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Both sides remained silent.

Li Qin was the first to speak.

"I'm curious, you could have pretended to be sick to keep him around for a long time. After all, this kind of illness can relapse and last for years, which is normal. But it seems you have no such plans?"

Chen Xi rolled her eyes at her without saying anything.

"Forgive my bluntness, young girl," the woman said, taking a sip of her tea with milk, "letting him care for you because of your illness, then slowly developing feelings, is the safest and easiest way. But why don't you..."

"None of your business," Chen Xi said clearly and firmly.

Such an offensive remark only earned a gentle smile from the other:

"You really are just like I used to be..."

"No, I'm not," Chen Xi said with a dark expression, looking at the remaining cup of tea with milk on the table. "I'm not as petty as someone else."

"But aren't you still holding a grudge?"

"…"

Silence fell between them, and eventually, Li Qin couldn't hold back, shaking her head with a smile as she asked:

"Can you tell me why you don't do that?"

Chen Xi narrowed her eyes, staring coldly at the other woman. "Because I don't want you to make more money, got it?"

"That's fine," the woman said casually, still smiling. "Do you think I care about that little bit of money?"

"You don't?"

Li Qin shook her head.

"Then what do you care abou—" Chen Xi began, a flash of instinctive wariness in her eyes, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. "You old woman, aren't you shameless at your age!? Are you actually interested in him!?"

The other woman shook her head again, took another sip of her tea with milk, and said with a smile, "No, no, no, you're overthinking it. I only care about interesting things, or rather... fun."

The two fell silent again, Chen Xi's face full of doubt, her lips twitching for a long time before she couldn't help but curse:

"Are you crazy?"

Unexpectedly, this remark made the other woman's mouth curl into a strange arc, her eyes suddenly filled with excitement, like a beast discovering its prey.

"I told you, Chen Xi, you're really like I used to be."

"You're sick, I'm sick too, and we're both beyond saving!"

As the words ended, the strange expression on the woman's face disappeared, returning to normal with no trace left behind.

"The money he paid me before, I won't take a penny. I'll refund it all to you. All I want is to ask you a few questions. How about it? Want to make a deal?"

Chen Xi said nothing, just crossed her arms.

Seeing this, Li Qin shook her head with a smile, crossed her legs, and pushed the cup of tea with milk on the table towards the young girl, then looked up at her:

"Here, I'll give you another cup of tea with milk. Can you talk now?"

"That's more like it..."

Chen Xi snorted, taking the cup of tea with milk with a backhand, looking at the label on it, and muttering to herself, "What I want, I must get it by any means."

After saying this, she deliberately mimicked the other's posture, crossing her legs, and while sipping the tea with milk happily, she said unclearly:

"Go ahead, what do you want to ask? But let's be clear, if you dare tell him, don't blame me for wrecking this place of yours!"

"Why confirm with me?" Li Qin's face lit up with excitement. "We're partners in crime."

Chen Xi rolled her eyes at her again, impatiently saying, "Who's your partner in crime? Speak quickly, or let it out quickly!"

Despite the repeated insults, even Li Qin couldn't hold back, complaining with a wry smile, "Hey, I'm a psychological consultant, I can self-regulate, but I can still get angry, you know?"

The young girl ignored this, instead raising the stakes, acting shamelessly, "Fine, the price of the deal just went up. I'm like this, ask if you want!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell him something?" Li Qin finally couldn't hold back, even her tone carried a hint of anger.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm just adding weight to my side."

Silence, a stalemate.

This time, Chen Xi crossed her arms and stated, "Hurry up and speak, I'll try to respect you a bit."

The other woman didn't continue to be coy, straightening her back, leaning forward, and getting straight to the point, "First, why don't you use the method of pretending to be sick to slowly change his mind? Honestly, it's the method I approve of the most."

Chen Xi answered simply.

"I can't wait," the young girl said through gritted teeth, a hint of possessiveness flashing in her eyes. "I can't wait even a second."

"But if you're so impatient, why pretend to be sick?" Li Qin pressed on. "It's completely different from what you want, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Chen Xi glanced at her with a look of disbelief, then explained:

"Leaving a way out."

"!"

Li Qin was stunned, frowning as if trying hard to think, then her eyes suddenly widened, asking excitedly, "Are you saying that you did all this just to have an excuse for worsening illness in case of failure, so that no matter how angry he is, he'll blame the illness and not you!?"

Chen Xi just looked at the straw, happily sipping her tea with milk, neither admitting nor denying.

"A cautious genius!" Li Qin couldn't help but exclaim.

But one question was solved, and there was a second question, which was...

"Why do you want him to think you're seriously ill?"

This question seemed simple but was beyond Chen Xi's imagination, so this time it was the young girl who couldn't help but ask:

"Don't you know why? Why ask me?"

Li Qin's eyes were even more excited, emphasizing again, "But I want you to say it yourself."

To this, Chen Xi just sneered, then cleared her throat and said disdainfully:

"To shift the blame. Isn't this the method used by Asan in handling domestic affairs?"

"First, make him think my affection for him is due to illness, thus clearing the stain in his eyes, then instill the idea that the illness can be cured and might relapse. Naturally, he'll focus on that, and then..."

At this point, the young girl's face inexplicably turned red, her voice lowered a bit, "Then... no matter what happens, I can blame it on a nonexistent illness. Anyway, I already have your certificate, I'm already a 'patient,' and no one blames a 'patient,' right?"