Chapter 77

The earrings Ji Qingfan gave her contained an active eavesdropping program.

Her phone had a GPS tracker installed, along with other traces of digital intrusion. Even her phone’s camera could be silently turned on by another device to sync and capture images without her knowledge.

Tracing these things wasn’t difficult for Sheng Zhi, but she had simply never thought in this direction—let alone imagined that Ji Qingfan would do something like this.

She rubbed the phone in her hand and thought: This is so perverse.

When was the phone swapped? It seemed to be after the car accident. Her original phone was broken, so Ji Qingfan prepared a new one for her. Later, there was that one time they “accidentally” took each other’s phones.

Wait… what about before the phone swap? If Ji Qingfan was capable of this, there was no way she hadn’t been monitoring her during her time abroad. It’s just that the surveillance had been hidden in the shadows, undiscovered. This behavior likely started much earlier than she could imagine.

Sheng Zhi tapped her finger on the screen twice, then took off the earrings and held them in her palm.

…She felt more than just a little uncomfortable.

All those scattered points she had vaguely sensed before suddenly connected into a clear, straight line. Sheng Zhi put the phone and the earrings away, pursing her lips to suppress the rising unease.

Actually, it wasn’t just “a little.” It was a lot. Extremely uncomfortable.

She respected Ji Qingfan’s possessiveness and understood her insecurity because she loved her deeply, but the extent of what she had discovered was far too much.

However… this should still be something they could talk through. When she got back, they would have a serious conversation. Once everything was out in the open, they could continue being together properly, as long as it didn’t happen again.

But wasn’t Ji Qingfan’s behavior a bit too pathological? Perhaps she should take Ji Qingfan to see a psychologist? But if she brought it up directly, would Ji Qingfan be hurt?

Sheng Zhi pressed her hand against the corner of her eye, her emotions in a mess.

After handling the work in Ning City, she flew straight back to Jingbei. Ji Qingfan came to pick her up. There was no driver; Ji Qingfan was the one driving.

Sheng Zhi clearly felt Ji Qingfan’s gaze lingering on her earlobes much longer than usual.

“Ji Qingfan…” She had just started to speak when she was interrupted.

“Wife, let’s talk about this after we get home, okay?” Ji Qingfan still spoke in that soft, gentle voice, but her smile was strained.

Sheng Zhi hadn’t bothered to hide her tracks when she looked into the surveillance; she wanted Ji Qingfan to know she had found out. Hearing Ji Qingfan’s words, she didn’t object and sat in the passenger seat. “Fine, we’ll talk at home.” It really wasn’t convenient to discuss this on the road.

The atmosphere in the car wasn’t stiff; Sheng Zhi talked to Ji Qingfan just as she usually did. But Ji Qingfan’s fingertips were gripping the steering wheel tighter and tighter.

Sheng Zhi was acting more calmly than she had imagined, which made her incredibly anxious. Does she not want me anymore? Does she want to break up? Her knuckles turned white from the grip. She also realized that the first thing Sheng Zhi had called her wasn’t “Wife,” but “Ji Qingfan.”

Sheng Zhi didn’t look at Ji Qingfan. She kept her eyes on the scenery blurring past the window. This was a matter that needed a serious discussion—she had thought so the moment she stepped off the plane.

But she couldn’t help it; the moment she saw Ji Qingfan, her heart softened. Sheng Zhi rested her chin on her hand and sighed lightly. Forget it, let it be soft. Regardless, they had to communicate.

Catching that sigh, Ji Qingfan panicked even more. If she’s angry, why isn’t she even losing her temper at me? Is she so done with me that she won’t even speak? Is she planning to end it the moment we step through the door? The weight of these guesses made it hard for her to breathe. Will a sincere apology earn forgiveness?

She was so panicked and terrified that the moment they entered the house, she dropped directly to her knees before her.

In her haste, a white jade porcelain vase was knocked over, and a shard sliced through her skin. Beads of blood welled up, but Ji Qingfan didn’t seem to feel it. She simply clutched the hem of Sheng Zhi’s red velvet slip dress, tilted her face up, and let the tears fall. She sobbed, trembling, “I’m sorry. Are you angry? Please don’t throw me away… I can change, I’m sorry…”

Tears slid down her long lashes. Her face was pale, but her lips were bitten a bright red—a picture of misty, translucent fragility.

Sheng Zhi hadn’t expected this at all. Every script she had prepared in the car vanished. She parted her lips, her eyes first landing on the cuts from the porcelain shards. The seeping red was jarring.

“You’re bleeding… get up first.” She reached out anxiously to pull her up.

But seeing this reaction, Ji Qingfan’s tear-filled eyes brightened slightly. She picked up a stray porcelain shard and, so fast that Sheng Zhi couldn’t react, slashed several more lines across her own arm.

Her eyes were bright, like someone grasping a lifesaver, as she stubbornly repeated her question: “Wife, you’re worried about me, right? You don’t ‘not love’ me… you still love me, right?”

The beads of blood turned into lines, dripping down and blooming like crimson flowers on the floor. She cried as she asked, ​unauthorized copy​her shattered gaze nearly fixed on Sheng Zhi. Her grip on the shard was forceful, the sharp edge pressed against her skin as if she would strike again any second.

