The assistants quietly dragged the unconscious man, covered in blood, out of the VVIP room, one arm draped over each shoulder. Yu Feifei followed them with her head bowed, her body stiff as if she was already bearing the weight of her new leash.
As the door closed and silence fell, only the faint hum of music could be heard from the distant clubroom.
Zhiqing leaned lazily against the back of the velvet couch and crossed her legs. She picked up a napkin and dabbed a faint trace of blood on her sleeve as if it were wine, then threw it on the coffee table.
An'ran walked over to the bar and poured herself another glass, raising an eyebrow at Zhiqing.
"So you're really taking that scheming bimbo under your tent?" Zhiqing asked, her tone a mixture of mild curiosity and contempt.
An'ran smirked slightly and raised the glass to her lips. "Don't always snoop around like a watchdog in my affairs, Zhiqing. Mind your own fire." She turned around, her gaze sharpening. "Like that bastard Chen Wei. Why did he commit suicide, hmm? And how exactly are you involved?"
Zhiqing's expression turned cold. Her eyes lost their sparkle, and the amusement drained from her face.
"How am I supposed to know why he committed suicide?" She replied gruffly. "I even doubt it was suicide."
She exhaled slowly, frustration resonating in her voice. "My reputation is already tarnished because his sister and parents are spreading rumors on the internet. Suddenly I'm the bad guy here."
An'ran's gaze lingered on her for a moment before she asked, "What are you up to?"
Zhiqing looked at her calmly. "To clear my name. And burn hers if I have to."
When An'ran looked at Zhiqing, her confident demeanor faltered and her expression hardened with worry.
"Qingqing," she began in an unusually soft voice, "you… you know this is complicated. You're not just some celebrity. You're the nation's golden actress. If you continue to hesitate, this scandal will spread and damage more than just your reputation."
Her gaze sharpened.
"It will also bring your hidden identity to light… as the princess of the Jiang family."
Zhiqing didn't answer immediately. Her fingers tapped rhythmically and illegibly against the armrest. The dim light drew shadows on her face, making her appear colder and more distant.
An'ran hesitated; the next words were on the tip of her tongue.
"Why don't you go back to your family?"
A heavy silence fell between them.
Then Zhiqing scoffed lightly, not out of amusement, but like someone who had heard a suggestion so ridiculous that it didn't even warrant an insult.
"Go back?" She repeated, slowly turning her head to meet An'ran's gaze. Her voice was calm, but there was steel in it. "And do what? Sit pretty in a mansion, play the piano at charity galas, and wait for my name to be cleared by 'family influence'?"
She leaned forward, her tone growing colder.
"No, An'ran." Zhiqing's voice was firm, piercing through the dull tension in the room. "If I want to clear my name, I will do it with my own hands, not with the shadow of my family protecting me. And you know I don't want to go back."
An'ran's frustration broke through her otherwise composed exterior. She slammed her glass down on the counter.
"Why not? It's not like you've committed a bloody crime!" She snorted. "Your brother made the same mistake too..."
But before An'ran could finish speaking, Zhiqing had already turned on her heel.
The air in the room grew heavier as she walked away, her high heels echoing on the marble floor. She did not look back and did not speak again.
She left the club through the underground car park. The cool night air hit her like ice as she approached her elegant black car. Without hesitation, she slid into the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove off.
Behind her, An'ran ran into the garage, her heels clattering, her heart pounding.
"ZHIQING—!"
Her voice echoed off the concrete walls, rough with helpless rage and fear.
But the car had already disappeared into the night.
As Zhiqing drove, her fingers tightened on the steering wheel, An'ran's words replaying in her head like a broken record.
"Your brother made the same mistake..."
A bitter sneer escaped her lips.
The same mistake?
No, An'ran. It wasn't the same one. You know that. And if you don't know, maybe it's time I said it out loud. Maybe it's time I admitted it… if only to myself.
You already know that I'm the princess of the Jiang family.
What you don't know is that I didn't hide this identity because I wanted to pretend or because I was pursuing a rebellious dream.
I hid it… because I had to.
It all started after I graduated from university.
Before I go any deeper into the subject, maybe I should start at the very beginning.
You see, my family isn't exactly… ordinary. In fact, it's far from it.
Let's start with my moms. Yes, plural. I have two moms. Amazing, isn't it?
They are twins. Identical. Both are beautiful. Both are strong.
And they both married my father.
Don't ask me how that worked out or who married whom first—it just happened that way. My family isn't bound by the usual rules, not when it comes to power… or love. And honestly, it was normal for me.
Strange for others, perhaps. But for me, it was home.
I also have an older brother — six years older, to be precise.
He's brilliant. Cold. A perfect heir.
But in the eyes of the public, we've always been this unwavering family — a dynasty of wealth, elegance, and quiet ruthlessness.
And then there's my cousin Jiang Xu'er.
It is from the side branch.
You know the type.
Always observing. Always calculating.
She hated that I was born into prestige and she wasn't. So she tried to twist everything. She tried to make it look like I didn't deserve what I had. That I was just a spoiled girl taking advantage of the family name.
She thought she could turn my own blood against me.
And maybe… for a moment… she succeeded...
Yes, she succeeded. But how?
Let me tell you.
Like I said, I have two moms. Both of them love me. Fiercely. Just like they love my brother. At my university, people envied us — not just because of the name or the power of our family, but because we were loved by not one, but two moms.
That was something rare, something beautiful, and it made people like Jiang Xu'er sick.
You'd think she was plotting against me, but no, she wasn't just targeting me; she was targeting both my mothers, because she knew that to hurt me, she had to hurt them first.
Everyone knew I had two moms. But nobody knew which of them had given birth to me and my brother.
They never told us. Because it didn't matter to them. Because they were both our moms.
But for someone like Jiang Xu'er, this uncertainty was the perfect crack in the mirror — something she could shake until it broke.
She wanted me to doubt. She wanted me to question everything I had. And more importantly, she wanted one mom to doubt the other.
Twisted, isn't it?