Wang Qiya knew that trying to persuade Wong Qifu with the idea that "Xu Ke will hold you back" was an impossible task.

Back when Wang Qiya felt like a complete waste for being unable to help Wong Qifu, who was working so hard to manage the group...

Wong Qifu hadn't given up on her.

So now, with Wong Qifu having achieved so much, it was even less likely that she would be swayed by such an argument.

Therefore, Wang Qiya took a different approach.

Reverse psychology! I'm not thinking about you. I'm thinking about Xu Ke. You can't possibly not consider him, can you?!

Wang Qiya was brimming with confidence. This line of reasoning would definitely shake Wong Qifu.

Moreover, this conclusion was genuinely reached from Xu Ke's perspective. Although she disliked Xu Ke, that didn't stop her from using this angle.

After a moment of silence, Wong Qifu sighed slowly. "You've grown up."

"I think so too." Wang Qiya nodded.

She felt a surge of pride. It seems I've actually managed to persuade my sister.

"But you're still a bit naive. Go back to your studies," Wong Qifu said, her tone shifting abruptly.

The budding pride on Wang Qiya's face froze. "Why?"

"Do you know why I told you to come straight to the hospital after getting off the plane?" Wong Qifu asked, ignoring her question.

"Why?"

Wang Qiya was also puzzled. She had gone straight to the company to find Wong Qifu after her flight landed, only to be told to meet at the hospital.

Then, she was made to stand there and observe the unconscious Xu Ke for half an hour. That half-hour was the most agonizing moment of her life.

"Do you know how serious his injuries are?" Wong Qifu asked.

"How serious?" Wang Qiya frowned, recalling the scene. "They seemed quite severe. His entire body was wrapped in bandages, his face was covered with gauze, and he looked incredibly pale. Didn't the report say he lost a lot of blood?"

"Then do you know how he got those injuries?"

"Wasn't it from a duel?" Wang Qiya had asked around about this.

After all, right after she landed, she had learned the good news that the Wang Family had killed the Huang Family's vassal in a deathmatch. But she still didn't think much of it.

So what if Xu Ke can fight? When it comes to fighting, can't Uncle Wu? Can't Aunt Lin? Besides, isn't Wong Ting a better fighter than Xu Ke? When Wong Ting comes to duel, won't Xu Ke face certain death?

"Yes," Wong Qifu nodded. "Then do you know why he fought in the duel?"

This time, she didn't wait for Wang Qiya to answer, continuing on her own.

"Because he got engaged to me, he caught the attention of the Huang Family. As a result, he was kidnapped to be used as leverage against me."

"What?" Wang Qiya's expression changed. She truly did not know about this.

"Xu Ke was tied up, slapped in front of a large crowd, and had his leg broken," Wong Qifu recalled, her expression flat, but her eyes held an unmistakable murderous intent.

"What?" Wang Qiya's eyes widened. That sounded excruciating.

And deeply humiliating.

"The Huang Family and the Ye Family used Xu Ke to make demands—they wanted land, the port..."

Wang Qiya pressed, "That much?!" She never imagined that the potential dangers she had just used to argue against the marriage had already come to pass.

"A lot?" Wong Qifu gave a faint smile. "Perhaps it was. I didn't hear clearly what they wanted at the time, because I was already in complete disarray."

That night, Wong Qifu had not been calm. She couldn't have been.

"Did you agree?" Wang Qiya fell silent for a moment.

She could imagine her sister's pain. No matter how ordinary Xu Ke was, he was still the one her sister loved. No one could remain calm while watching the person they care for being humiliated and brutalized.

"I agreed," Wong Qifu nodded.

Wang Qiya sighed inwardly. As expected. Their marriage is just a mutual burden. Wong Qifu led Xu Ke to a dead end, and in turn, Xu Ke became her greatest liability.

"Then isn't our Wang Family in a very weak position now?" Wang Qiya asked. Making such a sacrifice was like cutting off a piece of their own flesh.

But to her surprise, Wong Qifu shook her head. "The Wang Family is no different than before."

"What?" Wang Qiya was stunned. "Didn't you agree?"

"We didn't give them anything."

Wang Qiya was astonished. "You didn't give it?"

"To be precise, Xu Ke was the one who didn't let me."

"Him?" Wang Qiya found it hard to believe. What right did he have to make that decision?

"Because he killed himself," Wong Qifu said slowly.

Wang Qiya's expression went blank.

Killed himself?!

Wong Qifu didn't continue, lost in thought as she recalled the events.

After a long moment, Wang Qiya stammered, "What... what did you say?"

"He killed himself?!"

"Impossible!"

Wang Qiya's voice rose with each word, the last one nearly loud enough to tear the roof off.

"That must have been his method," Wong Qifu said. "A way to eliminate my supposed burden so I wouldn't have to compromise."

"But... but..." Wang Qiya was too shocked to speak.

He committed suicide to get my sister out of her predicament?! That sounds like something out of a fairy tale.

Just then, Wang Qiya's short-circuited brain finally cleared, and she seized on a key point. But Xu Ke is still alive! He's not dead at all! He must have faked his death to win your trust. Right now, he's alive and well—he even fought in a duel and killed a powerful vassal... That's not the behavior of some weakling who'd let himself get kidnapped. He used a faked death to manipulate my sister's sympathy!

"Is that so?" Wong Qifu smiled. "Even if he did fake his death, don't you think it's impressive that he could maintain that state with a knife through his heart, allowing our Wang Family to capture Ye Chen of the Ye Family and Huang Qi of the Huang Family in the process?"

Wang Qiya was stunned.

Catching the young masters of two major families in one fell swoop?

That did sound incredibly formidable. Suddenly, her image of Xu Ke shifted to that of a cunning, shrewd manipulator.

"Then... then why did he fight in a duel? And why was he so badly injured?" Wang Qiya's mind was a complete mess.

As a normal person, she couldn't make sense of this series of events.

"He told me," Wong Qifu sighed softly. "He wanted to protect me."

"I told him that I didn't need his protection."

"But he also said that he knows I don't need it. He just... wants to."

"So, even though he knew he couldn't beat Ouyang Shuang, that his raw power wasn't enough to withstand even a single one of her full-force attacks... he went anyway."

"Perhaps this was his way of trying to prove to me that he isn't my burden."

"But my safe harbor."

As Wong Qifu finished speaking, Wang Qiya's expression shifted dramatically.

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