, it had wanted to stay and have a loving breakfast together with its owner, who it had not seen in a long time, and the pretty lady. However, what about now? It decided to make an early escape before its head turned bald from the constant petting. Soon, the cat disappeared from the living room.

She felt embarrassed; Sky’s speedy escape almost seemed like it was afraid of her. Biting her lower lip, she did not dare to meet his eyes, but she heard him say, “I’ll send you home after you finish breakfast.”

“Okay…” Thus, she lowered her head to eat. She ate very slowly. When she was about to finish, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from outside. Lifting her head to look, she realized that the person heading toward them was Su Jiu; her high heels were click-clacking across the smooth floor.

When Yan saw Su Jiu, her face turned red and she guiltily turned her head away. Why is she here? If she sees me with Han Qing, will she get the wrong idea?

“President Han.” Su Jiu saw the two of them having breakfast when she walked in, but she did not stand on formalities. Instead, she pulled out another chair and sat down on the other side, then she took out all the documents she had prepared beforehand.

Yan heard Han Qing grunt nonchalantly in response, his voice emotionless.

“I collected this information last night and spent a lot of time sorting them out. His previous offenses as well as his involvement in several money scams are quite extensive. Judging from the situation this time around, it will take him several years before he can weasel out of prison.”

When she heard this, Yan realized that the topic in question was related to her. Thus, she sneaked a glance at Su Jiu. She assumed that Su Jiu would be flipping through her documents intently or looking at Han Qing while she was reporting her findings. Rather, the moment she turned her head, she found herself staring into Su Jiu’s smiling eyes—Su Jiu had been staring in her direction all along.

Yan said nothing; she became very self-conscious suddenly. She hastily shifted her gaze away, her ears and neck turning bright red in response.

Tsk, this young lady sure gets shy and embarrassed easily. Su Jiu laughed in her heart. Unafraid of Han Qing’s presence, she directed a question at Yan. “Miss Zhou, why do you not dare to look at me? This matter is related to you, after all.”

Yan continued to say nothing. Ah! How could Secretary Su do this?! There are so many other topics to bring up, why did she have to bring up this topic? I’m going to ignore her!

“Miss Zhou? Why are you ignoring me?” On the other hand, Su Jiu had made up her mind to tease Yan. Hence, she shamelessly continued to talk to Yan despite being ignored. Yan bit her lower lip and lowered her face even more. I’m going to ignore you; what are you going to do if I continue to ignore you?

“Secretary Su.” Han Qing’s fingers tapped lightly against the table; his expression remained neutral as he asked, “How bad are his injuries?”

Su Jiu narrowed her eyes as she turned toward him. “President Han, why are you in such a hurry to rescue your damsel in distress? I just wanted to talk to her for a bit; why are you so anxious to protect her? I guess last night—”

“Ah!” At the mention of last night’s events, Yan stood up with an agitated expression. She was deathly afraid of what embarrassing talk Su Jiu might bring up, so she interrupted her abruptly. “Nothing happened last night! Don’t you dare gauge the heart of a gentleman with your own mean measures!”

Her words were met with silence across the room. Is it possible for nothing to have happened if you have such a strong reaction to it? At this point, she noticed that her reaction had been over the top. She was too embarrassed to look Han Qing and Su Jiu in the eye, so she turned around and ran upstairs.

“If you said nothing happened, then nothing happened. Why are you running away?” Su Jiu’s voice rang out from behind her, making her increase her speed as she fled. Her reactions are so fun and amusing. Then, Su Jiu turned back to look at Han Qing. “So, is it true that nothing happened at all last night, President Han?”

He stared at the unfinished breakfast on Yan’s plate and scowled. She ate so slowly, and so little, yet now she was not even eating anymore. How could she continue like this? The expressions in his eyes flickered, making it hard to understand what he was thinking about. Therefore, Su Jiu had no choice but to push the documents until they were in front of him. “President Han?”

Finally casting his eyes to look at her, he pursed his lips unhappily. Then, he spoke after a moment. “You talk too much.”

Su Jiu said nothing in reply.

“Send the documents to the police and file a report. Make sure to send a copy of the information to his current company as well.”

She was slightly shocked at his words. It looks like Han Qing intends to cut off any future prospects this person may have. He is ruthless! Absolutely ruthless! Once a company blacklisted his information, coupled with his jail time, he could only hope to go back to the countryside and become a farmer after his release… At the thought, she gave a little sigh. She did not expect Han Qing to be so biased when it came to protecting the people around him. Sigh. Honestly, she was rather envious of it.

“Alright, then how are you planning to deal with Yan? I thought that the events last night would cause her some psychological trauma, but she doesn’t seem to be facing any trouble from what I saw just now.” She closed the folder and stood up smilingly. “If that is the case, then I won’t continue playing the third wheel here. President Han, this is a rare opportunity. Don’t let it slip past you… again.”

