Chapter 43: He is Bad, but You are Worse

Natalie noticed her rival staring at her; she gave a faint smile and looked away.

The other woman's expression soured even further, but with the elders present and being in this specific household, she had to maintain appearances.

Otherwise, given the slap Natalie had dealt her earlier, she would have forced her to her knees on the spot.

Natalie also guessed that she would not let the matter rest, and it was the kind of grudge that wouldn't even survive the night without an attempt at retaliation.

While playing her cards, Natalie took out her phone and, with a calm face, sent a message to the elder brother: [I've offended your fiancée. SOS.]

The elder brother showed up almost immediately after receiving the message.

Natalie looked up and met the questioning look in his eyes.

He glanced at his fiancée, who was sitting on the sofa looking down at her manicure, and gave an unreadable smile.

He typed back a reply to Natalie: [Didn't you say this afternoon that I shouldn't look for you anymore?]

Natalie quickly typed: [I said don't look for me if you don't trust me. Fine, fine, I take back what I said this afternoon.]

Elder Brother: [It's been more than two minutes; you can't withdraw it.]

After sending the message, he put his phone back in his pocket and sat down beside his fiancée.

She glanced at him and said, "Done dealing with the old man so quickly?"

He put his arm around her shoulders. "A good friend just opened a new bar. He invited me and my fiancée; shall we go support him?"

"Oka—No." She wanted her revenge tonight; she didn't have time. "Go by yourself."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong? Can I help?"

"......."

"Since there's nothing, and we haven't seen each other in so long, let's go. We should go relax."

When Natalie looked up again, the sofa was empty.

The rival had been taken away.

The elder brother was quite loyal to his word.

The younger brother arrived next. He walked over to the younger Zhou sister and sat down naturally, his peripheral vision sweeping over Natalie.

Natalie happened to be thirsty and reached for her water glass, but then pulled her hand back.

The next second, the glass was handed to her.

Natalie took it. "Thank you."

He said distantly, "You're welcome, Sister-in-law."

Natalie: "..."

Her former mother-in-law reminded her, "Nanna, it's your turn to play."

Natalie snapped out of it and played a card in a fluster.

It happened to be a card the younger Zhou sister could "pung"; she was the next player, so it was Natalie's turn to draw again. Wanting to end this quickly, Natalie played a card that hadn't appeared on the table yet.

Unsurprisingly, her former mother-in-law "konged" it.

The hostess of the house looked at the younger Zhou sister. "Let's call it a night. We shouldn't hold up your date."

If she left, they'd be one player short. She felt a bit embarrassed. "How about..."

Her mother-in-law spoke up at the right moment: "His cousin just arrived anyway. If you have things to do, go ahead. Don't mind us."

The younger brother, however, said, "Aunt, it's fine. She's happy to keep you company. I'll go chat with my cousin."

He turned and went outside, standing on the steps and putting a cigarette between his lips. Remembering he would be kissing the girl later, he didn't light it.

The luxury SUV slowed to a stop in the courtyard.

The former husband got out, his gaze unfriendly as he looked up.

The younger brother took the cigarette from his lips, threw it in the trash, and offered the pack as the other man approached.

"No thanks." He didn't take it, but stood side-by-side with him. "I'm sure you haven't forgotten what I said?"

The younger brother put the pack away. "I haven't."

On the day Natalie filed for divorce, her husband had called him. He demanded that once the divorce was final, he had to sever all ties with Natalie as well.

But: "Cousin, I told her it was over. She was so heartbroken she got into a car accident because of it. You know that."

"And now?" The former husband looked over, a flash of cold light in his dark eyes. "You took her away without permission and kept her in the apartment below yours. What's the meaning of this?"

The younger brother's lips curled into a lazy smile. "Cousin, you're divorced. Do you still have to control where she wants to live?"

He said coldly, "It's not your place to control it either."

The two locked eyes for a long moment before the younger brother spread his hands, speechless.

His dismissive attitude made the former husband uneasy, as if a treasure had been stolen by a thief who then declared he wouldn't cherish it.

The former husband took a step closer and looked him in the eye. His voice was low but heavy with weight: "You and the younger Zhou sister aren't a thing yet, are you?"

He let the implication hang.

The younger brother laughed, still nonchalant. "Got it. I'll stay away from her."

Natalie finally managed to reach the end of the game.

After it broke up, the younger Zhou sister pulled her aside. "Accompany me to the restroom; I'm not familiar with this place."

Natalie tilted her head and saw the sparkling earrings hanging from her ears. They were so bright they made her eyes ache. "Alright."

