Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 88 - Addicted
Chapter 88: Addicted
The promotional event didn’t wrap up until nearly 9:50 p.m.
Director Guo, in high spirits, handed out red envelopes to everyone for good luck. After the crowd began to disperse, He Qingchi tossed her paper cup into the trash, posed for a few group photos, then pulled out her phone to tell the bodyguard to bring the car around.
She hadn’t touched Weibo since clearing out her account.
Director Guo had already warmed up publicity earlier today, tagging several key cast members on the official production account. As the female lead, He Qingchi also reposted it. When she refreshed the page, she noticed people still talking about her and Duan Jinfan’s old CP rumors.
Duan Jinfan had come to the event, but to avoid gossip, he barely interacted with her beyond a few polite exchanges during fan interactions.
Thinking about it, He Qingchi decided to blame all of that on Wen Shuchen.
Her slender, clean fingers tapped the screen, and she simply turned off the comment function on her post.
Meanwhile, Shu Tongyi’s public reputation had recovered considerably. After months of careful PR work by her team, public opinion had shifted — no one brought up her plastic surgery or rumors about her having a rich sponsor anymore. Instead, the focus was on her “inspirational” comeback story after losing a leg in a car accident.
As He Qingchi scrolled, she even saw people shipping her and Shu Tongyi again, tagging her account with comments like “Take good care of your woman!”
Lifting her gaze toward Shu Tongyi, she asked mildly, “So you’re going for the ‘strong and resilient’ image now?”
Before, no one around Shu Tongyi dared to mention her amputation — her team strictly forbade it. But now that they needed to clean up her reputation, they were using that same story to gain sympathy and rebuild her image.
Shu Tongyi looked at her with a cool, detached expression. Her red lips parted as if to reply—
But just then, a man in a black hat suddenly darted forward while the bodyguards were distracted. He dropped to one knee with a ring box in hand and blurted out, “Miss Shu, I—I’ve been your fan for years!”
The people nearby froze in shock. He Qingchi blinked, momentarily startled, then instantly acted like she didn’t know Shu Tongyi at all. She quietly slipped away.
By the time she glanced back, the overzealous fan was already being dragged off by security.
Outside, the night was dark, and a car idled quietly by the curb.
He Qingchi lifted her skirt slightly as she got in. Instead of heading straight back to the villa, she told the driver to go to the airport to pick someone up.
Wrapped in a soft cotton blanket, she leaned back against the seat, eyes half-closed. Snow blanketed the streets, and though the snowfall had stopped, the car moved slowly. It took nearly forty minutes to reach the airport.
She stepped out but didn’t walk inside, choosing instead to wait from a distance.
After a few minutes, her phone chimed.
She didn’t check it, because Qu Bixin was already striding out, dragging a large suitcase behind her and clicking along in high heels.
“You’re wearing sunglasses at night? Your eyes still not healed?”
That was He Qingchi’s first question — focused entirely on the sunglasses.
Qu Bixin’s delicate face was almost half-covered, but she hooked a finger at the frame and pulled them off.
Under the streetlights, her eyes looked perfectly normal, with a little help from makeup.
“Not bad, right?”
From her tone, she was clearly pleased.
He Qingchi glanced at the oversized red suitcase. Seeing how easily Qu Bixin had been running just now, she couldn’t help but say, “I’ll have the bodyguard put your luggage in the trunk. Where are you staying tonight?”
“The suitcase’s light — I can carry it myself.”
Qu Bixin lifted the waist-high case with one hand, then said breezily, “I left all my clothes and shoes in Japan. Didn’t bring them back.”
“Then what’s in the suitcase?”
At that, Qu Bixin’s expression turned playful. She crooked a finger for He Qingchi to come closer.
“Don’t say I didn’t bring you a present.”
With a grin and a faint dimple, she set the suitcase flat on the ground and flipped it open.
There was a thud — and inside was a dazzling pile of small, colorful square boxes.
He Qingchi’s eyes nearly went blind from the sight. Without a second thought, she shut the suitcase immediately.
“You brought these through customs?”
“Totally above board.”
Qu Bixin said cheerfully, pushing the suitcase toward her. “They’re souvenirs — Japanese specialties.”
‘Specialties,’ huh.
He Qingchi muttered dryly, pushing it back. “You keep them for yourself.”
“Shen Fu doesn’t use this kind of stuff.”
Qu Bixin teased with a carefree laugh, patting He Qingchi on the shoulder. “I’m not going home yet. Tell your bodyguard to give us the car — let’s go for a drive.”
What was supposed to be a quick airport pickup ended with the driver and bodyguard kicked out of the car.
Qu Bixin claimed the driver’s seat.
He Qingchi sighed and gathered her gown as she slid into the passenger side. She had barely fastened her seatbelt when Qu Bixin said, “When I was in Japan, Shen Fu and I tried it once in the car — it was actually pretty good. Your husband’s got all those luxury cars… have you tried it?”
If He Qingchi had been drinking water, she’d have spit it in her face. Narrowing her eyes, she shot her a look. “So you didn’t go to Japan for plastic surgery — you went to study the culture, huh?”
