Do Not Approach

Chapter 12: Everything has its own nemesis.

Mu Xiaoxiao had grown used to the piercing glare Qin Yi gave. She shrank slightly and retracted her little hand that had reached for the cake.

Fine. If you won't give it, then forget it.

Qin Yi took a deep breath and looked back out the window. The sky remained a suffocating gray, clouds packed thickly together, pressing heavily on her heart.

So many memories fluttered through her mind like stray papers—she wanted to forget, but she simply couldn't.

She thought of her aunt Su Lan holding her as a child, planting kisses on her cheeks, whispering, "Auntie will love you just like your mother. My darling, grow up quickly."

She recalled her father's tearful smile on her 18th birthday. "My precious girl has grown up. Now I can finally give your mother some peace."

And then there was Qin Shuang, shielding her from harm, saying, "Don't cry, Eldest Miss. My whole life has been decided by others, but staying by your side is the only thing I've ever done willingly."

She remembered that rainy night before her 25th birthday, holding a bouquet of roses, on her way to check on her unwell aunt Su Lan—only to overhear heart-wrenching arguments.

"Qin Hailong! You kept me hidden in the shadows my entire life—does my daughter deserve the same fate?

"Why should your other daughter be a noble heiress while mine is treated like a lowly servant?

"I raised another person's child, while my own had to suffer in the countryside. Do you know how many scars Shuang bears because of this? Do you know how much I hate Qin Yi? You don't, because we've never mattered to you!

"If you truly loved my sister, you wouldn't have betrayed her when she was pregnant with Qin Yi!

"Your precious daughter is a curse—a demon that took everything from us. I will never let her take anything more from my daughter!"

The rain soaked her roses that night, and her tears felt colder than ever.

From then on, the blissful world she had known was shattered, revealed to be nothing but a web of lies.

During her darkest days, her cousin Qin Haiyao stood by her side, protecting her like a lifeline. Before leaving, Haiyao gave her a purple origami crane and whispered gently, "Life is a road, full of joy or sorrow, but we must walk it to the end. Promise me, don't give up. Wait for me, guard the Qin family. I'll return when the leaves fall."

"Wait for me, guard the Qin family. I'll return when the leaves fall." It was that promise that kept Qin Yi going. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed a day longer.

Over the years, her father's health deteriorated, and the Qin family gradually fell under Su Lan and Qin Shuang's control. They tried in every way to undermine her, but whenever they clashed, they realized how formidable Qin Yi truly was—ruthless, sharp, and brilliant.

Just as Qin Yi was about to secure control of Nanyang, Su Lan played her trump card. She fabricated news of Haiyao's death, using staged photos to convince Qin Yi through her closest confidants.

The bloody images stabbed her heart like a dagger. With the last person she cherished gone, her health rapidly declined. But even then, she clung to the memory of Haiyao's words: "I will come back." If Haiyao had promised, then she would wait. After all, she had been lied to before. Perhaps this, too, was a deception.

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The tide of depression surged back. Qin Yi's eyes dimmed, her pain overwhelming once more, dragging her into the familiar abyss.