Collateral Damage
866 Words
That bastard, Han Xi Cheng.
He’d done it on purpose.
So what if she’d slept with him?
Did that give him the right to drag her into his twisted revenge game and tear her apart like this?
The memory of that forced kiss in the kitchen made Su Nian’en’s chest tighten with lingering fear. They’d been inches away from being discovered by Jiang Qing Wan. Just thinking about it sent a chill crawling up her spine.
At the same time, unease gnawed at her.
Han Xi Cheng had looked at her in the kitchen with that unreadable, dangerous intensity. Anyone with eyes could tell something was wrong.
That man was completely insane.
She didn’t know whether that kiss was retaliation for what happened in New York—but one thing was clear.
She was the one paying the price.
Her heart had barely calmed when her phone rang.
It was Qin Su.
“I found out,” Qin Su said urgently the moment the call connected.
“Found out what?” Su Nian’en asked, still distracted. She’d been about to tell Qin Su everything—about the kiss, about Han Xi Cheng, about the fear twisting in her gut.
“Mu Jian Chen and Jiang Qing Wan,” Qin Su said. “They’re having an affair.”
Su Nian’en froze.
“And get this,” Qin Su continued, voice sharp. “They were each other’s first love.”
The words hit like a slap.
Mu Jian Chen—the Mu family’s heir, one of West City’s elite. Six years older than her. Wealthy, handsome, infamous. Four years ago, on the day she turned eighteen, Jiang Yun Fei had practically sold her to him.
They’d gotten engaged.
The Mu family had opposed it fiercely. Especially Mu Jian Chen’s mother. Yet Mu Jian Chen had insisted. Acted as if he’d rather die than marry anyone else.
As if he loved her beyond reason.
But Su Nian’en had never believed it.
A man like Mu Jian Chen would never truly want a powerless orphan. She’d accepted the engagement for one reason only—to stop Jiang Yun Fei from selling her to someone worse.
And because despite everything, one truth had always been obvious.
Mu Jian Chen despised her.
That was why, during all her years abroad, he’d never once contacted her. Why tabloid photos of him fooling around with models and actresses stirred nothing in her heart.
She’d always known his insistence on marrying her hid another motive.
Now she finally understood it.
Qin Su told her everything. Just last week, Mu Jian Chen and Jiang Qing Wan had checked into a hotel together. Paparazzi had caught them—but the scandal never surfaced.
Because Han Xi Cheng had buried it.
Suddenly, everything snapped into place.
Waking up in Han Xi Cheng’s bed in New York hadn’t been an accident.
It was retaliation.
Jiang Qing Wan cheated on him—so he retaliated.
Mu Jian Chen slept with someone else’s fiancée—so Han Xi Cheng slept with his.
And she—
She was just collateral damage.
Su Nian’en tightened her grip on her phone, a cold, bitter smile tugging at her lips.
These people played with lives like chess pieces.
So why did she have to be dragged into their filthy games?
What had she ever done wrong?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sharp pounding on the door snapped her back to reality.
“Open up, you little tramp!”
Song Wan Zhi’s shrill voice sliced through the air.
Su Nian’en’s heart jumped. She rushed to open the door—
Slap!
Pain exploded across her cheek.
Song Wan Zhi grabbed her by the collar, eyes blazing with fury. “Talk! When did you start seducing Xi Cheng?! How long has this been going on?! Have you already dragged him into your bed?!”
Behind her stood Jiang Qing Wan, arms crossed, gaze cold and piercing.
If Su Nian’en dared admit even the slightest attachment to Han Xi Cheng, they’d tear her apart.
Facing them, Su Nian’en’s heart hammered violently.
She wasn’t good at lying.
She wasn’t good at pretending.
She’d slept with Han Xi Cheng.
He’d kissed her in the kitchen.
If the truth came out, she’d be finished.
“Answer me!” Song Wan Zhi snapped.
Then—clarity struck.
She remembered Qin Su’s words.
Su Nian’en straightened slowly, forcing her trembling hands to still. Her voice was calm when she spoke.
“My relationship with Han Xi Cheng?”
She looked directly at Jiang Qing Wan. “I think my cousin knows that better than I do.”
Jiang Qing Wan laughed coldly. “What are you implying?”
Su Nian’en’s expression shifted instantly. The defiance melted away, replaced by confusion and helplessness.
“Sister,” she said softly, eyes wide. “Could you please… keep some distance from Mu Jian Chen?”
Jiang Qing Wan stiffened.
“The closer you are to him,” Su Nian’en continued quietly, “the more I’m the one who suffers.”
The meaning was unmistakable.
Han Xi Cheng’s actions—his deliberate ambiguity, his calculated intimacy—were never about her.
They were aimed straight at Jiang Qing Wan.
- Writer