Sheng Zhi was truly terrified now. She felt as if she were meeting the “real” Ji Qingfan for the first time.

“Yes, I love you…” she whispered carefully, not daring to let her tone become even slightly sharp. “So please, don’t do this, okay?”

As she spoke, she drew closer and added softly, “When you do this, it really hurts my heart. I feel terrible.”

Her words were clearly effective. Ji Qingfan seemed to daze for a moment, but she still asked, “Really? You don’t want to get rid of me? You aren’t thinking of leaving? You didn’t even call me ‘Wife’ earlier…”

Sheng Zhi affirmed, “Really, Wife. I don’t want to get rid of you, and I have no intention of leaving you.”

With the distance closed and Ji Qingfan’s grip loosening, she seized the opportunity to snatch the shard away. The porcelain was too sharp; she was afraid that if she were a second too slow, Ji Qingfan would start cutting again. Because she grabbed it so quickly, she accidentally cut her own hand.

It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt. She couldn’t even imagine how much pain Ji Qingfan was in.

Seeing the wound on Sheng Zhi’s hand, Ji Qingfan seemed to snap back ​bailiantales.com​to reality. “Wife, you’re bleeding, I…”

Sheng Zhi threw the shard aside and hugged her tightly, her voice growing even more gentle. “It’s fine, I’m fine. Just relax.” She held her, coaxing her word by word.

Ji Qingfan hugged her back very tightly. Under her words, she gradually stopped shaking so violently, though she continued to cry. Her hot tears soaked through Sheng Zhi’s soft white shawl.

Sheng Zhi had been wavering before, but now she was certain: she had to take Ji Qingfan to see a psychologist. This was clearly not right. This state… looked like a triggered breakdown.

Thinking this, her tone grew even softer. “Wife, let me help you up so we can treat your wounds, okay?”

“Yes, the wounds…” Ji Qingfan lifted her face, still blurred with tears. “You’re hurt. We have to treat your wound.”

Sheng Zhi’s lips moved as if to say something, but she suppressed it and followed Ji Qingfan’s lead. The most important thing now was to get up and calm her down.

The butler and maids worked here, but Ji Qingfan disliked having others in the house, so they usually stayed in the staff building nearby. Sheng Zhi half-carried Ji Qingfan into the room, messaged the maid to clean up the shards and blood, and called the family doctor.

The doctor arrived quickly and worked efficiently. Ji Qingfan seemed blind to her own injuries, focusing only with heartache on the insignificant [read the original at bailiantales.com]cut on Sheng Zhi’s hand. She was full of self-reproach, self-loathing, and guilt.

“It’s all my fault. I made my wife get hurt.” Her eyelids were still stained a tearful red from the crying.

The tension had been too high; the sudden release left her with a pale, exhausted air. Sheng Zhi looked at the treated wounds on Ji Qingfan’s arms and palms, feeling that her own cut was nothing in comparison. But recalling what had just happened, she still felt a lingering fear. She had no experience with this and was afraid of saying the wrong thing and triggering her further.

She organized her words in her mind. Her hesitation was perhaps too obvious. Ji Qingfan placed her hand very lightly over Sheng Zhi’s, brushing against her fingertips. Leaning against her like a vine, her voice was weak and piteous, her breath falling softly against Sheng Zhi’s neck.

“Wife, be angry if you want, do whatever you want… just don’t throw me away…”

“I never said I wanted to leave you,” Sheng Zhi said, feeling her breath on her skin. “…It must hurt, right?”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. With so many cuts, how could it not hurt? If she had been a second slower in her reply, would Ji Qingfan have gone straight for her wrist?

Hearing the question, Ji Qingfan’s voice suddenly softened. “It hurts…”

Seeing her expression now after the incident, Sheng Zhi almost instantly understood her real thought: the wounds were irrelevant. stolen content If Sheng Zhi felt sorry for her, she would happily cut herself a few more times.

Sheng Zhi felt even worse, tightened by a rising sense of pain. She bit her lip, took Ji Qingfan’s other hand, and pressed it against her own heart. “Don’t hurt yourself anymore, okay? Love yourself a bit more… when you’re like this, I hurt so, so much here too.”

As the words fell, Ji Qingfan’s eyes grew redder, and she immediately said it didn’t hurt anymore. “I will love myself. Wife, don’t hurt, don’t feel bad.” She caressed the spot over her heart and leaned in to kiss her lips.

It’s not like that.

Hearing her say this, Sheng Zhi’s sense of powerlessness deepened. She finally understood what Ji Qingfan meant when she said, “If you love me, then I will love me.”

What could she do…?

She lowered her eyes and kissed her back. The moment they met, Ji Qingfan opened her lips and offered her tongue in a soft, moist invitation. She was much more intense and urgent than usual, her voice and breathing uncontrolled. The tearful red spread to her cheeks, turning into a heart-stopping, seductive allure.

They embraced tightly after the kiss, their intertwined hair like living vines. Their gazes met, and the tenderness in the air was so thick it was almost tangible, beautiful enough that one wouldn’t dare break it.

After hesitating again and again, stolen contentSheng Zhi finally spoke softly: “Let’s go see a psychologist, okay?”