Shock etched on her face, Zheng Qingqing clutched her swelling cheek and regained her composure, glaring at Qin Yihan with fury, "You dare to have someone hit me?"
Qin Yihan's legs elegantly crossed, a hint of a cold smile on his lips, "Hitting you is to make you understand the rules of the Qin Family."
The man spoke, his long finger lightly pointing at Su Xiaoli, "She is the wife of Qin Yihan, your sister-in-law."
"If you're not respectful enough to your sister-in-law, you deserve to be hit."
The burning pain on her face kindled Zheng Qingqing's anger as she glowered at Qin Yihan, "Bullshit rules!"
"I've been in the Qin Family for so many years and I've never heard of such rules!"
Behind her, Zheng Zihao couldn't help but interject, "Yeah."
"Since when did the Qin Family have such rules?"
"I set them."
The man leaned back, elegantly resting against the bench, his eyes filled with dominance and arrogance, "Don't you know, after Qin Yihan became a vegetable, in the Qin Family, I am the sky."
"If I say this is the rule, then it's the rule."
Having finished speaking, he raised an eyebrow, glancing at the siblings whose faces had turned iron blue, "Any objections?"
Rolling her eyes, Zheng Qingqing responded, "No objections."
"In the absence of the tiger, the monkey is king, who dares to challenge the most legitimate bastard, the second young master of the Qin Family, eh?"
A smirk formed on Qin Yihan's lips as he turned his gaze to Bai Cheng.
Bai Cheng moved with the swiftness of an arrow, raising his hand as if to continue striking, but Zheng Zihao quickly pulled Zheng Qingqing behind him.
The man's face was plastered with a smile, "Zimo, Qingqing is young and ignorant. Please forgive her, an elder should not stoop to the level of the young. Forget about it, shall we?"
"Moreover, tonight is the Qin Family's banquet, and all members of the Qin Family will be present. If you beat her into sickness, it won't be easy to explain to the old man, will it?"
After speaking, he pulled Zheng Qingqing over, "Apologize to your second cousin!"
Relieved, Zheng Qingqing, with reluctance in her voice, began, "Second cousin, I'm sorry!"
Qin Yihan's eyes slightly narrowed, and he glanced over at the young woman who was rubbing her shoulders, "And her."
Challenged, Zheng Qingqing's tone was sharp, "You want me to apologize to this poor and rustic bumpkin!?"
"What does she have? She's just after wealth and status, marrying a man who could die at any time, a walking corpse. Does she deserve my apology?"
Qin Yihan's lips curled up, a trace of coldness in his eyes, "It seems three slaps weren't enough to make you learn your lesson."
No sooner had the man finished speaking than Bai Cheng, moving with swiftness, viciously kicked Zheng Qingqing's leg.
With a "bang," Zheng Qingqing uncontrollably knelt to the ground.
The direction she knelt in just so happened to be facing Su Xiaoli.
The loud sound startled Su Xiaoli, who was trying to work out how to cover up the bloodstains, back to reality.
Raising her head, she saw Zheng Qingqing kneeling down right in front of her.
The woman paused for a moment and then discreetly shifted to the side.
Qin Yihan propped his chin with one hand, a light laugh escaping his lips, "What are you dodging?"
"It's bad luck."
In all seriousness, Su Xiaoli's large, dark eyes conveyed, "In our village, it's very unlucky for older people to bow down to younger ones."
Upon saying this, the young girl moved a couple of steps to the side again, as if she was afraid of being touched by misfortune.
Qin Yihan nearly laughed out loud.
If someone else had made such a comment, he would have thought they were being sarcastic.
But coming from her, it was genuine and adorable in a way that left no room for doubt.
Fury filled Zheng Qingqing's eyes!
Who was bowing to her?
She had simply been knocked down by Bai Cheng!
And now to be deemed bad luck on top of it!
And who was older than her?
Biting her lip, Zheng Qingqing stood up angrily, "You bumpkin, if you don't know how to speak, then shut up!"
"I'm only nineteen, a year younger than you!"
