Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Great Grievance Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Great Grievance “Second sister, do you have to hit so hard?”

With one side of his face covered, Ding Hao complained as he barked at Ding Ruyi.

He had grown so big and had never been hit by anyone before, Ding Ruyi was the first.

“Third brother, are you okay?”

Ding Ruxin approached with a feigned concern, examining the half of Ding Hao’s face that had been struck.

“I wasn’t even trying to hit you—why the hell did you butt in? You’re asking for it!”

Ding Ruyi retorted with still a show of strength in her voice.

With his arm around Qiao En’s shoulder, Ding Hao roared self-righteously, “En’en is my fiancée. Did I agree to let you hit her? I’m warning you, Ding Ruyi, if you dare disrespect En’en again, I’ll kick you out of the Ding Family immediately.”

Ding Hao stood protectively with Qiao En, while Ding Ruyi ended up looking so wronged that tears started streaming down her face.

“Why should I leave? I also bear the Ding name. What right does she have, just a worn-out shoe that nobody wants!”

Before Ding Ruyi could finish her sentence, Qiao En swung her hand and slapped her across the face.

“Miss Ding, slander is a crime,” she said.

“Well done!”

To everyone’s surprise, Ding Hao clapped in approval. He grasped Qiao En’s hand and checked her fingers one by one.

“En’en, does it hurt? Let me rub it for you.”

Ding Ruyi was so angry she felt like she would explode right there. All three of Qiao En’s slaps had landed on the same side of her face, which was now swollen and red, looking remarkably like Zhu Bajie.

“Big sister, aren’t you going to say something?”

Ding Hao was completely fixated on Qiao En, showing off their affection as if on purpose.

Being the favored one is the most heart-rending.

Ding Ruyi couldn’t stand it. How had it come to this, where she ended up being portrayed as bullying Qiao En when in fact she was the biggest victim today?

She wanted to drag Ding Ruxin into the fray to stand up for justice, but her big sister often stirred things up only to keep her own hands clean when it mattered.

She knew all too well that Ding Hao, as the only male heir of the Ding Family, had a completely different life laid out for him from the moment he was born.

Even though they shared the same blood, their destinies were poles apart. He could misbehave and be whimsical and selfish; he monopolized all of their parents’ love and would eventually inherit all of the Ding Family’s assets.

And what about them? They were merely tools for the Ding Family to exchange for benefits.

They had both reached marriageable age, but without their father’s consent, they weren’t allowed to date at will. Happiness, for them, was an unreachable luxury.

Rebellious by nature, Ding Ruyi harbored resentment due to her parents’ unfair treatment, which over time turned into sarcasm and an increasing dislike for Ding Hao.

Over the years, she had always been at odds with Ding Hao. Caught up in the moment, she couldn’t see the truth, but Ding Ruxin, the clear-headed observer, could see that Ding Ruyi never got the upper hand.

Since it was a thankless task, why bother muddying the waters?

“Second sister, didn’t you say you wanted to buy that bag you liked last time? Let’s go.”

She grabbed Ding Ruyi’s arm, intending to leave.

Ding Ruyi shook her off abruptly, “Big sister, how can you be so spineless?”

Inwardly, Qiao En sneered. Acting ignorant, Ding Ruxin was just playing dumb. How could she be called spineless?

“Third brother, Qiao En, I’m really sorry about today. I’ll go check on my second sister. Once she’s calmer, I’ll bring her to apologize to you,” Ding Ruxin said apologetically, her demeanor sincerely remorseful as she hastily followed in Ding Ruyi’s footsteps.

“Ah, this second sister of mine is just my bane. If only she were as nice to me as my big sister.

Ding Hao let out a sigh.

Qiao En couldn’t tell if he was pretending to be oblivious or if he was genuinely clueless.

But this was the Ding Family’s business, and it had nothing to do with her, so she chose to remain silent.

“Why are you here?”

Qiao En pushed Ding Hao’s hand away, creating some distance between them.

“I had a meeting with a friend to discuss some stuff; I didn’t expect to run into my second sister bullying you. En’en, I’m sorry you had to go through all this trouble because of me,” Ding Hao said, his words dripping with sweet concern.