After speaking, Su Jiu felt that she had said too much. Why would Han Qing need her advice? He had already brought Yan here—a place where she had not known about despite serving as his secretary for so many years…

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1156

Yan rushed back to her room in a single breath. After she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it, panting heavily. She bit down on her lower lip in annoyance, then covered her face in her hands. Why did I react so agitatedly? If she had answered the questions calmly, she could have pretended that nothing happened. Rather, she had done it now. By reacting so strongly in front of Han Qing, she indicated that she was very conscious about it.

Sobs, what a cowardly and shameful person I am. How am I going to go downstairs later? Moreover, just what did he mean by doing what he did last night? Should I… simply act as if nothing had happened after all? As the thought crossed her mind, she praised her own wit. As long as she pretended nothing happened, they could go back to their normal state and there would not be a problem.

Taking a deep breath, she silently fired herself up. Then, she opened the door again. She was about to go downstairs when she saw Han Qing standing in front of her. Jumping in fright, her eyes widened in shock and her body took several steps back in reflex. “W-Why are you here?” Wasn’t he supposed to be downstairs having a discussion with Su Jiu? Why did he suddenly appear here even though not much time had passed?

“Are you only going to eat so little?” Han Qing couldn’t forget the thought of her eating so little while they were downstairs just now, so he asked her the question the moment he saw her. Stunned, she woodenly nodded her head. “I-I’m already full; I can’t take another bite.”

“Eat a bit more. I’ll send you home after that.” After staying out the whole night, her parents must be worried sick. After an incident like last night’s had occurred, I should have sent her to the hospital, then sent her home. But, she probably did not want to worry her parents, so she asked me to send her to a hotel. Even so, how could I possibly allow a young lady to stay at a hotel by herself? Besides, she was… His thoughts trailed off as his gaze landed on the injury on her face. Although he had applied medicine on the spot where she was hit yesterday, a faint shadow of it remained even after one night had passed.

“Does your face still hurt?” His voice subconsciously softened considerably. His hand reached out to cover the wound on her face, his thumb brushing against it lightly. Yan shuddered, and his brows furrowed in response. “Is it very painful? Let’s apply the ointment again.”

In truth, Yan did not feel pain. Although the slap to her face had hurt, the ointment he applied to her injury was anti-inflammatory. After a night’s rest, the wound was more or less healed, but it hurt when it was touched. It was just that when his cold fingertips had brushed against her, she was unable to control the shudder of excitement that ran through her. She became nervous and she stuttered, “N-No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s much better now.”

“Where’s the medicine?” he asked.

“I-Inside; shall I go and take it?”

“Yeah.”

Thus, she turned around and went to take the ointment. She had left it in the bathroom after applying it last night. After picking up the ointment, she brought it back to him and unwittingly handed it to him. After she handed it over to him, she suddenly realized that her wounds were on her face. She could have applied it herself while she was in the bathroom just now. Right now, she had chosen the longer route by handing the ointment over to him. Isn’t this indicating that I want him to put it on for me? She reached out awkwardly. “I-I can do it myself.”

However, he had opened the cover of the ointment and was already helping her to spread it on. Lowering her eyes uncomfortably, she tried to avoid it.

“Don’t move.” His breath blew against her face next to her cheeks. In response, she nervously blinked her eyes quickly. She could feel his slightly warm fingers sliding across her face, inch by inch, until he was done with the application. By then, she was so nervous that her toes had curled up.

“I’m done. You should head down and eat a little bit more. I’ll send you back later.”

“Oh, okay. G-Good…” Yan nodded her head frantically as she followed him downstairs. Sky, who had been sitting on the sofa, ran away silently when it saw her walking behind Han Qing.

She watched it quietly. Is that necessary? Can’t you give me some face in front of Han Qing? Fleeing so hastily, it was as if she had abused it in private.

“Um, Sky doesn’t seem to like me anymore…”

“Yeah,” he replied faintly, “Sky doesn’t like being disturbed during its mealtime. You were holding onto it for too long this morning. Perhaps it thinks that you were trying to snatch its food from it.”

She remained quiet. How can I possibly snatch a cat’s food? “I thought it was because I scared it away with my petting. By the way… Why do you keep a cat here? I’ve never heard you mention this before…” She thought that after being by Muzi’s side for so long, she had seen the truest side of him most of the time. It never crossed her mind that this man had a house like this, nor that he would own a pet cat here. Perhaps, she had always had the wrong idea about him, or perhaps, he had many secrets hidden away in his heart that nobody knew about.

