Chapter 53: The Statue

I was startled, never expecting to hear my own name fall from Qiao Yanxin's lips.

Especially not with her looking like this, in such a state.

Qiao Yanxin had ignored the call for a long time, and soon enough, it disconnected automatically.

Whether struck by some sudden thought, she abruptly rolled over and snatched her phone off the nightstand.

Tapping into our chat interface, her tone shifted when she spoke again, filled with tentative caution, entirely stripped of her previous arrogance.

In the quiet of the night, Qiao Yanxin’s voice sounded profoundly helpless.

"Yunzhou, please come back. It was my fault. I shouldn't have only cared about Tingchu's feelings in the past and ignored you. I truly know I was wrong. Come back, please give me one more chance, and I promise I will never make such a mistake again. If you're willing to return, I will definitely put you first in everything and never neglect you ever again."

"Didn't you always say you wanted to raise a dog? I used to think dogs were dirty and wouldn't let you, but if you come back now, you can have any kind of dog you want. No, no, you can keep whatever you want, I'll agree to everything."

"Last time, I didn't mean to push you either. I was just overcome with anger and couldn't check my strength in the heat of the moment. But I already know I was wrong. If you're still unsatisfied, Yunzhou, you can push me down the stairs too, alright? I really know I was wrong, please forgive me, come back."

Qiao Yanxin curled up on the bed, drawing her entire body into a tight ball.

Ever since I had known Qiao Yanxin, she had never shown such a fragile side. I had truly never witnessed her like this before.

In my eyes, Qiao Yanxin had always been strong-willed; this was the first time she had ever revealed such a weak side to me.

I stood frozen in place. If this were the past, no matter how grave her mistake, I would have forgiven her.

Yet now, I merely stood where I was, coldly watching the tears stream down her face.

"Qiao Yanxin, your repentance comes far too late. I am already dead—how can there be any talk of forgiving you?"

At some point, Qiao Yanxin had actually drifted off to sleep.

Gazing at her peaceful sleeping face, I leaned against the headboard, once again staring wide-eyed until dawn.

Early the next morning, the phone on Qiao Yanxin's nightstand suddenly rang.

She started, then scrambled out of bed in a flash and grabbed the phone.

Seeing the caller ID displayed on the screen, Qiao Yanxin visibly paused, a flicker of disappointment crossing her expression.

"Alright, I understand."

Qiao Yanxin got up, hurriedly dressed, and headed down to the parking garage to drive a car out.

Driving out this early in the morning—where was Qiao Yanxin going?

Following in her footsteps, I found myself arriving at our matrimonial home.

Why would Qiao Yanxin come to our bridal house?

And first thing in the morning, too.

A wave of shock washed over me as I spotted numerous workers gathered at the entrance.

Seeing Qiao Yanxin arrive, the lead worker stepped forward.

"President Qiao, the sculpture has been delivered. Where would you like us to place it?"

Qiao Yanxin looked at the object covered in a black cloth before her and let out a sigh.

"Let me take a look first."

As I stared at the object before me, my eyes widened slightly.

This... wasn't this the exact thing I had seen in the matrimonial home last night?

It turned out to be a sculpture!

Yet, where on earth had this sculpture come from?

Curiosity piqued, Qiao Yanxin's phone suddenly chimed in her pocket.

She picked it up to look, her expression instantly turning somewhat impatient.

Curious as to whose call could elicit such a reaction from Qiao Yanxin, I leaned in closer.

Only then did I discover the caller ID read Gu Tingchu.

I raised an eyebrow, never expecting Gu Tingchu to have such a day coming.

After struggling with her expression for a long while, Qiao Yanxin finally chose to answer the call.

"Hello?"

Over the phone, Gu Tingchu's voice carried a hint of excitement.

"Yanxin, did you receive the sculpture I sent you?"

What? This sculpture was actually sent by Gu Tingchu?!

The sense of unease in my heart grew heavier by the second.

For some reason, I had a lingering feeling that Gu Tingchu was up to no good.

"Received it. Why did you send me this?"

Gu Tingchu didn't answer directly, merely offering a faint chuckle.

"Yanxin, since you've received it, hurry up and uncover it to take a look. I'm sure you'll love it."

"Fine, got it."

With that, Qiao Yanxin hung up the phone.

Clearly, she hadn't taken Gu Tingchu's words to heart.

Could a mere statue make her happy? How was that even possible?

Pondering for a moment, Qiao Yanxin waved a hand, signaling the workers to pull away the black cloth draped over the statue.

The black cloth slowly descended, revealing the true appearance of the statue beneath.

The face of that statue was unmistakably, identically my own face!

The figure standing before us was virtually a replica of me, merely scaled up in exact proportion.

Even more uncanny was that the statue's eyes bore an eerie resemblance to mine—lifelike and vivid, utterly impossible to have been carved out of stone.

Seeing those eyes, I couldn't help but freeze.

Could these actually be my real eyes?

The very thought sent a shiver running straight through my bones.

Gu Tingchu—he was truly this vicious and ruthless!

I had clearly come to this place last night and laid eyes on this object, yet never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my own eyes had been plucked and embedded into this sculpture!

Qiao Yanxin was visibly stunned as well.

She stared at the sculpture before her, lost in a trance for a long, unbroken moment.

After a brief pause, she murmured softly,

"Yunzhou..."

A worker stepped forward. "President Qiao, are you satisfied with this statue?"

"Satisfied..."

Though Qiao Yanxin spoke the word, her gaze never shifted away from the sculpture by even a fraction.

I simply couldn't fathom it: the face on this statue was an exact match for mine, and it was a gift sent to Qiao Yanxin by Gu Tingchu. What on earth was he trying to pull?

Whose stomach was he trying to turn?

Naturally, I couldn't bring myself to believe that Gu Tingchu had harbored any kind intentions.

A man like him was just like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, ready to spring out and bite you when you least expected it.

She had this statue placed right in the most prominent spot in the entire garden.

Perhaps because Qiao Yanxin hadn't visited the matrimonial home in a long time, weeds were running rampant across the courtyard.

Frowning at the overgrown grass, she dialed a number and summoned a landscape gardener.

She also called for domestic staff, instructing them to clean the entire house from top to bottom.

Stepping inside the residence, she walked straight into the master bedroom we once shared.

The bedding on the master bed remained unchanged, still the exact sheets from that night when she and Gu Tingchu had shared their intimate tryst.

Noticing the traces left upon the bed, Qiao Yanxin's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly before she ordered a servant to come and replace the sheets.

The servant looked hesitantly at the bed linens and spoke with cautious care, "President Qiao, these sheets haven't even been used yet. Should we really change them?"

"Change them. They're too dirty."