Even after putting on her clothes, Xu Wan's mind was still blank. The antidote that Qiao Chen mentioned was her. He was using her as an antidote.
Xu Wan's pale face gradually turned red. She did not dare to glance at the man beside her. She frantically opened the garage door and ran back to her room.
The butler questioned her after seeing her messy clothes and unkempt hair. Xu Wan felt a burning sense of guilt, as though she were a thief. She blushed and lied that she fell on the way back.
Xu Wan's face was still burning as she lay on her soft bed.
The next day, Xu Wan woke up very early. She rubbed her eyes, put on her clothes, and immediately walked downstairs. She sensed that something was amiss with the unusual mood.
The butler came over and told her about Old Master Qiao's death.
Xu Wan's face turned ghostly pale in an instant. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably, and her legs felt weak. A wave of grief stifled her heart, causing her eyes to turn red.
There were three young masters in the Qiao family. The eldest, Qiao Cheng, was 47 years old that year and only had one son, Qiao Jie.
Second Master Qiao, Qiao Shan, was 40 years old that year. His ex-wife's eldest daughter, Qiao Shi, was as old as Xu Wan. His current wife's younger daughter, Qiao Nan, was 15 years old that year. He also had a son, Qiao Xuan, who was 10 years old that year.
Outside the mourning hall, Xu Wan saw that everyone was in black mourning apparel. Master Qiao's and Second Master Qiao's wives gathered together to wipe their tears. A few children were whispering to one another.
The most striking of them all was still Qiao Chen, who was standing at the side silently.
Qiao Chen's facial features were profound and handsome. His air of nobility came with a hint of gloominess. Every time he looked at someone, his gaze was so cold that it could freeze one into icicles. Hence, no one, not even the Qiao family, dared to provoke him.
Xu Wan paced up and down outside for a long time. She did not really dare to go in, but she really wanted to send her Uncle Qiao off one last time.
After a long time, she mustered her courage to walk into the mourning hall.
"Ah, Auntie is here!" Qiao Xuan announced the moment he saw Xu Wan.
Xu Wan had been Qiao Chen's fiancée for a long time. Although some people in the Qiao family didn't acknowledge her identity, Qiao Xuan was still young, so he always called her auntie.
Xu Wan calmed herself down and said in a trembling voice, "I… I want to send Uncle Qiao off."
Qiao Nan saw that Xu Wan did not wear any makeup but was still as beautiful as an angel. Envious, she glared at Xu Wan and mocked, "You're sending grandpa off? Don't you know your own status? Do you seriously think of yourself as Little Uncle's wife? The two of you are not married yet!"
Xu Wan knew that Qiao Nan had always disliked her, so she was not angry. She only lowered her eyebrows and said gently, "Uncle Qiao has nurtured me for years. I can't be ungrateful. I know that I'm not a member of the Qiao family, nor am I deluded enough to think I'm sending Uncle Qiao off as Third Master's wife. I just want to show my sincerity as a member of the younger generation."
"You sound so convincing. You've been freeloading off our family for so many years and even lied to my grandpa, so he'd let you marry my uncle. You're really scheming…" Qiao Nan snorted coldly as she pouted and looked daggers at Xu Wan.
"Qiao Nan! Don't be rude!" Second Master Qiao's wife, Mei Fang, interrupted Qiao Nan. "Why are you talking so much to outsiders? Don't degrade yourself."
When Old Master Qiao was still around, the Qiao family was still wary of him and did not dare to say anything bad about Xu Wan. Now that Old Master Qiao was gone, Xu Wan had no one to rely on. Moreover, Qiao Chen never liked her, so the people around her naturally started to trample on her.
"Tell her to say goodbye to Dad." An ice-cold voice sounded out of the blue. Xu Wan froze on the spot. She looked up and saw Qiao Chen looking at Old Master Qiao's memorial tablet indifferently.
Was he… helping her out?
If not for Qiao Chen's words, Xu Wan might not even be able to stay in the mourning hall on that day.
Did he realize she was the one last night?
Xu Wan raised her doe-like eyes and looked carefully at Qiao Chen, only to realize that Qiao Chen was still his cold and gloomy self. He did not even glance at her.
He probably didn't guess that she was the one. Xu Wan heaved a sigh of relief. Yet somehow, she felt a little disappointed.
Xu Wan raised her head and gazed at Old Master Qiao's memorial tablet. She kneeled on the ground and kowtowed a few times piously. Then, she offered an incense stick. When she thought about how Old Master Qiao would normally care for and dote on her, her heart ached as her tears fell uncontrollably.
"Stop pretending! Who are you crying for?" Qiao Nan said in a mocking tone while tugging at her sister's sleeve. "She must have cried because she felt she was afraid that she would soon be chased out of our house. After raising this useless person for so many years, we can finally chase her away!"
Qiao Shi pursed her lips and smirked. Her cold and harsh gaze swept across Xu Wan as a trace of jealousy flashed past her eyes.
Xu Wan, this vixen, was finally going to get the hell out of the Qiao family. All these years, despite Qiao Shi being the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, her status was still not as high as Xu Wan's in Old Master Qiao's eyes. If not for Xu Wan, she would have been the precious granddaughter of Old Master Qiao!
As long as Xu Wan was around, Qiao Shi, who would have been considered charming, suddenly seemed like an average-looking, philistine woman. This stood in sharp contrast to Xu Wan's refined temperament.
After Xu Wan finally leaves, Brother Han would probably set his gaze upon her again… When she thought about this, Qiao Shi looked at Xu Wan with more contempt. She wished she could immediately chase Xu Wan out.
As Qiao Chen looked at Xu Wan, who was crying in despair, his icy gaze flickered slightly. Old Master Qiao was not wrong about her. This woman was not heartless.
Old Master Qiao was sent into the car. After cremation, his ashes were placed in the Qiao family's ancestral hall. In front of the ancestral hall, Qiao Cheng called everyone in the family over and said in a low voice, "Before Dad passed away, he made a will. We brothers are to split the inheritance evenly. The small district in the east of the city center, New Village, will be given to the third brother. However, this district was left for him as a betrothal gift."
When Qiao Cheng said the last sentence, his tone trembled slightly, despite his expression remaining calm.
That district was in the most bustling part of the city center. There were thousands of housing units in that district, and they were worth billions. Furthermore, with the increase in population density and rapid economic growth in the capital, the value of those properties would only keep increasing.
Old Master Qiao even left the thickest piece of meat for an outsider like Xu Wan! Just thinking about it made Qiao Cheng's heart ache.
A betrothal gift? Xu Wan, who initially thought that she had nothing to do with the splitting of the Qiao family's assets, was dumbfounded.
In the past decade, the Qiao family had treated her as Qiao Chen's fiancée. Could this betrothal gift be for her?
Xu Wan sat up straight, uneasily. She felt a few menacing and sharp gazes on her.
She did not want any part of the inheritance at all. Old Mr. Qiao was already kind enough to her. He had taken care of her for over ten years. She was already very content. She felt she should not be greedy. Furthermore, she was already in her third year at university. She could find a job to support herself after she graduated.
She did not need such an expensive betrothal gift.
Besides, she did not think that Qiao Chen would marry her willingly after Old Master Qiao passed away.