She wanted to know, but at the same time, she did not dare to ask. After all, it was part of his private life, and she was in no position to ask. Although they had shared a kiss last night, how could she be sure that he didn’t kiss her simply to calm her down?

“The cat…” he began, then paused. After that, he did not continue his sentence.

Yan became curious. Don’t tell me there’s a story behind the cat? Is it an ex-girlfriend’s? Or, is it something else? That’s not right; I’ve not heard of him being in a relationship before, so it shouldn’t be from an ex-girlfriend. While her imagination ran wild in her heart, her phone rang suddenly—it was Luo Huimei calling. She quickly answered the call. “Mom?”

“Yan, didn’t you say that you’re coming home today? Look at what time it is now; why have you not returned? Are you trying to worry your parents to death?”

She glanced at the time—it was nearly 8:30am. It was neither early nor late. Considering her parents usually woke up at 6:30am or earlier, combined with the events last night, they must not have had a good night’s sleep. They must have passed the night anxiously, waiting for dawn to break as they watched the hours tick by fretfully.

Feeling guilty, she quickly replied, “Mom, I was just about to head back. Don’t worry. Have you had your breakfast? Please eat something first. I will explain everything when I get back home later.”

“Is that so? Then hurry back as soon as possible; don’t let us wait for too long.”

After ending the call, she looked at him. “Um… My mom is urging me to go home, I…”

“Let’s go.” Han Qing went back to his room for the house keys. When he came back out, he had put on a coat and held another one in his hands. “Put this on; the weather is still quite cold.”

Yan accepted the coat from him and noticed that it was a short jacket. After putting it on, she found that it was not too big on her. As she approached the door, she saw an extra pair of female white slippers on the shoe rack—it looked similar to what she usually wore.

“Did you buy this for me?”

“Who else would I buy it for?” Han Qing had finished putting on his coat as he stood by the door, waiting for her with the car keys in his hand.

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1157

At the Zhou Family residence.

“How is it? Did Yan mention what time she’ll be back?”

Luo Huimei had woken up early in the morning to whip up some porridge. The husband-and-wife duo had been unable to get any decent shut-eye throughout the night, so she had gotten out of bed at the crack of dawn. She hoped that their daughter could eat the porridge she cooked when she got home, but their daughter had failed to return home despite waiting for a while. Furthermore, there was not a single phone call from her. Therefore, they decided to call her instead. Hearing that Yan was about to return, Luo Huimei urged Mr. Zhou to finish up his bowl of porridge quickly and to eat some more.

“Didn’t she say she’ll be back soon? Why are you still pressing for answers? Just finish your porridge.”

Mr. Zhou replied, “I was unable to get any shut-eye last night out of worry for her. How can I swallow anything when I still have not seen her face until now?”

“If you can’t bear to eat it, then don’t. Just make sure you still have the energy to speak when your daughter comes home later. When the time comes, I don’t want to see you hungrily wolf down the food in front of her.”

Mr. Zhou said, “I must say, Huimei, why do you have to speak like that? Are you not worried about our daughter when something has happened to her? Look at you; how are you eating so much? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

She was pissed off by his words and took the bowl in front of him away. “Do you want to eat it, or not? If you don’t want to eat it, then put it aside. My conscience doesn’t hurt; in fact, it’s perfectly fine. Why don’t you put some thought into why I ask you to eat? If you don’t eat now, will you have the energy to teach the little b*stard a lesson if the things your daughter tells you later anger you? I’m guessing that Li Sihan did something unsavory to Yan last night; otherwise, why would he be sent to the hospital?”

Listening to those words, he reacted instantly, “I see! Then, I must hurry up and eat more. If that Li Sihan really did something to Yan, I promise I’ll send him back to his hometown to be a farmer!” Then, Mr. Zhou tried to take the bowl back from her hands. Luo Huimei sneered at him, “If you want some, you can serve yourself. Do you not have hands?”

He was rendered speechless. There was no other choice; since he lashed out at her just now, and received a scolding in return, he did not dare to let out a single peep in front of her now. Hence, he went into the kitchen himself.

Meanwhile, Han Qing sent Yan to her house. She undid her safety belt and turned her head to look at him. “Thank you for sending me back, and… thank you… for last night too.”

The words had just rolled off her tongue when she saw him undoing his safety belt too. Stunned, she asked dumbfoundedly, “What are you doing?”

“I’ll accompany you upstairs to explain the situation.”

She was astonished. How can this happen? If he goes up to my house, then my mother will get the wrong idea about us! At that thought, she hurriedly tried to stop him. “It’s already 9; don’t you need to go to work?”

“I shifted my schedule back so I’ll have some time in the morning.”

“But, you’re the president! Won’t it be bad if the president doesn’t go to work?” She was putting in all her effort to deter him. Thus, he paused for a moment, then turned to look at her silently. Despite doing her best to persuade him just now, her scalp tightened in fear when he stared at her coldly, and she did not dare to say another word.