Su Xiaoli surprisedly exclaimed "Ah," then hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
She truly hadn't meant it; it was just that Zheng Qingqing dressed too maturely.
Yet her sincere apology seemed to Zheng Qingqing like a malicious provocation.
Clenching her teeth, Zheng Qingqing raised her hand, wanting to slap her, but Qin Yihan interjected:
"If that slap lands, not only you but your entire family won't need to attend the meeting today."
"You won't get a single penny."
Zheng Qingqing's hand, raised in mid-air, abruptly stopped.
She looked at Qin Yihan with a pale face, "You dare!"
"My mother is the old master's biological daughter!"
"If Qin Yihan is about to die, his assets are the Qin Family's assets, why can't our family get a share!?"
The man looked at Zheng Qingqing, his eyes brimming with the cold of deep winter, "I've said it before."
"In the Qin Family, I am the sky."
"If I say you must apologize, then you must apologize."
Zheng Qingqing's face instantly turned ashen.
She bit her lip and retracted her hand.
Then, with eyes full of anger, she gave Su Xiaoli a glare, "I'm sorry!"
After saying that, she turned to leave.
"Hold on."
Qin Yihan yawned lazily, "An apology is not as simple as saying 'sorry'."
After that, he turned to look at Su Xiaoli, "Do you plan to forgive her?"
Su Xiaoli bit her lip.
After a long while, the young girl took a deep breath, her voice earnest and defiant, "Whether she apologizes or not, I don't care."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zheng Qingqing coldly curled her lip.
Qin Zimo was really making an unnecessary move.
This country bumpkin sure knows her place.
Su Xiaoli paused, "But she has to apologize to my husband."
Zheng Qingqing abruptly raised an eyebrow, "You want me to apologize to Qin Yihan, that half-buried man?"
Su Xiaoli pursed her lips, her voice neither servile nor overbearing, "Miss Zheng, I want to remind you, my husband is just sick and temporarily unable to wake up."
"He is not about to die, nor is half of his body in the grave, and he is definitely not the 'disabled' or 'living dead' you referred to in your words."
"He once brought unparalleled glory to the Qin Family, elevating Qin Group to be among the top ten family enterprises in the world."
"If he is a 'useless person', then you, and your brother, are the useless among the useless."
Having said that, the young girl took another deep breath and looked at Zheng Qingqing with unwavering determination, "Today, you must apologize to my husband."
Zheng Qingqing rolled her eyes, "Even if I apologize, he can't hear it, can he?"
Su Xiaoli took out her phone from her pocket and started the recording feature, "He can hear it, I'll play it for him when I get home tonight."
Zheng Qingqing: "..."
This woman is truly crazy!
She didn't care when she was hit and scolded before.
Yet, the few bad things she said about Qin Yihan, she remembered them all.
And now she wants her to apologize to that 'useless' Qin Yihan through the phone!
Although completely reluctant, Zheng Qingqing also knew she couldn't afford to offend Qin Zimo any longer.
This masked freak holds quite a bit of power in his hands now!
With that thought, she took a deep breath and spoke loudly into Su Xiaoli's phone, "Brother Qin Yihan, I'm sorry."
"I shouldn't have spoken ill of you behind your back, I'm sorry."
After she finished, she glared viciously at Su Xiaoli again and strode away.
"This girl."
Zheng Zihao sighed helplessly, greeted Qin Yihan, and then followed after her.
Soon, only Su Xiaoli and Qin Yihan were left in the corridor.
The petite woman in a pink dress saved the recording seriously and then looked up with a beaming smile at the man, "Thank you so much."
Although she didn't have the slightest fondness for this second young master of the Qin family, if it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have been able to make Zheng Qingqing apologize to her husband so smoothly.
"No need for thanks,"
The man smiled, "Actually, Qin Yihan is already a vegetable."
"Even if someone slanders him to his face, he can't hear it, let alone behind his back."
After saying this, his gaze deepened as he looked steadily at her, "Why must you insist on standing up for him?"
Su Xiaoli bit her lip and lifted her head, "I am his wife."
"If I don't stand up for him, then he truly would be pitiful."