The Trap He Crafted

The snow came unusually early to City A this year, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the artificial lake in Xiyuan Garden. When Briar Qin fell in, there was a loud "plop." The ice shattered. Her pale hand managed to grip the edge of the broken ice for just a moment before her entire body sank rapidly into the water. "Help..." She choked on several mouthfuls of water, flailing frantically and shouting for help toward the shore. Her half-sister Zoe Qin stood there, her usually innocent and charming face twisted with hatred and malicious glee as she watched. "Save me..." Briar couldn’t swim. She surfaced for a few seconds before the water swallowed her whole. "Quit pretending! Can’t you swim?" At that moment, Briar heard the voice of her fiancé, Nolan Xu. She looked up at Nolan on the shore. His handsome face was cold and impatient—he didn’t even bother to glance at her before turning to pull Zoe close. "It’s freezing outside. You’re not feeling well; let’s go inside." Briar stared at their intertwined fingers, her heart plunging into an ice cellar, cold to the core. The lake water was piercingly cold, pricking her like thousands of needles and dragging her downward. She gradually lost the strength to struggle, her body growing heavier and heavier. "...Hurry and save her!" Semi-conscious, Briar heard the sound of ice cracking above her. She felt a force yank her upward. Someone pressed hard on her chest and abdomen. The pain was excruciating, and she spat out a mouthful of water. "She’s awake!" Briar coughed violently, her senses slowly clearing. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Zoe standing in front of her, leaning into Nolan’s arms and crying pitifully: "...I thought sister could swim. If I’d known, I would have jumped in to save her!" Zoe was small and delicate, like a fine porcelain doll. With tears clinging to her long, curled eyelashes, no one could help but feel sorry for her. "She slipped and fell—this isn’t your fault," Nolan said, his face filled with tenderness as he comforted Zoe. "I don’t know what’s wrong with her," Zoe sniffled, covering half her face. Tears streamed down like broken beads. Her skin was fair and delicate, but even with her hand covering it, the clear five finger marks on her right cheek and the trace of blood at her ** were impossible to hide. Briar had a reputation for being arrogant and unreasonable—so in everyone’s eyes, it wasn’t surprising that she’d hit Zoe. Briar couldn’t remember how long it had been since Nolan had looked at her with such tenderness. She stared blankly as Nolan doted on Zoe like a precious treasure, as if Zoe were his fiancée. She’d been awake for several minutes, soaking wet, sitting alone on the ground. "I didn’t hit her," she said after a long while, enduring the pain as she pushed herself up from the ground. That’s when Nolan finally noticed she was awake. He turned to her, his eyes instantly filled with disappointment and irritation. "You were the only two by the lake—who else could it be?" Briar stared straight at him. She wanted to give Nolan one last chance—also one last chance for herself. This was the man she’d loved for more than ten years. "If I told you she hit herself, would you believe me?" "Sister, are you crazy? What are you saying?" Before she could finish, Zoe interrupted in shock. "Didn’t you call me out here? You said you were tired of not being able to celebrate your birthday all these years, that you hated me and my mom. You slapped me, then accidentally slipped and fell. How could you..." Zoe paused, crying even harder. "If you don’t believe me, you can check the surveillance footage from today." "I’m truly sorry," the manager of Xiyuan Garden quickly apologized. "With the recent cold snap and strong winds, the surveillance cameras here were damaged and haven’t been repaired yet." Nolan looked at Briar again. "You’re still lying!" His expression and tone were filled with disgust. The crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed on Briar with mixed expressions. Briar could barely breathe. It was like being submerged in the lake again—an overwhelming sense of suffocation choking her throat. She took several deep breaths, struggling to hold back the urge to vomit. After a long while, she clenched her teeth and turned to Zoe. "Zoe Qin, dare you swear to God and say it again? How did I fall in just now?" Zoe fell silent for a few seconds, then sobbed. "Sister, I’m sorry. Even though today is your birthday, it’s also my mom’s death anniversary. I can’t keep lying for you anymore—I’d be letting my mom down!" Zoe was almost hyperventilating from crying. But Briar couldn’t help but laugh. She finally realized she’d never really understood Zoe all these years. Zoe was a love child—her half-sister. Love children were usually hidden away in shame elsewhere, but in the Qin family, it was the opposite. Ever since Zoe’s mother died and Ronan Qin brought the twelve-year-old Zoe back to the Qin family, Briar’s world had turned upside down and collapsed. From that year on, no one in the Qin family dared to celebrate Briar’s birthday. From that day on, Briar had lived in the shadow of Zoe and her mother. She fell silent for a long time, took a deep breath, and said to Zoe word by word: "Before Grandma died, she said that love children..." Before she could finish, something suddenly flew toward her. It wasn’t heavy—just a blanket—but it knocked Briar’s hair askew, making her look even more disheveled. "That’s enough!!!" Nolan’s face turned pitch black. "Briar Qin! Must you be so aggressive, tearing open old wounds over and over again?" "Love child" was a forbidden word in the Qin family—especially for Zoe. No one had dared to mention it all these years. Briar stared unblinkingly at Nolan. Even though Nolan had always been cold to her, they’d been together for nearly ten years. Since childhood, they’d been the envy of everyone—childhood sweethearts, perfectly matched in family background and appearance. He’d always been naturally cold to everyone, but now her fiancé—the last weakness and dignity she had—had hurt her with words and actions in front of everyone... all to protect another woman. It could have been anyone else, but it had to be Zoe. "You believe her, don’t you?" she asked softly, looking at Nolan. Nolan looked at her shivering figure in the cold wind, at her pale lips, and hesitated for a moment. "Give me a reason to believe you," he said. Briar closed her eyes. "Very well, Nolan Xu. From today on, we’re done!" With that, she grabbed something from the ground and threw it fiercely in Zoe’s direction. In an instant, Zoe’s screams and cries mixed with the crowd’s comforting words, descending into chaos. Briar watched as Zoe covered her forehead, blood gushing between her fingers and dripping onto her snow-white skirt. If it was going to end, they’d go down together. "We’re even," she said. She struggled to stand up, sneering at Zoe. "There’s no surveillance footage, and you have no proof that what you’re saying is true." What did it matter if no one believed her? They hated her, but they couldn’t get rid of her. Nolan looked at her, his eyes filled with utter disappointment. He let go of Zoe, turned, and strode toward Briar, his right hand raised high. "Is she wrong?" At that moment, a deep, intimidating voice came from behind the crowd. Nolan’s hand, frozen mid-air, was suddenly grabbed and stopped. Briar let out a silent sigh of relief and looked at the person who’d helped her. A group of men in suits stood at the corner. Briar’s gaze settled on the man leading them.