“I’m in no hurry.” He looked at her as he uttered word by word. Then, he slowly continued, “Let’s deal with your problems first, then we’ll see how things go.”

She kept quiet and chewed on her lower lip. Her emotions were a tangled mess, but she felt that she did not need his help to deal with this. Moreover, he had sent the guy to the hospital after beating him up, so the other party probably would not do anything else to her.

“It’s really—” Yan wanted to say something more, but Han Qing had already opened the car door and got out without her. She sat in her seat in a daze for a moment, then realized that he would not be deterred from doing what he had decided to do. Thus, she got out of the car too. If he wanted to come with her, then so be it; she just needed to react accordingly later.

They prepared to head up together when a high-pitched voice rang out from not too far behind them. “Oh, my! Didn’t I say that the Zhou Family’s daughter had gotten herself a man? Yet, she had shamelessly proclaimed that she was single before. To think I even went out of my way to introduce a potential suitor to her. Who knew she already had somebody? If I knew that, I wouldn’t have wasted everybody’s time like this.” From afar, Mrs. Zhang’s voice floated toward them.

No matter who it was—whether they were far away, or close to them—everyone heard those words. Several neighbors were crowding around the entrance; some were playing with their kids while others were hanging about chatting together. This was a daily sight in Yan’s neighborhood. For Mrs. Zhang to shout those words at them from so far away, it must have been because she wanted them to hear it.

Is she trying to whitewash herself by discrediting me? Since when have I gotten myself a partner? Is this all because Han Qing is standing beside me? If it wasn’t for him, I might have been raped last night… As the thoughts ran through her mind, the hostility in her heart grew, and her hands hanging by her sides curled into fists. She quietly waited until Mrs. Zhang approached her.

Mrs. Zhang might be elderly, but her walking speed was not slow. Soon, she arrived in front of Yan. At first, she wanted to rush over to Yan, but seeing the tall and broad figure of the man standing next to her, she changed her mind and kept her distance slightly.

“Yan, what is wrong with you? If you have a boyfriend, then why did you ask me to introduce a potential suitor to you? Li is a dependable guy, moreover, he helped you out at your shop every day. He goes to your shop the moment he gets off work—every single day. Don’t you see how down-to-earth he is? He was sincere toward you. Even if you don’t like him, you should have spoken to him nicely. Why did you let your boyfriend beat him up until he had to be hospitalized? Right now, he is lying half-dead in the hospital! Oh my God! His injuries are so severe, I heard the doctor say he sustained more than ten broken bones too.”

Yan said nothing, but the corners of her mouth twitched. She thought in her heart, You must be lying; how can he survive if he has so many broken bones in his body? Well, it’s not like he’s dead; he’s only half-dead. In her eyes, after everything Li Sihan had done to her last night, she hated him to the core. If Han Qing had not appeared, what were the consequences she would be facing? What would happen to her in the future?

Her eyes turned colder considerably as she raised her eyes to look at Mrs. Zhang, not a hint of fear in her. “Mrs. Zhang, you keep talking about how he was hospitalized as a result of my boyfriend beating him up, but did you witness it yourself?” Her voice was not loud, but it carried enough for everybody to hear. Lured by the prospect of juicy gossip, the neighbors gradually crowded around.

Yan was aware that if she did not explain herself clearly today, then the neighbors would be talking behind her back in the future. Although she didn’t care if these people poked a hole in her back from all the gossiping, she could not allow them to talk bad about her parents.

Mrs. Zhang was shocked, for she did not expect Yan to retaliate. After pausing for a few moments, she said, “It’s true I did not witness it myself. How could I possibly witness it when I stay at home all day? However, Li gave me a call this morning saying that he was injured, so I visited him at the hospital. Do you know how severe his injuries are?”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1158

“If you didn’t witness it yourself, how could you assume that the person that beat him up is my boyfriend?” At the mention of ‘boyfriend’, Yan glanced at Han Qing apprehensively. Although they had shared a kiss last night, they were not in that kind of relationship yet. It was better to clear the air for now. Then, she added, “Besides, I’ve said this before; I don’t have a boyfriend. I wouldn’t do something as low as to go on a blind date when I already have a boyfriend. Those words you’ve said are complete slander toward me; you’re just trying to discredit me, Mrs. Zhang.”

Mrs. Zhang froze in surprise; she never expected Yan to be this witty and eloquent. Then, she delightedly exclaimed, “Stop trying to deny it; Li has told me everything. He said that your boyfriend beat him up so badly he had to be hospitalized. He also mentioned how uncivilized you are to attend a blind date even though you have a boyfriend. Yan, everyone here watched you grow up—we are basically parents to you. How can you treat us like this?”