Once they were away, the girl took off the earrings, pulled a small box from her bag, and placed them inside. "Here, returning them to their rightful owner."

Natalie was stunned.

The girl didn't wait for her to accept them, but shoved them into Natalie's bag. "He said they're for the girlfriend he sleeps with."

Natalie was stunned again.

The girl gave a mischievous smile and turned into the restroom.

She was completely different from her two dark-hearted sisters; Natalie had admired her from the very beginning.

"Nanna..."

Hearing someone call her, Natalie headed toward the voice. "I'm here."

The former husband strode over and naturally put his arm around her shoulders. "My mother went back first. She didn't make things difficult for you today, did she?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "She's just like you—only learning to cherish things after they're lost."

He could easily hear the sarcasm. He wanted to defend himself, but she removed his hand from her shoulder.

As they walked out the door one after the other, Natalie came to a sudden halt.

The younger brother heard movement behind him, turned around, and scanned her with interest. "Sister-in-law."

The way he said it was heavy with flirtation.

Natalie immediately felt her shoulder grow heavy as the former husband's hand came to rest there.

"Let's go home."

The younger brother kept his hands in his pockets, indifferent.

Natalie passed by him and got into the car. She watched the man in the rearview mirror; only a tall silhouette remained as he watched for the person who was about to come out.

As the car hit the road, the husband asked, "Is it that you don't want to live at home, Nanna?"

Natalie turned her gaze back. "Why do you ask?"

"You went out last night and didn't come back all night."

Natalie admitted, "Yes."

"Can you promise me to stay away from him?"

She looked up and met his tender, shimmering eyes. "When you found him to get close to me, did you never think you would lose me forever?"

He froze.

He hadn't thought of it. He was so confident; how could he believe there was a woman he couldn't control?

The younger brother was nothing to him; he hadn't worried about the issue at all.

"Is he really that good in your eyes?"

"He isn't good," Natalie said. "But you are worse."

The SUV passed through the tunnel in silence.

The atmosphere was oppressive all the way until they reached the villa.

Before getting out, he tugged at his tie and said in a low voice, "If you don't want to come back here, I won't stop you. But when you leave, could you please let me know?"

"Nanna, I worry about you."

Natalie bit her lip crossly, opened the door, and got out. "I know."

Right in front of him, she got into the car he had given her and sped away.

Tossing and turning between several men, she was nearly exhausted.

So, she decided to spend the night at a hotel.

Chapter 44: Elder Brother: Why Don't You Be My Girlfriend?

The car had just reached the main road when the younger brother's call came through.

His deep voice was amplified in the car cabin—a superior tone, but with a hint of mockery. "Had a spat with him?"

Natalie kept her eyes on the road, her brows furrowed and her lips pouted.

She didn't even know exactly why she was unhappy.

He sounded as if he could see her face. He gave a low laugh. "Then come home. I made a late-night snack and am waiting for you."

Just as he finished, the "ding" of a microwave sounded from his end.

Natalie bit her lip. "I'm not going back. You'll definitely kill me. I'm not stupid; why would I walk into a trap?"

He said late-night snack, but he meant

her

, didn't he?

She had gone to the Zhao house tonight; if she went back now, he'd surely tear her apart.

He laughed again, a dangerous edge to it. "You should know my rules. If I have to come find you, I'm afraid your end will be even worse."

He wasn't bluffing; he definitely meant it.

Natalie felt a chill down her spine, and her palms on the steering wheel began to sweat.

After a long silence, she asked tremulously, "Did you send people to follow me all these years because someone asked you to protect me?"

Without giving him time to answer, she continued, "The story you told me about your friend... it was actually about you, wasn't it?"

"You're worried those people will find out I'm not dead, worried they'll hurt me again, right?"

Though she still couldn't find any reason why he would help her.

"Sir, they..."

"Natalie, I didn't think you were this narcissistic." He gave a final warning. "I don't have much patience. I'll give you one hour. See you at home."

But he didn't hang up the phone.

Ten minutes passed before Natalie ended the call.

She didn't go back to the apartment; she went to a hotel instead.

She would add fuel to his fire, hoping he'd reveal all his thoughts in a fit of rage.

No matter how he tortured her tonight, she would not compromise!

Natalie checked into a suite, settled her emotions, and went into the bathroom to change into the nightgown most likely to pique his interest.

Finally, she put on a bathrobe. Just as she stepped out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang.

She hadn't expected him to arrive so quickly.

Based on the distance, it should have taken at least thirty minutes, but it had been less than twenty.

Natalie took a deep breath. Before opening the door, she looked through the peephole.

?! The elder brother?!

How did he know she was here?

Natalie opened the door.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "I brought champagne. Is it convenient to come in?"

