Jo Ann remembered her mother's voice and suddenly slapped herself in frustration.
How could she forget her mother's advice? She'd almost given up her precious life for the scumbag.
If her mother knew what had happened to her, she wondered how heartbroken she would be.
As if waking from a dream, Qiao An finally understood.
Her life was her own.
There was no need to feel aggrieved, to accommodate.
Because she had come to cherish her life, Qiao An had become incredibly brave and strong.
While Li Xiaoran was operating on the critically injured, she remembered his advice. She lifted the blanket and slowly tried to get out of bed.
She had to get better quickly. She couldn't let her distant parents know that she was having a hard time.
She fell many times, but got up bravely. Slowly, she was able to walk a short distance against the wall.
Qiao An was happy. Thinking about how soon she'd be healthy again, she had a lot of grand plans in mind. But all of them had been crushed by what she saw on a TV screen.
On the television, a reporter was holding a microphone and interviewing the big star, Wei Xin.
"Miss Wei, you didn't wear a ring before. Today, I realized that you have a ring on your index finger. A ring on your index finger means you're in love. So, you have a boyfriend, right?"
Wei raised her left hand. The pink diamond ring on her index finger sparkled.
Qiao An found the style of the ring inexplicably familiar. In the end, she looked down at the ring on her ring finger and realized that the style of this ring was identical to the one Wei Xin was wearing on her index finger.
The only difference was that her wedding ring had a tiny diamond, but the diamond on Wei Xin's ring was extremely large. It couldn't be less than ten carats.
Wei Xin smiled happily but pretended to be nonchalant. "I like this ring very much. It's one of Whisper Jewelry's Carefree series. The specialty of the Carefree series is that it's buy one get one free. If you buy the real thing, they will even give you a mini gift very generously."
Qiao An's face paled.
A wedding ring from the Carefree series could only be bought with one ID card. And this one was a heart-shaped diamond wrapped in Carefree Flower. The symbolism behind the ring was to protect one's love.
The wedding ring that she was once so proud of was actually just an outdated item that Wei Xin did not want.
Li Zecheng actually fobbed her off with a free gift. It could be seen that from the moment they got married, his heart had been with Camp Wei.
She smirked.
"Li Zecheng, you're so good to me." Qiao An pulled the wedding ring out of her ring finger and held it tightly in her palm.
The indentation caused by the ring still remained on the slender, well-proportioned ring finger.
Qiao An crazily wanted to divorce Li Zecheng and take revenge on him for lying to her.
Qiao An was very depressed when she thought about how there had been no progress in investigating Li Zecheng's affair and how Li Zecheng had restrained her.
She had to think of a way to turn passivity into action.
Humbly and studiously, she opened Baidu and typed in the search bar: How did you discover that your husband was cheating?
The answers varied.
For example, if one installed a surveillance camera in the scumbag's car, she might discover the scene of him having sex with his lover in the car.
Another would do a GPS trace on the scumbag's phone and know his whereabouts.
Yet another had deliberately shown off her love for the scumbag and turned the husband against his mistress.
… .
Qiao An slowly digested this.
In the evening, Li Zecheng came to visit Qiao An with a bouquet of flowers after work.
When Qiao An saw the flowers, she turned to look out the window. The flower farmers downstairs sold many flowers. Li Zecheng's flowers were identical to those sold by the flower farmers.
Qiao An's lips curved into a sardonic smile.
Li Zecheng placed the flowers in a vase and said gently, "An'an, I know you like roses and specially bought them for you. This way, your ward will be more lively and you'll feel better."
"Thank you." Qiao Ansheng thanked him politely.
Li Zecheng froze. He was not used to Qiao An being so unfamiliar with him.
He went to her and found her staring blankly out of the window. He followed her gaze and saw the roses on the float. Shame flashed in his eyes.
"An'an, I'm sorry. I was really too busy today, so I could only buy you a bouquet of flowers downstairs at the last minute," he explained in a panic.
Qiao An lifted the wedding ring and held it in front of his eyes.
"CEO Li is indeed very busy, so much so that he has to use a free gift that no one else wants." She threw the wedding ring at him.
Li Zecheng's face was ashen. He explained palely, "An'an, listen to me. I really chose the wedding ring carefully. I just accidentally lost the original. At that time, the wedding was imminent and there was no time to prepare a second wedding ring. I could only make do with the gift. An'an, I didn't mean to give you the free gift."
Qiao An looked at him indifferently and said sarcastically, "Lost it? But why did I see Wei Xin wearing the original wedding ring on her hand yesterday? Hubby, explain to me why this wedding ring was lost to Wei Xin?"
Li Zecheng's face alternated between green and white.
He held the wedding ring. The rice-sized diamond actually made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"An'an, Wei Xin must have happened to pick up the ring I lost. Don't worry, I'll ask her for the wedding ring that should have belonged to you." Li Zecheng made up his mind.
After the argument, the atmosphere between the two of them was a little tense. Li Zecheng paced back and forth in the ward distractedly.
Finally, he mustered her courage and asked Qiao An, "An'an, how's your recovery?"
Qiao An knew what he was thinking. He couldn't wait for her to get out of the hospital and become a birthing tool for him so he could take the child's shares.
Despicable!
Qiao An said, "Didn't you see it?"
Li Zecheng was always in a hurry and didn't pay attention to Qiao An's body. When Qiao An asked, he was just confused.
"Can you walk on the ground?" he asked.
Qiao An shook her head. "I'm weak and dizzy. How would I dare tread the ground?"
Li Zecheng was blinded by greed and said resentfully, "An'an, patients will feel light-headed after lying down for a long time. You still have to walk when you have time. This way, your body will recover faster."
Qiao An glared at him. "Why don't you help me walk while you're here today?" she asked teasingly.
After asking this question, she regretted it. She hated Li Zecheng touching her now. If he really agreed, she would not be happy.
Li Zecheng looked at his watch and said anxiously, "Not today, An'an. I still have something on today. Can we do it another day?"
Qiao An breathed a silent sigh of relief.
"Okay."
After Li Zecheng left, Qiao An texted Loco.
"Tonight, Li Zecheng might meet Wei Xin."
Loco replied, "Then wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to catch them in the act? Unfortunately, you're a patient now."
Scowling, indignant, Qiao An said, "Why don't you go in my stead?"
"No problem."
Li Zecheng left the hospital and immediately went to Wei Xin's residence—a large apartment in the Riverside Mansion.