Sitting next to the window of his mansion, Qin Chuan inhaled the scent of oak which was mixed in with the aroma of the coffee in his hand. He eyed the unmoving dangling leaves as he sat there like a painted picture, straight and silent. He immediately wondered where the wind was.

  Why would the wind leave the tree?

  "It didn’t," he muttered to himself after he took a sip from his hot coffee. Straightening his back, Qin Chuan eyed the picture frame on top of his table. It was a picture of him and Su Ma. Slowly, his face turned grim. Frowning, Qin Chuan finished his coffee before he stood up to get the frame from the table.

  That woman was a fake, he thought as he held the frame tighter.

  "CRACK"

  Seeing a crack appear across the frame, a snort immediately left his mouth. Tang Lingyun, Su Ma. The names kept on repeating inside his head, like an alarm clock which refused to stop ringing.Still holding the frame, Qin Chuan went to his table to turn his laptop on. He then put the frame in one of the drawers.

  Once again, he stared at the email that came from an anonymous sender. He knew that Lily had sent this mail to remind him that the woman he had been sleeping with was not Bec but the person who had made Bec’s life miserable. A sad smile slithered on his face. The thought of being too stupid to recognise the fact that he had been fooled and used flowed through him, scorching his insides like a hot lava.

  He was so stupid.

  He was a fool to not recognise a snake like Tang Lingyun. He eyed the file that included Qi Xia seeing Su Ma. He immediately wondered why this man would want to ruin his relationship with his children.

  "Relationship." He uttered, dragging the word out of his mouth. Did they really have one? His stupidity had ruined it before it even started. Closing the window, Qin Chuan started working on his computer.

  After a few minutes, a knock on the door interrupted him. "Hey " With her gentle voice and a kind smile plastered on her face, Su Ma walked inside. "It is pretty hot today. Why don’t we turn the— "

  "It’s fine." He interrupted her, his eyes glued to the computer. "I need to finish this before going to the office. Did you have lunch yet?"

  "No." Su Ma shook her head. She immediately wondered if Qin Chuan had noticed her red and puffy eyes.

  "I made some pasta earlier. You should try it out." Qin Chuan said without turning his head towards her.

  "Are you alright? You seemed tired?" She asked, trying to gain his attention.

  "I need to finish everything today. I still have another meeting in a few hours. You should eat and rest."

  "Oh." Su Ma nodded, disappointment flashed in her eyes as she lowered her head. It seems that Qin Chuan had changed a lot as of late. Her mind instantly started running rampant. Was it possible that Lily knew about her real identity?

  That was impossible.

  Even if she did know her true identity, it was obvious that Lily did not care about her father anymore. If she did, she would have done something to reveal the truth to everyone.

  "Can I stay here for a bit?" she asked.

  "Hmmm." He nodded.

  Su Man narrowed her eyes at Qin Chuan before she rose from her seat and got her favorite tea cup as well as some tea for herself. "I went to Hong Kong today." she said. As expected, Qin Chuan instantly froze at her words.

  "Why?" he asked.

  "I went to see Yuanfeng." A sighed left her mouth. "I asked him to see you." His jaw clenched at her words. Seeing this Su Ma continued. "He almost attacked me."

  "Did you see Lily?"

  "No." Su Ma met Qin Chuan’s eyes. "They hate me."

  He said nothing. He stared at her pale face before turning back on his computer.

  "I only wanted him to see you. But he- " She sobbed as she waited for him to comfort her. Qin Chuan’s coldness immediately surprised her. Did she miss something?

  "So you risked your own safety just to try and make me happy." Qin Chuan sighed. His eyes immediately turned gentle. "Drink your tea. It will calm you down." He handed her a tissue.

  "Chuan…… they hate me. Is there something I can do to mend this relationship?"

  "No. Lily and Yuanfeng are two very different people." Two people that he doesn’t really know.

  Now that Qin Chuan thought about it. He didn’t really know a lot of stuff about Lily and Yuanfeng. He knew that the both of them were smart and scheming but aside from that- he knew nothing.

  Not their hobbies nor their favorite food. Now that he thought about it, Qin Chuan could not recollect any memory of him bonding with them. Aside from the lunches that they rarely had with one another, he never actually spent a lot of time with his son and daughter.

  A mocking smile escaped his lips. He could only blame himself— he alone is at fault for his mistakes. However, as he watched Su Ma drink the tea while sobbing , Qin Chuan couldn’t help but put the blame in this woman too.

  She fooled him. Gave him hope, played with his emotions and made him doubt his daughter. This woman— was the reason why his relationship with Lily ended before it even started!

  "Is something wrong?" Su Ma asked. A flash of fear could be seen in her eyes. "Did— something happen?" Su Ma fought the panic inside her as she watched Qin Chuan stare at her as if…… as if…… he was about to kill her. "Chuan?" She gulped before her gaze turned hazy, nausea overtook her senses.

  "What did you do?" she asked as she used the table to support herself. He poisoned her? "Qin Chuan!? What did you— " Slowly, she felt her throat tightened. She could feel her limbs became numb. "Chuan— " she called out desperately for him to help her. It was futile

  However, Qin Chuan’s dead eyes met her pleading ones. Right then and there…… Su Ma knew— she knew she was in trouble……

  Proofreader: Dragon777