Chapter 014: Xu Qin Feels Her Status Threatened


Xu Qin was flipping through a patient’s chart when her phone buzzed.

It was a message from Zhan Xiaorao, with a video attached.

【Qin Qin, look—isn’t this your brother?】

Frowning, she tapped it open. The screen showed Meng Yancheng standing protectively in front of Fan Shengmei. His voice came through loud and clear: “I would.”

He stood right there, shielding Shengmei from Qu Lianjie’s reach.

That gesture was too familiar. From childhood till now, every time she had been bullied, Meng Yancheng had always stepped in front of her like that.

But this time… his protection was given to someone else.

“Qin Qin, did you see?”

Xiaorao’s voice message popped up right after. “That Birkin bag Fan Shengmei was carrying! The whole circle’s talking about it, saying your brother gave it to her. What’s going on between them? Don’t tell me that woman’s about to become your sister-in-law?”

The glow of the phone screen reflected Xu Qin’s pale face.

She knew those eyes, that expression on him—too well.

The air conditioning in the duty room suddenly felt icy.

Her thoughts wandered back to last year’s birthday. She had casually mentioned a limited-edition handbag she liked. The next day, Yancheng sent her three colors of it.

Fu Wenying had teased that he spoiled her too much. But Yancheng had only smiled while ladling soup into her bowl.

“Qin Qin deserves the best.”

Deserves the best…

Then what did this Birkin he gave Fan Shengmei mean?

Staring at the muted sheen of the bag on her screen, bile rose in Xu Qin’s throat.

Since when did her brother’s eyes, which had always held only her, start straying to another woman?

Her phone rang again, Song Yan.

Seeing his name flash across the screen, thinking of his sharp jawline and irresistible charm, Xu Qin forced her lips into a faint smile.

Yes. She was marrying for love. She and Song Yan were bound by true affection—something no material thing could compare to.

“Hello~”

She pressed down her agitation, softening her voice.

“Qin Qin,”

His low, magnetic baritone came through the receiver. “I’ve got the night shift. You should get off early and stop by the supermarket downstairs for eggs. They’re on sale today—only today.”

Her expression instantly frosted over. Again, with this penny-pinching nonsense.

“I’ve got a shift too.”

“Another one?” His tone sank. “Didn’t you just have one the other day? You’re a doctor, not a nurse. Is your hospital running only because of you?”

“Song Yan!”

Her voice rose sharply. “Why are you being so overbearing? You can take shifts, but I can’t? Both our jobs are unpredictable. Why can’t you understand me for once?”

“And what about when we have kids? Are you still going to stay at the hospital? What about our home then?

Silence crackled through the line.

“Fine. You’re busy. I’ll switch shifts!”

He hung up without another word.

Xu Qin slammed her phone into the drawer.

Song Yan had been getting increasingly outrageous. She was sick of his penny-pinching ways.

Ever since the Zhai Miao fiasco, they didn’t even dare eat at restaurants averaging a hundred per head.

Last week, their “date” had been a roadside diner—sixty-eight per head—and he’d still haggled the owner for small change.

And now, even eggs had to be bought on discount days?

Her eyes flicked back to the video. That three-million-yuan bag cut into her like a blade.

She snatched up her phone and typed a message to Yancheng:

【Brother, I want to go home to see Mom and Dad tonight. Will you come pick me up?】

Usually, he replied in seconds. This time, ten minutes later, the screen lit up:

【Aren’t you coming home this weekend?】

Her chest tightened.

She bit her lip and typed quickly: 【I miss Mom and Dad. Since when does a daughter need to pick a day to visit her parents?】

The reply came fast: 【I’ve got a meeting this afternoon. You head back first.】

Her phone clattered onto the desk under her frustrated grip.

Before, whenever she said she wanted to come home, even in the middle of a meeting, Yancheng would send back: On my way.】

She remembered the time she had been delayed in surgery until dawn. When she stepped out of the hospital, he had been waiting under the streetlamp, holding a paper bag of warm candied chestnuts.

When had that brother started slipping away from her?

Tonight, she would go home and see for herself.

Xu Qin stood in the Meng family villa’s foyer, fingers twisting the hem of her blouse.

Fu Wenying glanced up only briefly. “You’re back.” She returned to arranging flowers.

Meng Huaijin asked a few polite questions. “Qin Qin, how’s work lately? Come home more often.”

Empty pleasantries. No deep conversation.

All of it, Xu Qin thought bitterly, was Fu Wenying’s fault. Too controlling. Too interfering. That was why she and Yancheng both felt suffocated, desperate to escape this house.

She kept looking at the clock, wanting him to appear.

At last, the sound of an engine came from outside. She rushed to the door—then froze at the sight of Yancheng’s empty hands.

Once, he would have conjured something from his briefcase—spicy strips, chestnuts, or some snack she had casually mentioned.

To avoid Fu Wenying’s notice, she would meet him at the door, and together they’d sneak upstairs to eat in secret before coming down.

Now, his hands held nothing.

“Brother…”

Her voice was soft, eyes flicking behind him.

Changing his shoes, Yancheng glanced up. “What is it?”

“I thought…”

She bit her lip, deliberately letting grievance tint her tone.

“I thought you’d bring me spicy strips. I even prepared a hiding spot upstairs so Mom wouldn’t find out.”

His hand stuck on his tie for just a moment. Then he reached out, ruffled her hair, and said gently,

“You’re a full attending physician now. Still eating junk like that?”

His tone was tender, coaxing—just as always. But the warmth had thinned.

“Mom asked the kitchen to make soup. Drink more later.”

His back was straight as a pine as he headed upstairs. Yet Xu Qin suddenly felt that the figure, so close to her, was growing farther away.

At dinner, her chopsticks stirred idly in her bowl.

“Brother, has work at the company been busy lately?”

“Not too bad.”

Her third attempt at conversation died again. Only the clinking of cutlery answered.

Then Huaijin turned to Yancheng. “I heard the venture capital department brought in some new VPs?”

“Yes,” Yancheng said, calmly placing fish on his plate. “The new energy project needs—”

“No talking while eating.”

Fu Wenying cut him off, though she added braised pork to his bowl.

She spared Xu Qin a glance. “Since Qin Qin came back, don’t just talk business.”

Yancheng never liked his parents meddling in his work. Over the years, he had proven himself fully capable of running Guokun.

After Xu Qin’s issues, Fu Wenying had tried to loosen her grip. If the child didn’t want interference, then let him be.

But that simple gesture—giving him food, ignoring her—stabbed Xu Qin like a needle. She was now the outsider to be avoided.

Yancheng’s phone lit up. He glanced at it, and the corner of his lips lifted.

Xu Qin’s gaze locked on that smile.

—Was it Fan Shengmei?

“Dad, Mom,”

She suddenly set down her chopsticks. “I want to stay here tonight.”

The air freezes.

Fu Wenying’s ladle paused mid-air. Huaijin coughed lightly and looked at his son.

“Wang Yi,” Yancheng called to the maid without lifting his head, “prepare the young miss’s room. Change the sheets to the silk set—her skin’s sensitive.”

Warmth flooded Xu Qin’s chest. He still cared for her.

Tonight, she vowed, she would reclaim her place in his heart.