1
"Now you understand?"
Qi Min glared coldly at Qin Guan's deceptively honest, rational face.
"You deceived me! Lied about your feelings, betrayed my trust! Gave me a fake contract! The real one went to your wife!"
"How do you know mine is fake and hers real?" Qin Guan remained calm, his eyes unreadable as bottomless pools.
Qi Min faltered momentarily – had she misjudged him?
No.
She'd never doubted him before. Two years of intimacy, though his post-bed indifference repeatedly disappointed her. Surely even he retained some humanity?
If he couldn't offer marriage, financial compensation was due. Especially since she'd earned it – handling his dirty work, leaking cases, diverting clients.
He knew her value – sharp, capable, the perfect partner. This should've been mutually beneficial.
But overhearing him at the funeral confirmed her contract was forged. After signing, Qin Guan had warned: "Hide this from your boytoy. You're destined for greatness, he'll drag you down."
Trusting him, she'd stored the "contract" in a bank vault. Retrieving it post-funeral revealed the truth – no signatures or fingerprints of hers. Her name and ID number vanished from the document.
Others might miss it, but Qi Min recognized the trick – erasable ink pens Qin Guan had used in evidence tampering cases.
Never imagining he'd weaponize this against her – the woman who sacrificed dignity and morals for him.
The "partnership" never included her. Worse, he'd swindled her life savings – 300,000 yuan earned through years of drudgery and humiliation.
No IOUs, no paper trail. How to reclaim it? Sue a master lawyer? Expose him? His saintly reputation would crush her. Storm his home? His obedient wife would have her arrested.
Trapped.
But Qi Min refused defeat.
2
She plotted silently. Attended work normally, continued their trysts, even coaxed Qin Guan into taking her to the lakeside villa – her designed trap.
Following routine – booking the room, letting him enter first, circling back after dark. Their passion unfolded as usual: grapes fed seductively, bodies entwined.
Everything appeared normal.
She'd taken a pill stolen from Li Yang – expensive imported drugs from his addict circle. "One pill, ten minutes, you'll float like dying," he'd raved.
During their morning intimacy, she excused herself to swallow the drug. Returning, she guided Qin Guan's hands with the stocking around her neck, urging him tighter.
The promised "euphoria" felt like suffocating darkness. Convulsions seized her, foam spewing – certain she'd miscalculated and would die.
3
"Faking death? Clever girl!" Qin Guan sneered. "You sent Li Yang, didn't you? Perfect timing at the hotel."
Indeed, Li Yang was her pawn – but not against Qin Guan.