Volume 1, Chapter 19: The Real Master Finally Returns

Su Wanqing had only eaten a simple bowl of noodles for lunch, which had long since digested. Even though she had been hugging the toilet and retching for quite a while, she could only bring up a bit of bitter bile.

Yet, the mere thought of Su Wanning and Xie Yanchen kissing made her stomach churn violently once more, and she couldn't stop dry-heaving into the toilet bowl.

Outside the door, Su Wanning was growing impatient. She pounded on the door and ordered someone to pry the lock open.

Just as Su Wanqing tried to force herself to stand, the acidic nausea surged again, forcing her to squat back down and vomit more bile. She wasn't afraid of confronting Su Wanning and Xie Yanchen—after all, she was still legally married to Xie Yanchen, making their behavior an act of infidelity. It was simply the overwhelming sickness that left her unable to open the door.

With a sharp "click," the lock was forced from the outside. Just as the door was about to swing open, Su Wanqing heard the maid who had led her there rush over. The maid slammed the door shut and, rubbing her hands nervously, said to Su Wanning, "Miss Wanning, I am so sorry. This is my distant relative; she came to visit me today and was about to leave when she was struck by a sudden stomach ache. She didn't mean to eavesdrop. The poor old woman has never seen anything like this and must have been terrified. Please, show some understanding. I will escort her out immediately."

With Xie Yanchen present, Su Wanning didn't want to make too much of a scene. She cast a look of disgust at the maid and the door before letting out a cold snort. "Don't ever bring your relatives to my house again! Clean this bathroom thoroughly later! If I find even a trace of you country folk having used it, you know the consequences!"

The maid nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, thank you, Miss Wanning. I will scrub the bathroom clean; there won't be a single trace left."

Only after Su Wanning and Xie Yanchen had departed did the roiling in Su Wanqing's stomach finally begin to subside. She gathered her strength, flushed the toilet, and stood up. After cupping some water in her hands to rinse her mouth, she finally opened the door and stepped out.

Outside, the maid who had helped her looked at her with sympathetic eyes and whispered, "Are you alright, Miss Wanqing?"

Su Wanqing shook her head. What else could she be? Ever since she saw Xie Yanchen’s social media post, she knew that the relationship between him and Su Wanning was far from clean. It was just that witnessing it with her own eyes had been particularly nauseating. Still, since the maid had helped her, she managed to offer a sincere smile. "Thank you."

The maid waved her hand dismissively. "No need to thank me. After all, you are a lady of the Su family; it was only right for me to help. Besides, I have never agreed with Miss Wanning’s actions, but you know how it is—we servants have no voice, so I could only help you quietly."

As the maid spoke, Su Wanqing felt her face suddenly grow damp. She reached up to touch it, only to realize that the tears she had been holding back for so long were finally falling because of the maid's words.

She hurriedly wiped them away. "I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to..." She didn't know what to say, her words tumbling out in a disorganized, incoherent mess.

The maid pulled a pack of tissues from her apron and handed them to Su Wanqing, saying softly, "It's alright. Stay strong."

These words seemed to give Su Wanqing strength, warming a heart that had grown cold. She looked back at the maid and nodded firmly.

As she was about to get into her car, Su Wanqing called out to the maid who was walking away. "Um... may I know your name?"

The maid, a young girl with two pigtails, turned around and beamed like a flower. "Just call me Xiaolin."

It had been five years since Su Wanqing arrived in Haicheng, and this was the first time she had felt such genuine warmth.

It was past dinner time, and the roads were relatively clear, allowing her to drive home in under forty minutes. Sitting in the car, she checked to make sure no traces of tears remained on her face before preparing to step out.

Just then, her phone chimed. Su Wanning had sent a photo. In it, she stood in the center wearing an obviously expensive dress, arm-in-arm with Xie Yanchen on one side and her mother, Luo Qian, on the other. Luo Qian was holding onto Su Guoxing, and behind them stood a group of Xie family members who had never once shown Su Wanqing a kind face.

Most striking of all was that even though they were posing for a group photo, Xie Yanchen was looking down solely at Su Wanning, his gaze filled with such tenderness and indulgence that it seemed as if she were his entire world.

Before Su Wanqing could even zoom in, Su Wanning recalled the message, coldly claiming she had sent it to the wrong person.

Su Wanqing did not reply. She didn't believe for a second that it was a mistake; it was clearly intentional. Just as she was about to put her phone away, she noticed a new post on Su Wanning's social media. Driven by a strange impulse, she clicked on it.

It was the same photo. In the ten minutes since it had been posted, it had already received numerous likes. A friend commented below, "When is the wedding! I want to be a bridesmaid!"

Su Wanning replied, "Soon, soon. I'll definitely save a spot for you."

Not a single person seemed to remember that Xie Yanchen was already married.

A metallic, bloody taste filled Su Wanqing's mouth; only then did she realize she had bitten her lip until it bled. She exited Su Wanning's profile and opened Xie Yanchen’s. Upon entering, she saw that he had pinned the photo captioned "My Girl" to the top of his feed.

She couldn't help but open the comments, reading the messages from Xie Yanchen's friends:

"Well, the real one is finally back. Xie, you’ve finally gotten what you wanted!"

"Welcome back, sister-in-law! Let’s go for drinks soon!"

"When are you divorcing that woman? I’ll set off fireworks for you both!"

Both Su Wanning’s and Xie Yanchen’s social media feeds were overflowing with a festive, joyous atmosphere.

Su Wanqing’s vision blurred once more. She tilted her head back, took a deep breath, and forced the tears back. Lowering her head, she set Su Wanning’s profile to "Chat Only." Then, she tapped on Xie Yanchen’s avatar and clicked "Delete Contact."

When the confirmation prompt popped up, her finger paused, but she eventually pressed the button with a trembling hand.

Seeing that the familiar name was gone from her friends list, Su Wanqing exhaled. It was fine. Though she hadn't been able to warm his heart over these five years, nor had she ever received a kind look from her father, she still had Xie Kexin. Even with her autism, she was the child in her womb and the treasure of her heart. Furthermore, she possessed enough talent to make up for the regrets others had caused her.

She stepped out of the car and headed toward the elevator, only to unexpectedly run into someone else—Zhu Heguang, Xie Yanchen’s best friend, the very person who had commented about "setting off fireworks" on his post.