Chapter 107

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After walking for about an hour, Wang Tianqi arrived outside the Zhang residence, panting heavily. Her clothes were soaked through with sweat, yet she gave a faint smile. It had all been worth it.

Inside, Zhang Yi and Huang Feifan had only recently returned from the hospital. Zhang Yi went back to his room and spotted Wang Tianqi through the window.

“Huang Jing, come here. Is that Wang Tianqi?” Zhang Yi called.

Huang Feifan was washing her hair at the time. The moment she heard Zhang Yi call for her, she hurriedly dried her hair and rushed back to his room. At present, Huang Feifan was in her female form—a secret known only to her and Zhang Yi.

“What is she trying to do?” Huang Feifan—Huang Jing—stared at Wang Tianqi outside, as well as the enormous bag she was carrying, her mind filling with questions.

“Who knows?” Zhang Yi spread his hands. “Maybe it has something to do with you. Let’s see what she’s up to first.”

Outside the window, Wang Tianqi began taking fragile objects one by one from the huge bag. She was already regretting bringing so many of them. One would have been enough. If only she had checked the contents beforehand.

The item she took out was a crystal ball. Inside it were the three words “I’m sorry,” which Wang Tianqi had made herself. Apart from Wang Tianqi, no one else could have created such a thing.

Seeing what Wang Tianqi had brought out, Zhang Yi was deeply puzzled. “Good heavens, is Wang Tianqi here to apologize to you? She certainly seems to have come prepared to show her sincerity.” He patted Huang Feifan on the head, earning an annoyed roll of the eyes.

“I realized that long ago.” Huang Feifan pointed toward Wang Tianqi. “Look at her clothes. They’re completely soaked with sweat. I know she walked here. If I’m not mistaken, she did it deliberately to prove how sincere she is.”

Zhang Yi scratched his head. “So you’re not planning to forgive her?”

From Huang Feifan’s forceful tone, devoid of emotion, Zhang Yi assumed she had no intention of forgiving Wang Tianqi. He was already waiting for her to prove him wrong.

Huang Feifan smiled, and her smile was beautiful. “Of course I’m going to forgive her. It has been nearly a month since the incident, and Wang Tianqi came to apologize to me of her own accord. I’m very touched. She used to lose her temper at the slightest thing. We could never understand the spoiled temperament of a young lady raised in luxury. But look at her—she has changed quite a lot over the past month.”

She pointed toward Wang Tianqi. Zhang Yi looked at her and realized that she truly did seem different.

The last time he had seen Wang Tianqi, she had been dressed in an extravagant, fashionable style. A month later, she was dressed plainly, almost like a beggar on the street. The arrogance and imperiousness she had once possessed were gone. Where was the bearing of a young heiress now? In its place stood an entirely new Wang Tianqi.

Zhang Yi sighed. “You’ve all grown, though you were the first to do so. Wang Tianqi dealt with her own problems without relying on anyone else. To speak honestly, even if someone changes their flaws for the sake of another person, they need an extraordinary amount of courage. We may never understand where she found that courage, but she had the determination to make that choice.”

Huang Feifan nodded. “That’s true. I really don’t want to see all the effort she has made go to waste. Let me change back into men’s clothes first, then we’ll go out.”

Zhang Yi went to the door and waited. Huang Feifan took quite a while to change. Five minutes later, she emerged in men’s clothing. She no longer looked feminine at all, displaying every characteristic one would expect of a man.

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“Let’s go. Don’t keep her waiting.”

Huang Feifan and Zhang Yi stepped outside. When Wang Tianqi saw them come out, she started forward, but Zhang Yi raised a hand and waved for her to stay where she was until they reached her.

Once they were close, Huang Feifan looked Wang Tianqi up and down. She noticed that Wang Tianqi had lost a great deal of weight over the past month. Her once beautiful, perfectly shaped face had become gaunt and hollow. Huang Feifan felt her heart ache, unable to imagine what Wang Tianqi had gone through during that time.

Both of Wang Tianqi’s hands were trembling. The bag was too heavy, and she had almost no strength left in her arms. The left hand holding the crystal ball shook especially violently.

“You came,” Wang Tianqi said softly.

She did not sit down to rest, and her voice still carried the sound of labored breathing. After only four words, she was already gasping for air.

“Yes. I’ve received your apology. Thank you.”

