Chapter 16 Installments

At four in the morning, Su Jinqi finally crawled into bed and drowsily got a little over an hour of sleep. After waking up, she felt dizzy and her nose was congested—surely a result of cleaning snow earlier. She added an extra layer of clothing and found some cold medicine to take later.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Hui thoughtfully boiled sweet ginger tea for her. When she saw her come in, she hurriedly urged her to drink it.

"This morning I noticed that the snow in the courtyard was all cleared. You did that, didn't you? In such cold weather, I was afraid you'd catch a cold, so I made sweet ginger tea early for you. I'll fill a thermos with it later for you to take to the office."

While working at the counter, Mrs. Hui continued speaking as Su Jinqi was moved to hug her from behind, "Mrs. Hui, you are so good to me."

"Eh? Why is your forehead a bit warm?" Mrs. Hui touched her forehead to Su Jinqi's, "Stop with the slimy talk; you must have caught a cold. Go and drink the sweet ginger tea now."

Su Jinqi obediently drank a large bowl of sweet ginger tea, followed by some porridge, which warmed her stomach. A layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. Before leaving the house, she drank the cold medicine and felt a bit more energetic.

Not long after Su Jinqi had left the house, Li Jinghan also came downstairs.

"Young Master, what porridge would you like for breakfast? I made purple rice porridge this morning," asked Mrs. Hui.

Li Jinghan nodded, "Then I'll have the purple rice porridge."

Shortly after, Mrs. Hui brought breakfast over, placing it on the dining table while muttering, "The temperature has dropped these past few days. You should keep warm, young master. I made a pot of sweet ginger tea this morning. Have some so you don't end up like Qiqi. She looked listless when she got up this morning, and her forehead was hot. She must have caught a cold."

Li Jinghan, focused on his tablet, turned a deaf ear to Mrs. Hui.

Ming Can came in at this point, and upon seeing Mrs. Hui, she asked, "Mrs. Hui, who cleaned the snow in the yard? Uncle Kui's back still hurts, I said I'd come to clear it, didn't I?"

Mrs. Hui feigned ignorance, "Uncle Kui didn't clear any snow; I told him to stay in bed."

"Not Uncle Kui? Then who?" Ming Can was confused.

Li Jinghan set down his tablet on the table and picked up a spoon to start eating porridge, saying irritably, "Entering with such a racket. That snow, I had Su Jinqi clean it."

Ming Can was stunned and exchanged a glance with Mrs. Hui. Both chose to stay wisely silent; one returned to the kitchen, the other quietly sat down.

When Su Jinqi arrived at the General Secretarial Office, her instincts told her today was different; something seemed off. Secretary Jin came out to arrange the day's work, which appeared normal, but when she talked to Secretary Lin beside her, Lin acted as if she hadn't heard and ignored her.

Confused and unaware of how she might have offended her, Su Jinqi rose with documents to go to the print room. As soon as she left, a few secretaries whispered among themselves for a moment then dispersed.

Just like that, during the whole morning, no one spoke to her, and no one responded when she tried to engage in conversation.

She was being ostracized.

Su Jinqi was befuddled and didn't understand why they were doing this. Thinking it over, she felt this must be Jin Shanya's way of getting back at her for the events of yesterday. Everyone in the company knew she liked Li Jinghan, and now she posed a threat to Shanya—at least that's how it seemed to her. How could Shanya just let it slide?

What was this all about? How did it involve her? Su Jinqi felt dreadfully wronged, yet she was like a mute suffering in silence, unable to voice her grievances.

What troubled her even more was the matter of the bride price money. Theirs was merely a contract marriage—how could she accept that 660,000 yuan? It was a debt she had to bear. To Li Jinghan, 660,000 yuan was a drop in the bucket, but to herself, it was an astronomical amount that would take years to repay with her meager earnings from part-time jobs.

The more she thought about it, the more despondent she became, and her headache worsened. Everything was spiraling out of control like a butterfly effect, moving in directions she couldn't rein in.

During the lunch break, while everyone from the secretarial office had gone to eat, Su Jinqi saw that Li Jinghan hadn't come out, so she knocked on his door.

"Mr. Li, are you busy? I have something I'd like to discuss with you," Su Jinqi entered and got straight to the point.

Li Jinghan was seated at his desk, absorbed in the documents, not even lifting his head, he uttered a single word: "Speak."

Su Jinqi placed the A4 paper on the table and pushed it towards him, saying, "This is a promissory note. The bride price money you gave my aunt yesterday—I plan to repay you every month in installments, with interest equal to the bank's. If you have no objections, please sign your name here."

Li Jinghan glanced at the note without picking it up and coldly questioned, "What do you mean?"

"I just think... we have no real connection, so there's no reason for me to accept the so-called bride price you gave. My aunt definitely won't return the money, so I will have to repay it. But I don't have that much money right now, so I thought of paying you back in installments."

Li Jinghan pinched the promissory note with his fingers, glanced over it, and flung it aside, the paper floating gently to the floor. Seeing this, Su Jinqi crouched down to pick it up again.

"Mr. Li, do you disagree?" she asked with furrowed brows.

Li Jinghan continued eyeing the documents and scoffed at her actions, "Don't perform this act in front of me. Wasn't it you who arranged for your aunt to come ask for the bride price?"

"Mr. Li, I did no such thing! Why must you always misunderstand me?" Su Jinqi genuinely couldn't grasp why he always saw her in such a low light.

"Whether you did it or not, you know it best," Li Jinghan looked up, his gaze sharp, "I said before, enough with your tricks in front of me. Do not cross my boundaries! Get out!"

After being humiliated once more, her pride couldn't take it and tears welled up in her eyes. With a choking voice, she said, "Mr. Li, I apologize for what my aunt did. But I'm not the scheming type you think I am. All I have is respect. I just hope you can show me the same!"

Li Jinghan put down the documents, leaned back into his chair, and with arms crossed, he teased her with a cold laugh, "Do you really think I would respect a woman who has repeatedly tried to seduce me by sitting on my lap?"

Li Jinghan's preconceived notions, along with Su Jinrong's added influence, only intensified his unfavorable impressions of her.

"Ah?" Su Jinqi voiced silently, angrily asking, "If you think so poorly of me, why did you choose me for this contract marriage?"

"Su Jinqi!" Li Jinghan furrowed his brows deeply, his voice extremely cold, "Clause 28 of the agreement states that you may not question the man on any accounts."

"What? That clause is in the agreement?"

"Go back and read the agreement carefully, you did sign it after all!" Li Jinghan said impatiently, "Get out! Don't make me say it a third time!"