Fu Qiancheng stood outside the Ming family’s courtyard for a long while before finally returning to his car.

Once the car started moving, he pondered the situation from every angle, then finally pulled out his phone and made a call.

On the other end of the line, an excited young boy’s voice quickly came through: “Brother Qiancheng, my brother isn’t here right now—he got dragged off by my grandfather to the study for a good talking-to. What do you need?”

“I’ll call back later,” Fu Qiancheng said, about to hang up. He didn’t ask why his brother’s phone was in his hand, nor did he ask why his brother was being punished.

But the voice on the other end hurriedly stopped him: “No, Brother Qiancheng! I just heard that Sister Mingyue is back. You must be thrilled and want to take my brother out for drinks together, right?”

Fu Qiancheng remained silent.

The voice on the other end kept chattering: “Brother Qiancheng, please take me along too! Stop treating me like a kid. I’m eighteen already—I’m an adult now, and I can join you for food, drinks, and fun!”

Fu Qiancheng’s mind was in complete chaos, consumed by the damn tooth mark on Mingyue’s neck, which made him so agitated he could’ve drawn a knife and slashed someone at any moment.

But the frustrating thing was, he didn’t even know who that bastard was.

That’s why he thought of asking his good friend Gu Yanxing to help look into it.

Feeling utterly unmotivated, Fu Qiancheng had no desire to waste time chatting with the brat on the other end, so he gruffly replied, “Yanyun, as soon as your brother gets out, tell him to call me right away. I’ve got something urgent to discuss with him.”

“Brother Qiancheng, what is it?”

“Adult business—kids shouldn’t pry.”

“Oh.”

The little brat on the other end didn’t pick up on Fu Qiancheng’s mood, but he didn’t press further either.

Seemingly having an idea, the kid immediately added, “By the way, Brother Qiancheng, I heard Brother Jiangfeng is back too. Has he been looking for you? Did you guys make plans to drink together? Oh, please take me along this time, okay?”

“Jiangfeng?”

Fu Qiancheng asked in confusion, his already furrowed brow tightening even more.

The kid nodded right away: “Yeah, Brother Jiangfeng—you didn’t know? He just called my brother earlier, and I was thinking of coming to you first. Turns out you really didn’t know, Brother Qiancheng!”

“Now I do.”

Fu Qiancheng wasn’t in the mood to chat with this kid anymore, so he quickly hung up.

The car had already driven far away, and the Ming residence was no longer in sight.

Yet Fu Qiancheng turned his head to look back—and there was no one left to see. Thinking about the last words Mingyue had said to him, Fu Qiancheng felt even more frustrated, and could only try to suppress it with endless darkness.

“Two people’s relationship—you say break up, and it’s over? You say once you have someone else, it’s someone else? Then what am I? Some kind of fart that can be let go anytime?”

Fu Qiancheng let out a few cold laughs, clenching his fists tightly as he stared out the window at the pitch-black night, muttering under his breath:

“Mingyue, I’m not letting go. Don’t think you can just dump me like that! Forget whether that bastard man really exists or not—if he does, you still won’t be able to snatch you away from me!”

In fact, she had noticed those eyes long ago—way back when she first spotted Fu Qiancheng.

So every word she spoke to Fu Qiancheng was deliberately whispered low, making sure Fu Qiancheng could hear clearly while also ensuring that the person upstairs couldn’t possibly overhear.

Seeing those eyes filled with venom, as if they wanted to pierce right through her, Mingyue slightly curled her lips, quite satisfied.

She quickly averted her gaze, pretending she hadn’t seen those eyes at all—and even more, pretending she hadn’t noticed that person at all—then continued walking forward.

When she returned to the Ming family living room, most of the household members were gone. The only ones left were the Housekeeper and Liu Qinxin, who was wearing a nightgown and applying a face mask.

Unlike Ming Shuo, Liu Qinxin wasn’t scowling.

She remained remarkably patient toward Mingyue, her stepdaughter.

Seeing Mingyue walk in with Ming Shuo, Liu Qinxin quickly stood up and greeted her warmly: “Mingyue, you’re back? Have you had dinner yet? If not, shall I ask the aunt to make you something?”

“I’m at home—do I really need you to tell me what to eat? Are you trying to act like the lady of the house here?”

Mingyue shot back with a sharp retort, then couldn’t help but glance at the Housekeeper.

How dare the Housekeeper respond? She wouldn’t even dare meet the gaze!

She had already lowered her head, looking sheepish and wishing she could just disappear into a hole.

Liu Qinxin gave an awkward smile, not getting angry but waving her hand to explain to Mingyue: “Mingyue, you’ve misunderstood me. That’s not what I meant—I just wanted to say…”

Before Liu Qinxin could finish her explanation, Ming Shuo cut her off, glaring coldly at Mingyue standing nearby: “Are you so uncomfortable that you can’t even argue with family members without getting upset? Fine, eat if you want—otherwise get out!”

“Mr. Ming sure has a terrible memory. I just said I wouldn’t leave so gracefully. If you insist on watching me leave, why don’t you go first and show me how it’s done, so I can learn from you?”

Mingyue didn’t care what expression Ming Shuo wore; she simply pulled over a chair and sat down in the living room, spreading herself out comfortably.

End of Chapter 7: Struck to the Ground