Natalie stepped aside to let him in.

"How did you know I was here?"

He set the ice bucket on the table and opened the champagne. "I happened to be passing by and saw you come in. I asked around and found out."

Quite a "happened to be."

Was it possible he had also arranged for people to follow her in secret?

Natalie took the glass he offered, feeling quite annoyed. "I didn't help you; is this worth celebrating?"

He clinked his glass against hers and took a sip. "It's our first cooperation, the start of building trust. It's definitely worth celebrating."

Natalie sat on the arm of the sofa, her arms crossed. she said ghostily, "Don't you suspect me?"

"There's nothing to suspect. My brother is a suspicious person; the fact that he let you stay the night means he already took precautions."

Natalie looked completely baffled. "Since you guessed that, why did you still spread the information?"

At the mention of it, he looked a bit dejected. "Time was too tight; I didn't have time to verify. Taking a gamble was better than doing nothing."

"Blame me then." Natalie took a sip of wine and casually changed the subject. "Is your fiancée coaxed?"

"Temporarily. But that doesn't mean you can rest easy."

He clinked her glass again and smiled. "What kind of person is she? A spoiled young lady who seeks revenge for even the smallest grievance. You made her lose face; she won't let it go so easily."

That made things difficult. Natalie asked, "In your opinion, what should I do?"

"That is indeed a difficult problem."

He took two steps toward her, leaned down, and braced one hand on the armrest. In close proximity, he used the hand holding the champagne to brush a few strands of hair from her forehead.

Their eyes met. Natalie sat still and gave a polite, faint smile.

The way he looked down at her grew even more intriguing. "You're so beautiful, Miss Jiang. Why don't you be my girlfriend?"

Natalie blinked, appearing startled. "Just a girlfriend?"

He lowered his head and laughed. "If you have the ability to make me marry you..."

Before he could finish, the doorbell rang abruptly.

Ding-dong—

Natalie's spine stiffened with fear. She hurriedly pushed him toward the bathroom in the living room.

"Hide in here and don't come out, no matter what."

Ignoring the look on the man's face, Natalie slammed the door with a

bang

and ran to open the main door.

The moment it opened, she immediately put on a smile.

The younger brother seemed a bit surprised. His lips curled. "Specially washed up to welcome me?"

He stepped inside with his long legs.

Natalie stumbled back several steps, nearly tripping over herself.

The air conditioning wasn't on, and a flush of heat rose to her cheeks. She instinctively glanced at the bathroom; the door was slightly ajar.

When she looked back, an arm reached out unexpectedly, grabbed the back of her bathrobe collar, and slammed her roughly onto the coffee table.

The speed was so fast she didn't even have time to scream.

Natalie's face was pressed hard against the marble tabletop, but he didn't seem satisfied.

He gripped her hair tightly, as if he wanted to lift her head and slam it against the marble to see if her skull was harder.

In that instant, Natalie felt ten thousand times more fear than pain. Her voice carried a sob: "No, no... I won't do it again, please... let me go..."

"Let you go? Look at what you've done, Natalie. If I hadn't noticed and replaced the data you copied in time, I'd be in serious trouble."

He grabbed her back collar, dragged her to the sofa, and made her kneel at his feet. He took out his phone and played a video. "You're the first person who dared to touch my computer without my permission. You're quite something, Natalie."

Natalie froze.

The data had been replaced by him?

She had thought he was angry about her going to the Zhao house tonight.

The point was, he knew everything about her and the boy breaking into his computer that night.

The evidence of her stealing commercial secrets was laid out before her; she was defenseless.

Natalie shook her head frantically. Her hair was a mess from being grabbed, making her look pitiable, like a piece of crumpled cotton candy.

His lips nearly twitched.

Natalie only saw the ruthlessness and coldness in his eyes. She was so terrified her voice shook as she spoke: "Don't call the police. I know I was wrong. Sir, however you want to punish me, I'll accept it willingly."

He pinched her chin. She was trembling violently, with no trace of pretense.

She seemed truly terrified of him.

His thumb pressed against her lips, and his voice suddenly turned playful. "Think of a way to make me happy. Perhaps I'll consider letting you off the hook."

Remembering there was someone else here, Natalie hurriedly shrank back. "I won't. Don't even think about it."

"Didn't you say you'd accept it willingly? Saying one thing and doing another... I'd like to see if you can still be this stubborn once you're inside."

"No, I'm not going!"

He reached out a long arm, locked it around her neck, and pulled her right in front of him. "Duplicitous. I think you really want to go in. In that case, I have no choice but to oblige you."

Shortly after, the police arrived.