"When have I ever acted timidly?!" Xu Ke demanded. How could he just let himself be looked down upon like that?

"Haven't you?" Wang Qifu smiled. "I still remember someone saying there weren't two beds in the house…"

Xu Ke was speechless. "..."

"That doesn't count," Xu Ke denied. "You didn't dare to stay that night either, did you?"

Wang Qifu laughed. "Are you actually daring to talk back to me now?"

"This isn't talking back," Xu Ke said seriously. "I'm just stating facts."

"Oh? Is that so?" Wang Qifu's tone was light, but it quickly took on a dangerous edge. "So you're saying you're stating facts, and I'm the one being unreasonable?"

After she spoke, Xu Ke instinctively wanted to retort, but he immediately sensed something was wrong.

Damn. This is a trap.

"No, no, no, of course not," Xu Ke denied hurriedly. "How could someone as intelligent and graceful as you ever be unreasonable?"

Cold sweat beaded on his neck.

"That's good," Wang Qifu's lips curled into a smirk. "Alright, let's leave it at that. I'm done talking."

"Okay." Xu Ke nodded.

"Get some rest, remember to recover properly, and don't go out causing trouble," Wang Qifu instructed again.

"Okay." Xu Ke nodded again.

"Don't just agree to my face and do something else behind my back, understand?"

Xu Ke hesitated before nodding. "Okay!"

He felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach. Did Wang Qifu really not know he had gone to Dapeng Trading this morning?

Just then, Wang Qifu added lightly, "And you mustn't fool around with other women, you understand?"

Xu Ke, who was just thinking about Dapeng Trading, froze. He quickly replied, "I definitely won't fool around."

When he finished, Wang Qifu frowned. "What's gotten into you?"

Why was his reaction so strange the moment she mentioned other women?

"Nothing's going on!" Xu Ke's expression faltered when he realized Wang Qifu, who had been about to hang up, was now interrogating him.

"Confess," Wang Qifu said flatly, seeing his reaction. She already knew he was hiding something.

Xu Ke bit the bullet. "...It's really nothing."

"Aunt Lin, prepare the car…" Wang Qifu said directly to Lin Qinghua.

Xu Ke caved. "I went out this morning," he said honestly.

"And then?" Wang Qifu let out a laugh of pure exasperation. She knew he wouldn't just lie around obediently, even while injured.

"I went to Tianhai University to pick up my medical license and ran into my teacher. He'd borrowed money from Dapeng Trading, so I lent him some to pay them back."

Xu Ke stated the facts, but he omitted his clash with Yang Dong of Yi Ju, as well as the part about treating Duan Chongfeng.

Hearing this, how could Wang Qifu not see through his little tricks?

"You know that's not what I want to hear," Wang Qifu said coolly.

Xu Ke coughed twice, then forced himself to continue. "I... also happened to kill two people and settled the IOU."

"What else? I seem to recall someone telling me that Boss Duan from Dapeng Trading was returning today," Wang Qifu said. He killed two of their men... getting away from Dapeng wouldn't be that simple.

"Then I helped Duan Chongfeng solve his problem. After that, he started calling me his brother, so the matter ended with everyone happy." Xu Ke tried to bluff his way through with a hearty laugh.

He didn't mention the treatment because Wang Qifu was reluctant to let him practice medicine. Moreover, he deliberately brought up Duan Chongfeng calling him a brother to divert her attention. After all, Dapeng Trading had an impenetrable reputation in Tianhai. News that they were now on good terms with Xu Ke would shock a lot of people.

But Wang Qifu couldn't care less about Xu Ke's relationship with Duan Chongfeng.

She gave an exasperated laugh. "You make your 'happy ending' sound so simple."

"It was alright," Xu Ke chuckled.

Wang Qifu sneered, "If I remember correctly, even Elder Master Zhou of the Zhou Family couldn't solve Duan Chongfeng's problem. And you're telling me you managed to fix it… Did you use that so-called Heaven-Defying Fate Change Technique again!"

"No, no, no, I just used the Minor Resuscitation Needle! It doesn't consume any of my own energy," Xu Ke explained.

Wang Qifu's expression eased slightly. "But did your injuries get worse?" Killing people and then healing someone—his injuries couldn't possibly have improved.

"A little," Xu Ke admitted vaguely.

"You..." Wang Qifu began, annoyed and about to explode.

"I was wrong," Xu Ke admitted instantly.

As long as he admitted his mistake quickly enough, she couldn't blame him!

The words caught in her throat. She let out another exasperated laugh. "You're certainly quick on your feet."

"I do my best," Xu Ke said.

"I'm not complimenting you."

Xu Ke was speechless again. "..."

"Never mind," Wang Qifu sighed. "I'm not forbidding you from going out to save people, but you still need to consider your own health. I know you want to help your teacher, but your life is the most important thing."

"I know," Xu Ke nodded.

"Good." Wang Qifu felt a sense of helplessness. She had repeated these words far too many times. She was normally decisive and domineering. Even when caring for Wang Qiya, she was direct and wouldn't take no for an answer. But with Xu Ke, she found herself repeating the same warnings over and over. It was infuriating.

After a moment of silence, Wang Qifu suddenly thought of something else. "Also…"

"What?"

"This afternoon, I asked if you had gone out. Why did you lie to me?"

Xu Ke stiffened. "Uh... I was just taking a chance, hoping you wouldn't find out."

"You..." Wang Qifu was so angry she was at a loss for words. Finally, she snorted coldly, "If you ever lie to me again, I will make you…"

Cold sweat dripped down Xu Ke's back as he cut her off. "Right, I get it!"

Then, Wang Qifu changed the subject. "Duan Chongfeng didn't give you a hard time at first, did he?"

"No," Xu Ke shook his head. "He already knew I had killed Ouyang Shuang, so he never really intended to fight me."

"That's good. Now go rest and recover properly. You are not allowed to go out tonight."

"Yes," Xu Ke said.

With that, the two ended the call.

Afterward, Xu Ke found a change of clothes and went into the bathroom for a shower. Since Wang Qifu wouldn't let him leave, he had no choice but to abandon the idea. He had other things to do, but it seemed they would have to wait until tomorrow.

「Wang Family Corporation.」

Wang Qifu stared at her phone, falling silent.

"Miss, what's wrong?" Lin Qinghua couldn't help but ask.

Wang Qifu shook her head. "It's nothing. Aunt Lin, please have someone look into the recent activities of Dapeng Trading."

"Of course." Lin Qinghua didn't ask why, simply turning and leaving the office.

After Lin Qinghua left, Wang Qifu sighed deeply and murmured to herself, In the future, you're destined to never live a peaceful life.

「Meanwhile, at the Huang Family residence.」

It had been six days since the life-and-death duel, and Huang Sheng hadn't left the house once during that time.

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