Honestly, Mrs. Zhang was counting on the fact that Yan—in order to protect her reputation—would not speak about last night’s incident. Besides, the information she received was that Li Sihan had tried to kiss Yan, but she refused. Thus, he slapped her for it. In her eyes, between a slap and a beating that caused him to be hospitalized, the latter bore a heavier consequence.

Basically parents? Yan sneered in her heart, Have these people ever fed me, or given me any money? How could she be so shameless to say that she is like a parent to me?

Lost in her thoughts, Han Qing, who was standing beside her, started to make a move as if he wanted to stand up for her. However, he looked over at her when she reached out and tugged at his sleeve. Signaling to him with her eyes, she indicated for him to stand down—she could handle these small matters by herself. He had already done a lot for her last night; she could not keep relying on him today as well.

Pursing his thin lips, he studied her confident look. It seemed like she would be able to handle this all by herself without breaking a sweat. In that case, he decided to step back and watch the young lady win her own battles.

“Oh, my! Look at those flirtatious glances between them. Yet, you still have the audacity to say that he is not your boyfriend?” Mrs. Zhang began to feel unhappy, and she mockingly jeered at Yan, “Why don’t you just admit it, Yan? Isn’t he the one who beat Li up so badly he was hospitalized? I’m guessing he is. How could the two of you gang up on him?”

“Mrs. Zhang,” Yan called out as she took a step forward, her gaze calmly set on Mrs. Zhang.

Mrs. Zhang narrowed her eyes as an ominous feeling began to sprout in her. “What?”

“Do you know what happened last night? The man you introduced to me was disrespectful to me. Not only was he violent toward me, but he even tried to rape me!”

The surrounding crowd gasped and stared at Yan incredulously when they heard her words. Even Mrs. Zhang widened her eyes and stared at Yan doubtfully; she had not expected her to bring up these things so directly. Moreover, she had expected Yan to fume silently despite being torn apart by her words, and be unable to come up with a reasonable rebuttal.

In truth, even Han Qing that was standing beside her, had not expected Yan to be so bold. He glanced over at her, his eyes darkening considerably. Perhaps, she was braver than he had imagined. Well, in the first place, she was a young lady who dared to chase after him without fear. How could she not have at least this much courage?

“W-What nonsense are you talking about? Li has always been an upright person. How could he possibly do such things? Yan, as the Zhou Family’s daughter, you better not make such unfounded accusations!”

“Nonsense?” Yan laughed lightly. “Mrs. Zhang, why won’t you believe what I say? Why do you believe what he says? He would never do such things, yet my friend would? In my eyes, my friend is an upright person too; he would never do such things.”

Since the other party was not willing to admit to their fault, then they did not have to bear the crime of assaulting somebody either. It wasn’t like the other party could provide any form of evidence anyway.

“Besides, Mrs. Zhang, do you really think that my accusations would ruin his reputation? We are both women; do you think my words were destroying his reputation or my own good name?”

The nosy neighbors nodded their heads in agreement at her last sentence.

“That’s true; if you said Li would never do such things, then why would the Zhou Family’s daughter say that?”

“Yeah, it was completely unnecessary for her to say those stuff and ruin her own good name. I must say, Mrs. Zhang, is the person you introduced really reliable? Based on what Yan said, that guy is a total scumbag.”

“It’s not a big deal if a scumbag was beaten to a pulp, is it?”

“True… If it were me, I would beat him to death if he tried to do anything to my daughter.”

The winds had changed, and the crowd was swayed. Mrs. Zhang, who had not believed that Yan had it in her to be so ruthless, was so angry that her eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell backward. The people near her hurriedly rushed forward to help her up, then she suddenly started to wail, “God d*mn you! How can you wrong me so? I introduced a potential suitor to you out of the kindness of my heart! If you are not happy with him, then so be it! How can you go so far as to ruin his good name without any proof?!”

Yan was unmoved by the other party’s pretend illness. One glance at Mrs. Zhang was enough to tell that she was faking it—her eyes were bright and gleaming, and her voice was still going strong.

Yan laughed coldly, then spat out, “I may not have proof, but neither do you. How can you accuse my friend of injuring somebody else? Mrs. Zhang, you are acting like a dictator who refuses to listen to the voices of the people.”

Mrs. Zhang realized that the young lady was completely unfazed by her fake illness. Stunned, she continued to wail and kick up a fuss. At this moment, Yan’s parents, the Zhou couple, had rushed downstairs. The couple had been waiting in their home for Yan to return, but she was taking a long time to arrive. When they heard a commotion downstairs, they stepped out to take a look and unexpectedly heard the conversation between Yan and Mrs. Zhang.

