Chapter 223 - 4.49

Xu Jiaqi and Tang Yizhou settled into their new home right after the conversation they had, and the fact that they were now engaged was later broadcasted to their close acquaintances at all. Not much knew about their love, as it was enough that only the two of them knew about it.

Tang Yizhou was tortured by the fact that he had to leave Xu Jiaqi behind every single day to go to work because the woman would always kick him out of the house and tell him to manage his company. Even though he was reluctant, he went through with his promises and worked hard at the company. The thought of coming back home to see Xu Jiaqi nested in their private house made him excited and gave him extra motivation to work.

Naturally, this gave a boost to his productivity, bringing his coworkers to wonder what had caused the originally already workaholic boss to escalate even further and reach taller heights. They noticed that the boss' mood also improved, and couldn't believe their eyes at some moments where they spotted him smiling while looking at his phone.

Of course, the one he was contacting through his mobile phone was no one else but Xu Jiaqi, his fiance.

The recent days had been very happy for him. The sole reason for his distress was the temporary separation from Xu Jiaqi, but compared to before they got engaged, the time they could spend together had actually skyrocketed. Xu Jiaqi even came to see him at the office from time to time, coming through from the private routes to not get discovered by many except for the ones Tang Yizhou trusted.

The other reason was obviously regarding the Zhao family. Xu Jiaqi had asked him to suddenly stop his help and freeze the plan for the time being, to which he complied to but was still a bit dissatisfied by the order.

His beloved wanted to prolong the court dealings, but for what? Why was she trying to stall time, when it would give the Zhao family extra days of happiness? He had ordered his own men to keep an eye on the Zhao family, and even after receiving a formal letter, they didn't have a severe reaction and thought very little of his fiance's summons.

The Zhao family indeed didn't think much of the case. That was, except for a certain person.

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"I don't believe this! Why does she get to-" Zhao Xinran gripped tightly at her own hair, throwing things like pillows down to glass vases across her room and creating a loud sound that was overheard by even her parents. "I'm so fucking pissed. That bitch, she should just die and burn in hell! Why did she come back like this? So fucking annoying!"

Her room was soundproof, so there was no way that her screams would be heard from the outside. She requested her room to be like this with the pretense of wanting to practice music instrument.

The Zhao couple, who originally already had a complex against the multitalented Xu couple and even their daughter, agreed without much thought and gave Zhao Xinran her secluded space, which allowed the woman to scheme to no end in her own time without being seen or heard by a single soul.

She had her own room, which she always locked and never allowed anybody else to enter. Through constructing a believable background story, she was able to dissuade anybody from ever entering the room.

It was where she laid out all of her plans, acting like the mastermind that she was and letting herself go out of control. Relieving herself of all the pretenses and facing her true self.

In the Zhao family's living room, there was a letter that cleverly dictated their court case, and how Xu Jiaqi- the girl that they had manipulated for all these years was on the opposite side, the one who tried to convict them.

The actions that they did might not be considered a heavy crime if it was just viewed from the surface, but Zhao Xinran thought differently. Xu Jiaqi's tone had completely changed, making a one hundred and eighty degree turn.

She was so confident, and was even successful. She had a lot of money, seeing as to how she was able to spend countless amounts on stream and boast about her lavish lifestyle.

"That pretentious bitch. Does she think that I'm easy?!" Zhao Xinran screamed. "Xu Jiaqi, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you so fucking much! Die!"

She kept on ranting, and ranting. Spiralling into a small fit of madness since it was her 'locked room'. The moment she came out of this room, she would revert back to her controlled facade.

In a sense, Zhao Xinran was a psychopath that hid under people's sight.

"My parents.. they're being too unreasonable. I know that even if I tell them, they won't listen to me! Those stupid bastards.." Zhao Xinran bit her thumb nail as she cursed multiple times, stabbing a pen into the table she was sitting by and creating a dent.

Zhao Xinran knew that her parents have certainly gotten cocky, to the point where they were near delusional. There was a reason why they never got successful on their own and only managed to taste a slight sense of glory after reaping off the profits of the dead Xu couple.

Unlike those two, Zhao Xinran was someone who was capable of thinking further and orchestrating her every movement. She was an actor through and through, wearing her facade at every single moment of her life and only showing the true, ugly side of her to herself when she was alone.

Her parents were not even aware of the face she constructed. They also thought that the Zhao Xinran shown to the public was more or less the true side of their daughter.

Zhao Xinran broke into tears. Not out of sadness, but out of pure anger.

The woman's facade has let her to truly become deranged on the inside, no matter how perfect she seemed on the outside. When she let herself go, she would go into fits and tantrums as there was no one for her to bother over.

Her expression crumpled up, and she bit her lip so hard that the skin almost broke and let blood seep out of the wound.

"I won't accept this. I won't stay still. I definitely won't. That bitch must be feeling confident and thinks that.. she will win the case. I don't know how she managed to get supportive evidences for her case, but considering her attitude.. She must've gotten it in one way or another." Zhao Xinran wipes off her tears, carefully analyzing the events after she has regained her senses back by just a little bit.

"I already asked Yu Xuan, but he hasn't even told me in detail what he's going to do.. That man is outrageous!" Zhao Xinran was infuriated, but she couldn't offend Yu Xuan as much as she couldn't oppose Song Ziyi.

Yu Xuan indeed thought her as a fragile and gentle lady who deserved ultimate protection, so she concluded that the lack of reports must be due to his consideration towards her, thinking that she might get hurt if he told her the specifics of his plan. That must be why he was keeping her in the dark, but this didn't benefit her at all in this situation.

Yu Xuan was not the brightest person. If he was bright, then he wouldn't have fallen into her trap. Song Ziyi was also naive, foolish, and arrogant. He was a narcissist, and the only reason why he got together with Zhao Xinran was because the woman deliberately played along to his preferences and matched his every rhythm in their interactions.

She led him to think that she was his perfect match, the only one who can understand his entire being. She led him to not be able to think about another woman because she was the best one out of all of them, the one who provided him and his ego with nothing but the best treatment.

Of course, she won't let her empire fall down, especially after she has worked so hard for it up until now. Her parents might be stupid beyond repair, but she was confident that she could save it by her own.

Using her connections, she would destroy Xu Jiaqi.

First of all, she needed a way to convince Yu Xuan to let her get on the plan and influence him on how to deal with Xu Jiaqi. If she didn't do such a thing, she was worried that he might do a dumb thing and ruin her chances even further.

"It's going to be alright.. Xinran, you are the best in the whole world. This is just a small stump that won't get in the way for long.. Right. Just.. remove the stump and burn it into a crisp until it won't be able to return again."

Zhao Xinran laughed maniacally, entranced in her own series of thoughts. "Xu Jiaqi, just you wait.."

"I'm going to destroy you a second time, just like how you originally fell apart in the first place."

One time turned out to be not enough for the girl's demise.

Zhao Xinran was on board with the idea of reenacting the scene that happened years ago.

This time, she would make sure that the girl would be broken forever.