Chapter 17: She Was Blocked

Li Qingqing screamed in terror and threw the rag in her hand away.

Instinctively, she turned to dodge—

Only then did she see clearly that the man behind her was her stepfather—Xie Hongde.

She shrieked and shoved him away with all her strength.

“What are you doing?!” she shouted angrily.

Xie Hongde leered at her with a disgusting expression, his eyes roaming up and down her body. “You made a hundred thousand in just one week. Don’t tell me you earned that working some job. I’m guessing you sold yourself, didn’t you? Since you’ve already been slept with, adding me to the list doesn’t make a difference. I’ve raised you all these years—it’s time you paid me back.”

Li Qingqing’s eyes widened in horror. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Before she could react, Xie Hongde lunged at her again.

She had no time to dodge. He pinned her against the kitchen counter.

He gripped her wrists tightly, making her unable to move. That filthy, greasy face loomed closer and closer.

A revolting stench of stale alcohol filled her nostrils.

In desperation, Li Qingqing tried to knee him in the groin, but Xie Hongde was quick—he dodged just in time.

He used one hand to trap her wrists, and the other to grip her neck, locking her in place.

A wave of suffocation surged over her. She stared helplessly as Xie Hongde’s repulsive mouth moved toward her.

In that critical moment, a flash of inspiration hit her. She suddenly remembered something she had read in a traditional Chinese medicine book—the carotid sinus!

She couldn’t afford to hesitate.

Just as his foul lips were about to touch hers, Li Qingqing used every ounce of strength she had to free her right hand. With two fingers pressed together, she jabbed forcefully at the side of Xie Hongde’s neck.

In an instant, like a balloon losing air, Xie Hongde’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.

Li Qingqing gasped for breath, her entire body trembling. She kicked him away from her and staggered back—only to spot a small figure standing silently at the kitchen door.

It was Xie Ze!

His comic book had fallen to the floor. He was clutching his chest with his right hand, his face flushed red as he struggled to breathe.

Before Li Qingqing could even say a word—

In the next second, Xie Ze collapsed heavily to the ground.

Li Qingqing screamed and rushed over to him, frantically digging out her phone and dialing 120.

She hadn’t expected Xie Ze to witness what had just happened. Seeing him lying on the floor like that, Li Qingqing’s mind went completely blank.

While she waited for the ambulance, Chen Suyun finally returned from grocery shopping.

She stepped inside just in time to see Li Qingqing cradling the unconscious Xie Ze, tears streaming down her face, while Xie Hongde lay motionless on the ground.

Chen Suyun dropped the groceries and rushed over, immediately lashing out at Li Qingqing.

“You little slut! What the hell did you do?! What happened here? Was this your doing?! You cursed jinx, I never should’ve let you come back! Ahhh!”

She screamed and cursed, hitting Li Qingqing wildly with both hands.

Grabbing her hair, she shrieked like a madwoman, demanding that she give her son back.

Li Qingqing didn’t resist.

She let Chen Suyun vent her rage, enduring both the physical pain and the emotional torment.

Maybe… maybe she really shouldn’t have come today.

If she hadn’t come, Xie Ze wouldn’t have seen what just happened…

Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quickly. Ignoring everything else, Chen Suyun helped the paramedics load both Xie Ze and Xie Hongde into the vehicle.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Xie Ze was immediately taken into the emergency room.

As for Xie Hongde, he woke up not long after being admitted. The doctor gave him a brief checkup and determined there was nothing seriously wrong.

Chen Suyun questioned him, demanding to know why he had suddenly passed out like that.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Xie Hongde avoided answering, mumbling vague excuses.

But Chen Suyun didn’t press further—her only concern now was her son.

Li Qingqing saw that Xie Hongde had woken up and wanted to call the police to have him arrested. But seeing that Xie Ze was still in the emergency room, fighting for his life, she held back. Someone had to stay behind to watch over Xie Ze—she couldn’t leave just yet.

Soon, a doctor walked out of the emergency room.

“Where are the family members of Xie Ze?”

Li Qingqing, Chen Suyun, and Xie Hongde all rushed over.

“Doctor, how is my son?” Chen Suyun sobbed, grabbing the doctor’s arm, her face streaked with tears and mucus.

“Xie Ze is currently in critical condition. He needs an immediate artificial heart transplant. If the family agrees, please sign the consent form here.”

The doctor handed the surgical consent form to Chen Suyun.

Artificial heart transplant?

Previously, the doctors had proposed two treatment plans for Xie Ze’s condition. One was to wait for a natural donor, with an estimated total cost of around 500,000 yuan. The other was to proceed with an artificial heart transplant, which would cost over 1 million yuan.

Chen Suyun took the form and immediately burst into a loud wail. “It’s you! It’s all your fault, you jinx! If it weren’t for you, your brother wouldn’t be like this! You did this to him! Get the money now—or I swear I’ll die right in front of you!”

She cried hysterically, clutching the form like a lifeline.

The doctor sighed and tried to reason with them. “Right now, the priority is to save the patient. If you’re going ahead with the artificial heart transplant, please sign the form quickly. The more you delay, the worse his condition will get.”

Li Qingqing stood there, heart pounding with unbearable pain. Why did the heavens always have to drive her to the edge?

She thought her life was finally back on track. But fate crushed it again—effortlessly, cruelly.

She looked at the wailing Chen Suyun and the doctor waiting for a signature. Her face turned ashen.

Clenching her fists, her nails dug deep into her palms.

After a few moments of silent struggle, she finally spoke through gritted teeth:

“Sign it. I’ll find the money.”

Chen Suyun was stunned. Her sobs stopped instantly.

She stared at Li Qingqing with suspicion. “You can really get that kind of money?”

Last time, Li Qingqing had come up with 150,000 in a short time. Chen Suyun suspected she had some special channel for money. But this time it was over a million. Could she really manage that?

Li Qingqing’s face was calm, her eyes carrying a quiet, steely resolve. She looked like someone who had made a life-altering decision.

“Just sign it,” she said coolly.

Without hesitation, Chen Suyun grabbed the pen from the doctor and scribbled her name.

The doctor turned and hurried back into the operating room. The red emergency light above the door lit up again with its cold, harsh glow.

The surgery would take a long time.

During the wait, Chen Suyun slipped out to buy lunch for Xie Hongde. When she returned, she found that Li Qingqing was already gone.

…

“Hello, I’d like to speak with President Lu.”

Li Qingqing stood in the lobby of Fengze Group, speaking to the receptionist.

“I’m sorry, miss, but without an appointment, I can’t let you meet with President Lu.”

The receptionist gave her an apologetic smile.

With no other choice, Li Qingqing pulled out her phone and opened WeChat.

She scrolled down until she found Lu Yan’s name, opened their chat, thought for a moment, and typed:

“I’m downstairs at Fengze. Can we talk?”

The moment she hit send, a red exclamation mark popped up on the screen.

She’d been blocked.

Li Qingqing was stunned for a moment.

Then, almost instantly, she accepted it.

Thinking back to their last two encounters—both had ended badly. Honestly, it would’ve been more surprising if he hadn’t blocked her.

Just as she stood there, not knowing what to do next—

A man’s voice sounded from behind her.