When Yan mentioned that Li Sihan had been violent toward her, Mr. Zhou nearly rushed out there to pick a fight with them. However, Luo Huimei held him back and whispered, “Look at how much our daughter has grown; she is standing her ground calmly despite facing an entire crowd!”

Listening to her words, he seemed to realize it too—his daughter was neither nervous nor flustered in front of this crowd. It’s true. Thus, the couple decided to watch how things unfolded. It was not until Mrs. Zhang began throwing a fit that the two of them decided to step out.

Mr. Zhou rolled up his sleeves as he arrived on the scene. “Who dares to bully my daughter? Forget the hospital—I’m going to bury him six feet under! He won’t even have a chance to go to the hospital! Hah, there won’t even be a door for him to enter!”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1159

Mr. Zhou was fierce and loud. More importantly, he was fairly large too. When he appeared, he had on a fierce and vicious expression—he looked like he was not to be trifled with. Under normal circumstances, the Zhou couple were amiable and pleasant people. Living in a tight-knit community, even if they were not close to the neighbors, they were still passing acquaintances that would greet each other when they met. Above all, it was common sense not to treat a smiling person badly.

Therefore, it was the first time anybody had seen Mr. Zhou looking so fierce. When the neighbors saw him like that, they scattered to the side. After all, they were only here for the gossip; they only wanted to pass their time peacefully—not play with fire.

As the neighbors moved aside, nobody stood out to provide physical support to Mrs. Zhang anymore. The first person to help her was a young woman, and when she saw everyone else backing away, she nervously helped Mrs. Zhang stand up, then said, “Mrs. Zhang, you can stand on your own, right?” Afterward, she turned around and followed the crowd as they dispersed.

Mrs. Zhang stared speechlessly at them. Do you have to be so snobbish? Didn’t they come forward, one by one, just now? Although everyone else was afraid of Mr. Zhou, she was not. She straightened her back. “You came at just the right time, Zhou. I have to ask; how did you raise your daughter? How can you spoil her so much that she slanders others the moment she opens her mouth? I watched her grow up; I’m practically like a parent to her, aren’t I? I may be getting on in my years with no children of my own, but you still can’t bully an old woman like me! Sob, sob…”

Luo Huimei was following behind Mr. Zhou. When she heard Mrs. Zhang’s tirade, she thought, This person is way too shameless! What do you mean by you watched her grow up so you are practically a parent to her? She recalled that the man Mrs. Zhang had introduced as a potential suitor had nearly forced himself on her precious daughter, yet here Mrs. Zhang was—throwing a fit so early in the morning, causing the neighbors to gather around. If this information spreads around, what will happen to our family and my daughter’s reputation?

Mulling over it, she couldn’t even muster up a friendly smile at Mrs. Zhang; instead, she threw out insults at her. “Mrs. Zhang, I’ll accept that you introduced a potential suitor to my daughter out of the kindness of your heart. I will also acknowledge the fact that you watched her grow up. However, I cannot accept you saying that you are like a parent to her. What do you mean when you said you are practically like a parent to her? Zhou and I put so much effort into raising her; I didn’t realize we were merely one-half of her parents.”

Mrs. Zhang, not expecting her to contend this point, choked over her words. “I meant it metaphorically, not literally. No matter how you put it, I’m still an elder, right?”

“Since you’re not her parent, you have no right to discipline our daughter.” Luo Huimei stepped forward, pushing Mr. Zhou aside. Women were still better at verbal fights; moreover, she had polished her verbal skills over many years—specifically to deal with Mrs. Zhang.

The Zhou couple had been listening to the conversation between Yan and Mrs. Zhang for quite a while. At this point, Luo Huimei was boiling with anger. Therefore, she had no intention to give Mrs. Zhang a chance as she continued, “Also, I heard your conversation with my daughter from upstairs. Every sentence that came out of your mouth accused my daughter of having a boyfriend, yet she dared to ask you to introduce a man to her. I must say; let’s not turn the truth on its head. Alright, Mrs. Zhang? From the beginning, you came running to our ramen restaurant to introduce Li Sihan to Yan. Before we could even say anything, you called the person up and invited him over. So, how did it turn into Yan asking you to introduce her to somebody? Mrs. Zhang, from the way you twist the truth around, I’m suspicious of your claim that my daughter’s boyfriend beat Li Sihan up. Moreover, I wonder if the story about him having more than 10 broken bones was also an embellishment of facts?”

Yan stood by the side watching her mom. After listening to her words, she felt extremely refreshed. At the same time, she also gained more confidence from it. Initially, she thought that her parents would be worried about how it would affect their reputation, and thus, keep it under wraps to settle amongst themselves. However, they came out and stood up for her instead.

“Why, you! Huimei! Just who are you accusing of twisting the truth around?! Explain yourself!”