When Huang Feifan uttered the words “thank you,” Wang Tianqi’s entire body trembled. She had thanked her—did that mean she had finally been forgiven?

Was this still some kind of test? If making you leave was what it took, I would let you do whatever you wanted with me.

“No. This isn’t the apology I imagined. I haven’t done enough. I’m sorry.”

Wang Tianqi bowed to Huang Feifan. Huang Feifan did not understand what was happening. She had already said she forgave her, yet Wang Tianqi seemed not to have heard a word, continuing to mutter to herself.

“I haven’t done enough! What haven’t I done well enough? Please, tell me what I should do!”

Wang Tianqi did not seem like herself. She questioned Huang Feifan like a madwoman.

“I…”

Huang Feifan was startled by Wang Tianqi’s condition. Her dazed, almost deranged appearance also made Zhang Yi realize that something was wrong. He stepped forward and placed himself between the two women, afraid that Wang Tianqi might hurt Huang Feifan again.

When Wang Tianqi saw what he had done, she froze. What did it mean? She took Zhang Yi’s action to mean that forgiveness was possible, but that they still intended to keep their distance from her.

Wang Tianqi’s face turned ashen. She had come prepared to apologize, yet now she could not bring herself to say anything at all.

“Tianqi, calm down first,” Zhang Yi said. “Whatever you have to say, say it properly. Don’t lose your temper.”

He knew Wang Tianqi had changed considerably over the past month and no longer lost her temper at every turn. Even so, her current state made him deeply uneasy—or rather, frightened.

Wang Tianqi cried out hoarsely, “I am perfectly calm! I’m very calm! I understand now. You two agreed beforehand to deceive me, didn’t you? How could I not hear the sincerity in Huang Feifan’s voice?”

There was no light in her eyes. Her terrifying gaze shifted toward Huang Feifan, sending a chill down her spine.

“I don’t owe you anything,” Huang Feifan said. “If you accept my apology, we can still be friends. The choice is yours. But if I find out that you’re only pretending for the sake of your pride, I will never forgive someone like that. Calm yourself down and think things over.”

With that, she took Zhang Yi by the hand and led him back into the house without looking back at Wang Tianqi.

Once they returned to the room, they could hear Wang Tianqi’s laughter. It was filled with sorrow and helplessness. Then the sound faded away. She had probably left.

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Neither of them, nor anyone else, knew that matters would soon become increasingly complicated and spiral further out of control.

“Was that really the right thing to do?” Zhang Yi asked unhappily. “Wang Tianqi was sincere. Your forgiveness sounded far too casual.”

If Huang Feifan had been a little more tactful, perhaps the two of them could have reconciled as before, and things would not have developed in this way.

Still, both Huang Feifan and Wang Tianqi were at fault. If Wang Tianqi had been less suspicious, none of this would have happened.

Huang Feifan let out a helpless sigh. “What she needs now is time to calm down. I’m afraid that anything we do next will only drive us further apart, so I had no choice but to speak that way.”

Zhang Yi patted his head. “We should find a time to go directly to Wang Tianqi’s house and apologize to her. During this past month, we’ve all been busy with our own affairs and neglected everyone else. Look at Senior Brother Xiao Jian—he hasn’t enjoyed a single happy day at Lin Zimo’s house. My own place is already full, but I brought Senior Brother Xiao Jian over to live with me long ago.”

“That’s true. If it were up to me, I’d be willing to do the same. But your mother has already forbidden us from taking in anyone else. I know she’s warm-hearted and likes helping people, but I’m afraid that one day she might lose her temper and throw me out.”

“What? Since when did you start being afraid of my mother? I think she’s quite easy to get along with, and she treats me very well. What are you so afraid of?” Zhang Yi teased.

“You are you, and I am me. If she were my mother…”

At the mention of her own mother, Huang Feifan’s expression darkened and her face turned terribly pale. After that, she fell silent.

Seeing that Huang Feifan was no longer speaking, Zhang Yi immediately tried to comfort her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up. I deserve to die. Punish me however you want.”

The words were clichéd, but they were all he could think of to console her.

Huang Feifan shook her head. “Blame me instead. I was an unfilial daughter. If I had gone back to see Mother sooner, she might not have died.”

Zhang Yi felt bitterly distressed. Fang Lixia had once told him that she had matters to deal with and did not want to involve Huang Feifan. She had intended to surprise Huang Feifan when she returned.

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