“I’m fine. After all, I taught her a lesson,” Qiao En replied.

“Good job teaching her,” Ding Hao quickly agreed.

Before he could finish speaking, his phone rang.

Ding Hao took out his phone to glance at it, he didn’t answer, choosing to hang up instead, but the look on his face when he lifted his head to regard Qiao En was slightly unnatural.

“En’en, I’m sorry, but I can’t accompany you shopping today. The person I have an appointment with has arrived; I need to go ahead.”

“Go ahead with your work, I’ve finished shopping. I’ll head home first.”

Ding Hao considerately escorted Qiao En all the way to the mall exit.

Once he hurriedly turned around to head back, Qiao En followed suit and came in.

It wasn’t quite clear why, but she felt that something about Ding Hao was off.

She maintained a distance from Ding Hao, trailing behind him. He walked ahead, talking on the phone without noticing Qiao En following him.

Upon arriving at the dining level, Ding Hao headed straight into a very famous Japanese restaurant.

Qiao En hesitated, struggling with whether or not to follow him in when a waiter suddenly handed her a menu from behind.

“Miss, our new restaurant is celebrating our grand opening, with an 88% discount today. We welcome you to come in and taste our offerings.”

Qiao En hadn’t planned on eating lunch at the restaurant, but when she saw that the new store was right opposite the entrance to the Japanese restaurant, she walked in without hesitation.

“Please choose a seat by the window for me.”

The restaurant had just opened, so there weren’t many customers. The waiter warmly attended to Qiao En, leading her to a corner seat.

The spot was quite secluded, with a pane of glass that allowed her to see everything outside.

She casually ordered a few home-style dishes but didn’t really eat much.

About an hour and a half later, Ding Hao came out of the Japanese restaurant.

Coming out with him was An Kexin.

Qiao En knew that the two of them were acquainted, but what she didn’t know was that the private relationship between Ding Hao and An Kexin was so close.

An Kexin was dressed in a ladylike, apricot-colored traditional Chinese suit dress. She walked while indulging in the ice cream she held, digging into it as she went.

Ding Hao was saying something to her that had her laughing heartily.

Suddenly, his hand reached for An Kexin’s mouth corner, naturally wiping away a dab of cream.

An Kexin didn’t dodge; instead, she tilted her chin up slightly, accepting Ding Hao’s gesture with apparent enjoyment.

It all seemed very natural, but Qiao En was extremely shocked.

Ding Hao was known to be flirtatious, but he wasn’t indiscriminate in love, and certainly, he wasn’t a central air condition.

Yet, his relationship with An Kexin inevitably led to suspicions.

Qiao En’s mind was a tangled mess. All these people she was dealing with, whether Zhou Jin’an or Ding Hao, each one of them was extremely complex.

Only, she had underestimated their complexity.

Before she could gather her thoughts, Ding Hao’s call came through.

Without hesitation, Qiao En pressed the end call button.

Yet Ding Hao called again, and this time, Qiao En answered.

“En’en, have you gone home yet? I’ve just finished up and am coming over to meet you, is that okay?”

It was quiet on the other end of the phone; it seemed like Ding Hao was driving.

“I’m not at home right now.”

Qiao En clenched her phone, trying to make her voice sound as normal as usual.

Zhou Jin’an carried secrets, Ding Hao carried secrets as well, and the existence of these secrets made her feel uneasy.

In that moment, Qiao En wished she had some kind of superpower to vanish from the world of these people in a blink.

“Then where are you? I’ll come pick you up,” Ding Hao asked again.

This time, Qiao En lied. “I’m having dinner with an old classmate; don’t worry about me, I might be late.”

“Well, let me know when you’re done.”

The considerateness of Ding Hao, if met with any other woman, would probably cause happiness and touch.

But Qiao En never felt that way.

She sat in the restaurant for a while longer, having intended to buy a gift for her Qiao mother, but in the end, she didn’t buy anything.

When she returned to the Qiao Family’s house with a heavy heart and pushed open the door, she unexpectedly discovered an unfamiliar woman inside.