“Well, did you or did you not come running to our shop on your own to set our daughter up, Mrs. Zhang? There are so many people coming and going in your life, but not everyone will take your nonsense lying down! If you still won’t admit to it now, then you’re just proving that my words before were the unmistakable truth!”

“I-I just forgot that in the heat of the moment. So what if I was the one to take the initiative to try and set Yan up? Didn’t I do it for her own good? Li is such a good person, but now, he is hospitalized after taking a beating from them. How evil of them!”

“Don’t change the topic, Mrs. Zhang. Let’s make this clear; just because you forgot something in the heat of the moment, does that mean you have the right to slander my daughter? What kind of logic is that? You claim Li Sihan was hospitalized and suffers from many broken bones. I’m thinking that this matter isn’t becoming any clearer, so why don’t we file a police report? We’ll let the police settle this dispute.” After saying that, she unwaveringly whipped out her phone in front of everybody, and insisted on calling the police.

Mrs. Zhang’s eyes spun as she thought hard about something, then she stepped forward abruptly to stop Luo Huimei. “My dear Huimei, why are you calling the police? The authorities wouldn’t be able to settle a family dispute anyway. Li is suffering from terrible injuries; if you won’t believe me, then we can go to the hospital together. Don’t you agree, everyone?”

The neighbors glanced at each other, unable to deny the truth in her words.

“Let’s check it out then; if he was roughed up, then he would be in the hospital right now. We’ll know whether it’s really is as serious as Mrs. Zhang said.”

“That’s right; I think it’s a good idea to go check it out. If it is as serious as she says, then it’s quite unreasonable.”

“Isn’t that right, everyone? I’m asking all of you to help me judge the situation, so why don’t you all come to the hospital with me?”

Just as they had decided to visit the hospital together, a voice rang out coldly. “There is no need for that!” Yan stood still and gazed at the people around her coldly. “Uncles and aunties, we are neighbors. As you guys are my elders, I will remain respectful. However, if you continue to fuss over this, then don’t blame me if I decline to remain respectful. I only have one thing to say about this entire situation: my friend would never hurt another person. If he did, then the person concerned must be asking for it due to his own despicable nature.”

“Hey, is this little girl getting scared because I asked everyone to come to the hospital with me?”

“Afraid?” Her lips curled upward, then she saw Han Qing out of the corner of her eyes. After she asked him to stay out of it, he had stepped back to spectate the entire thing. Although he had not made a move, he was clearly staying here as an indication of his support for her.

Before they came, she had looked through the copies of the information Su Jiu had prepared. Li Sihan was involved in various crimes; she could simply bring out any one of them and it would be enough. Their gazes met. Han Qing seemed to guess what was going through her mind and nodded at her.

Thus, Yan determinedly made her decision. “You don’t need to go to the hospital because it might be empty by the time you arrive there. As for the reason, you might find out when he goes to jail.”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1160

When the word ‘jail’ was mentioned, everyone seemed to pause in shock, unable to react to the word. Weren’t we talking about a blind date? They would understand if it was jealousy at play that led to a fight, then finding a way to settle everything and whatnot. How did this… lead to going to jail?

Seeing the confusion spread among the crowd, Yan decided that she might as well explain the entire situation clearly since she had already said so much. She had a faint trace of a smile on her face as she made her decision, but the tone of her voice was completely frigid.

“I won’t hide it from everyone. Not only was Li Sihan involved in marriage fraud, but he was also involved in financial fraud. In fact, he has prior criminal records. Unfortunately, many victims were afraid of losing face. Thus, they refused to speak up, so that they could protect their reputation. Still, the sky is vast and nothing stays hidden forever. In the end, a police report was filed, shining a light on his crimes. Therefore, he went to jail for marriage and financial fraud; he was only released last year. I’m sure Mrs. Zhang is aware of his past transgressions, right? Are you still insisting that you introduced him to me for my sake? Is it really for my sake? Don’t tell me you were trying to throw me into a pit of fire?”

“What? He was convicted before? Who would want a man like that?”

“That’s right! How can Mrs. Zhang do that? Moreover, it’s marriage and financial fraud. I daresay he must have targeted Yan because her newly-opened ramen restaurant business is booming.”

“That’s too scary! The potential suitor Mrs. Zhang introduced to someone else previously had a history of domestic violence; this time around, it’s marriage and financial fraud! What are her intentions?”

“So, this is her true colors. No wonder her children have not returned home to visit her in so many years. They’re probably afraid that she would cause trouble for them.”

“Y-You all!” Mrs. Zhang was shocked to hear Yan revealing so many dirty facts about Li Sihan. Honestly, she did not know much about his past; she only knew that he had committed a crime in the past. However, she believed that all men were like that. How many of them were not scoundrels of some sort? It was fine if they had a few troubles in their past. Besides, nobody was interested in Yan anyway. She was simply being helpful by bridging a connection between them.