“Aiya, come on — we’re all adults here. This kind of thing is as easy as having a meal, isn’t it?” Qu Bixin deliberately switched to a soft, coquettish tone and even gave He Qingchi a playful wink.
She really had thrown away all pretense of “modesty” she used to brag about.
Seeing how casual she was about the whole thing, He Qingchi frowned slightly and said, “Don’t tell me you’re addicted to Shen Fu… in that way?”
Qu Bixin bit her lip, turning the steering wheel lazily. “I’ve figured it out now. You just can’t invest feelings in a man like him. You can play with his body, sure, but don’t even mention love. In his heart, in his eyes, there’s no room for any woman except that little mute.”
If she’d known things would end up like this, she would’ve drugged him and gotten it over with four years ago.
Then at least she could’ve enjoyed him for four years with her legs crossed — though, honestly, it wasn’t too late now.
“I took nudes of him in Japan,” Qu Bixin said casually.
“……”
“Secretly.”
She added.
He Qingchi jerked her head up, speechless for a moment, then finally managed, “If you were a man and Shen Fu was a woman… you’d be facing a lawsuit for this.”
Drugging someone — that was basically sexual assault.
And taking those kinds of photos to threaten him?
Qu Bixin didn’t care in the least. Her soft, sugary voice curved into a laugh. “If he’s got the guts, he can sue me! I’ll even help him make headlines. Maybe I’ll publish those photos of him without pants — his value would probably skyrocket afterward.”
“……”
He Qingchi gave up arguing. There was no reasoning with this morally twisted, naturally shameless little vixen.
It was a wonder Shen Fu hadn’t lost his mind after the divorce — he never even said a word, no matter how wildly Qu Bixin acted.
Qu Bixin giggled at her expression. “You should learn from me. Go home tonight and secretly snap a few photos of Wen Shuchen. Next time he dares to raise his voice at you, just threaten to post them in the newspaper!”
“Wen Shuchen would never yell at me,” He Qingchi said flatly — and she certainly wouldn’t stoop to doing something that vulgar.
Qu Bixin kept talking anyway. “Shen Fu treated me well those first four years, you know. Bought a house and car in my name with his own money. I grew up drinking Chen Ji Soy Milk, couldn’t kick the habit, so when he took me away from Jiangcheng, he spent a fortune opening a Chen Ji franchise abroad. Four years later, he made sure it spread across every corner of Jiangcheng, just so I could drink fresh soy milk anywhere I went. Tell me — wasn’t he good to me?”
“No matter how well he treated me,” Qu Bixin said coldly, “it doesn’t erase the fact that he forced me into divorce with ten billion. Men’s minds are as deep as the sea — impossible to read. I’ve been burned once, so I know better now. As a woman, you’ve got to stay sharp. Funny thing is, after the divorce, I actually quit drinking Chen Ji soy milk altogether.”
It wasn’t that she couldn’t live without it — but after leaving Jiangcheng, the man who’d once gone to such lengths to preserve that habit for her wasn’t around anymore.
As Qu Bixin rambled on, she completely forgot to turn the wheel.
The moment she finished talking, the car gave a light thud — she’d bumped into a black sedan parked beside them.
It wasn’t a hard hit, but it was enough to make the inside of the car fall dead silent.
Realizing what she’d done, Qu Bixin froze for a second. The driver of the other car was already stepping out.
He Qingchi sat still, clearly stunned as well.
There came a sharp knock on the window — a man in his late twenties, dressed in an expensive suit and a luxury watch worth over three hundred thousand yuan. He looked wealthy. Spotting two beautiful women in the car, his initial anger immediately softened.
Qu Bixin hurriedly rolled the window down and apologized quickly, sincerely offering to take full responsibility before he could even speak.
The man’s gaze swept through the car, then stopped on He Qingchi in the passenger seat. “Miss, if you give me this beauty’s contact info, we can forget about the accident.”
Qu Bixin had actually felt a little guilty at first for scratching someone’s luxury car — but when she heard that sleazy remark, her lips curved into a sharp smile.
“My friend’s contact info? Sorry, but even if you put your entire net worth on the table, you still wouldn’t qualify to have it. Wait here.”
She rolled the window up, pulled out her phone, and sent a text.
Out of the corner of her eye, He Qingchi noticed the man getting impatient and knocking again. She turned her head slightly. “Are you calling the police or someone else?”
“Call the police? Please. What decent-looking girl like us belongs in a place like that?”
Qu Bixin said lightly as her fingers tapped the screen. “I’m calling Shen Fu to handle it.”
At this point, she clearly still treated her ex-husband like her man.
He Qingchi didn’t comment on her love life, only murmured a quiet warning: “You’d better be careful with him.”
A man like Shen Fu — someone who clawed his way up from the very bottom — had a thousand ways to manipulate others. No one took advantage of him for long.
Qu Bixin just laughed, setting her phone down. “He tricked me out of everything I had in those four years — all I’ve got left is this one life. If he wants it too, fine. I’m due for a new one anyway.”
He Qingchi was at a loss for words.
Half an hour later, the two women were still sitting in the car, ignoring the shivering man outside. Through the windshield, they finally saw headlights approaching — a sleek car gliding toward them through the darkness.
And then, Shen Fu’s silent, imposing figure came into view.
He had arrived.
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