Smack!
A heavy slap hit the kneeling girl. Sun Li wore a face of disdain, her eyes full of disgust.
"Xia Qianwan, do you not have any self-respect? Isn't the living allowance your dad gave you this month enough? How many times have you begged for money this month?"
Sun Li felt inexplicably irritated whenever she saw this illegitimate child. This slap could be considered light.
Xia Qianwan's head turned from the slap, but she remained unmoved.
Self-respect? How much was that worth? Since her mother fell sick, she had long since lost such a noble thing.
Suppressing the sweet taste at the corner of her mouth, Xia Qianwan sat still on the ground, like a stone statue.
Xia Zhenghai looked at the girl in front of him. She was only in her twenties, still wearing a school uniform. Her long hair was simply tied up in a ponytail, and her small face was clean and dust-free. But his gaze towards her was still one of unabashed disgust and rejection.
"This is the last time for this month."
Xia Qianwan looked at the stack of banknotes he handed over, bit her lip, suppressed the embarrassment in her heart, and her voice shivered as she spoke. "The surgery fee for my mother this time is 300,000 yuan..."
This money was far from enough.
"Not enough?"
Upon hearing her words, Sun Li snatched the money out of Xia Zhenghai's hand and threw it mercilessly at her face, "It's best for sluts like her to die. She should have died 20 years ago."
Xia Qianwan didn’t know whether it was because she had been kneeling for too long or because of the weather, but she began to shiver, kneeling on the ground like a begging dog, her tears dropping one by one.
"Dad, mom really can't hold on, I beg you, please save mom... I beg you, the doctor said that if she doesn't have surgery, she won't live past three days..."
Xia Qiannuan was banging her head on the ground and sobbing. Her young face was filled with helplessness and fear. If there was even a smidgen of a chance, she wouldn't beg him in such a demeaning manner.
"Nuannuan, it's not that daddy doesn't want to help, you know how the company isn't doing well recently..."
Xia Zhenghai appeared to be rather troubled, letting out a sigh, "I don't have the money for the surgery. Here, take these 200 dollars, consider it your living expense for next month."
Xia Qiannuan, while banging her head heatedly, paused. The fresh blood from her forehead slid down her pale cheeks, fell to the ground, mingling with her rolling tears, forming a smudge of red on the floor. As for her, she seemed oblivious to it all.
Just then, a tender voice rang, "Daddy, mommy..."
Xia Qianxue, her half-sister from the same father, wearing a newly bought diamond bracelet, hopped her way down from upstairs like a pampered princess. The moment she saw Xia Qiannuan kneeling on the ground pitifully, she hooked her lips into a mocking smile. "Little sis, you're here for your living expenses again?"
Hearing her voice, Xia Qiannuan stiffened. She was kneeling on the ground, submissive as dust. She remained silent, biting her lower lip tightly.
"Qianxue, why aren’t you in your room at this hour?"
Despite the tone of his reprimand, Xia Zhenghai's eyes were devoid of anger. In fact, it carried a hint of indulgence.
"Daddy, I just can't fall asleep."
Xia Qianxue pouted unhappily. Then, she lifted up her wrist, showing off her new diamond bracelet. "Is it pretty? It’s a limited global edition diamond bracelet from D&C. I just bought it today. Cost me 180,000 yuan."
Upon hearing that, Xia Qiannuan looked at the pitiful 200 yuan offered to her lying on the ground. Her heart sank into complete despair.
Staggering, Xia Qiannuan slowly stood up. After kneeling for two hours, her legs had begun to disobey her.
"Dad, are you really just going to stand by and watch me die?"
Xia Qiannuan pleaded, even in such dire moments, she yearned for her father to see her despair.
"Nuannuan, as we've made it clear before, it's not that your father doesn't want to help you. As long as you agree to our conditions, by the day after tomorrow, one million will be transferred into your account immediately."
Xia Qiannuan looked at him and suddenly let out a silent laugh. Why was there such a huge gap between them even though they were daughters from the same father? Was it because she was the illegitimate child?
They wanted her to trade her virginity for a stranger, this felt more cruel than killing her outright. "Dad... are you really going to be this heartless?"
Xia Qiannuan was still a half-grown child after all. Even though she had tried her best to keep her emotions in check, she still choked with sorrow.
"Xia Qianxue is your daughter, but what about me? Don't I count as your child?"
"If not for Xue losing her virginity accidently, do you think we would let you off this easily? Do you know who Huo Yanchen is?"
The heir of the European HU Group, the future inheritor.
Sun Li looked at her arrogantly, letting out a cold snort. If it weren’t for the rumors that Huo Yanchen was a cleanliness freak who preferred pure women, they wouldn't have resorted to such measures.
Xia Qiannuan resignedly closed her eyes and gathered all her courage to say, "Fine, I... I agree with your conditions."
For mom's sake, for now, she was left with no other choice.
"That's my good girl... Daddy knew you would understand."
With a rewarding gaze, Xia Zhenghai took out 200 yuan from his pocket and stuffed them into her hand, "Go get something good to eat, you've lost a lot of weight recently."
Looking at Xia Zhenghai's hypocritical expression, Xia Qiannuan's hand, clutching the 200 yuan, trembled slightly, "Thank you, Dad..."
Then she walked out, as if her soul was out of her body.
"Little sister, you left your money on the ground. Don't you want it?"
Even though the scorching sun was overhead, she still felt the bone-chilling cold.
The next day, in the evening, at the Imperial Hotel.
Presidential Suite
In the darkness, Xia Qian Nuan shivered, her hands clenched tightly together until her fingertips turned white. Suddenly, the room's door was swung open. At the same time, Xia Qian Nuan tensed up.
As the man stepped in, his first reaction was to turn on the light. After several attempts with no response, he stumbled and knocked over the coffee table, falling to the floor.
The strong smell of alcohol mingled with a faint masculine scent in the room. Xia Qian Nuan's breath became rushed. She knew all this had been prearranged – all the circuitry in the room had been cut off to deceive his senses.
"Brother Yan Chen..."
Imitating Xia Qian Xue's tone, Xia Qian Nuan slowly walked towards him, helping the drunken man onto the bed.
"Who are you?" His voice was deep and sexy, like a violin in the darkness, fatally seductive.
Why would there suddenly be another woman in his room? From the smell, it seemed like a very young woman, but surprisingly, he wasn't repulsed.
"Xia Qian..." Xia Qian Nuan paused, "Xia Qian Xue!"
It turned out to be the childhood bride arranged for him by his grandfather. He hadn't thought that the first day he returned to the country, his family would be so eager to promote his marriage. Were they worried he would disagree?
Although he was drunk, Xia Qian Nuan still trembled under the strong aura he exuded. She tried her best to please him, abandoning all her pride and dignity, because only after this night could she receive the life-saving 1 million yuan.