“As to whether what I said is the truth or not, you can verify it by yourselves if you are interested.”

They were only here for the gossip; none of them were bothered to ascertain the truth anyway. However, looking at the calm and serious expression on Yan’s face as she spoke, most of them more or less believed her words. The rest were probably waiting to see how the situation unraveled—just for the fun of it.

“I’ve said my piece; I hope Mrs. Zhang will not make any more slanderous claims toward me in the future. Otherwise, I will take you to court for defamation, even if we have been neighbors for years.”

Luo Huimei echoed her. “We will sue you!”

They had a fierce aura around them, making them seem imposing. The crowd stood around watching as these two women displayed their ferocious energy, while the two men stood behind them calmly—they looked as immovable as a mountain. They thought in their hearts, The women in the Zhou Family are not to be trifled with.

Thus, the entire farce was resolved. With this, there was no way for bad rumors to spread around wildly. Even if somebody decided to gossip about it, they still had to mention the ending, and it was enough if everyone knew how it ended.

Han Qing watched the young lady’s back as a slight smile appeared in his eyes. He thought that she would be terrified or cower in fear after what happened last night, but she managed to resolve the issue without him lifting a finger. While he was pondering over it, the young lady glanced at him suddenly. Her current expression was in stark contrast with the aggressive look she had while facing down the neighbors just moments ago. Now, she looked docile and slightly nervous as if she wanted to be praised, but was afraid of getting scolded instead. The changes in her expression were seamless.

After the matter was settled, the Zhou couple invited him upstairs and served him some tea. Yan sat to the side. At first, she intended to recount the entire story to her parents, but with him around, her speech was intermittently broken—like a cassette tape. Seeing how useless her daughter became in front of her crush, Luo Huimei felt immensely exasperated and slapped her on her head. “Speak properly; why are you stuttering?”

Yan took the slap, her eyes watering from the pain. Then, she endured it quietly as she glared at her mother resentfully.

“So useless.”

Looking at her pitiful appearance, Han Qing felt a pang of pain for her in his heart. However, he could do nothing in front of her parents. Thus, he pursed his lips and decided to speak, “Uncle Zhou, Aunt Zhou, the events that occurred last night may be difficult for a girl to talk about. I believe it is quite normal to be hesitant when talking about it; I hope you will forgive her for it.”

Luo Huimei couldn’t help arching her brows at his words, then she gave him another once over. Not bad. He even felt bad for Yan and wanted to protect her even though her mother was the one that hit her. A man who knew how to protect his woman was rare, let alone one with his looks and temperament. Although Luo Huimei had been embroiled in the quarrel downstairs, she had quietly observed him. This man is not too bad; he seems very reliable.

“Please let me recount the events that occurred last night on her behalf.” Then, he began to talk about it. When he reached the point where Yan had been humiliated, he paused and glanced over at her before he lightly glossed over the event in a single sentence, trying not to reopen her wounds. Therefore, Luo Huimei’s evaluation of him increased by several points again.

This man clearly knows how to empathize with Yan’s emotions. Some people might provide a detailed explanation and exaggerate how tragic and terrifying the event was in an attempt to make themselves look good. However, that was equivalent to asking her to relive the incident all over again. On the other hand, Han Qing had dealt with it so well that Yan barely remembered anything from the incident. When he finished retelling the story, Luo Huimei rated him in her heart—he was caring, observant, organized, logical, aware of his priorities, and most importantly, patient.

He was completely unlike Yan’s father, who nearly broke the table in anger after listening to the story. He was gritting his teeth by the time the story was done. “That damn b*stard! It’s too light to let him off with a simple beating! Where is he right now? I’m going to cripple him!”

“That’s enough from you. Look at how exaggerated Mrs. Zhang was acting; I don’t think that Li guy got off with light injuries.” And, all of this was probably the work of Han Qing.

Luo Huimei glanced at him, then frowned suddenly. This man seemed like the calm and down-to-earth type; she simply couldn’t imagine that he could beat a man half-to-death. Hopefully, it was a moment of fury on behalf of her daughter, and not a tendency toward violence.

Right at this moment, both mother-and-daughter seemed to have the same thought. As if Yan was aware of what her mother was thinking about, she clarified, “Mom, he’s not that kind of person under normal circumstances. He just has a deep hatred for these kinds of things. If Dad had been there, he would have severely injured Li Sihan too.”

Luo Huimei was speechless. This d*mn brat; I’ve yet to determine what her relationship with this guy is, but she’s already protecting him! Moreover, she’s using her father as a comparison. What kind of lousy comparison is that?