Chapter 171 Unrepentant to the Death

"Move aside."

Qin Xuan spoke coldly, walking straight toward the door.

Seeing him march toward him without the slightest hesitation, Wang Xiang instinctively took two steps back in fright. Qin Xuan had truly left a deep psychological shadow on him. But then a thought flashed through his mind: he now had the backing of the prestigious Beijing Wang family, so what could Qin Xuan possibly do to him?

With that reassurance, he stopped retreating after two steps and stood rigidly straight in the doorway. "Qin Xuan, you can leave if you want, but leave Yina behind!"

"In your dreams."

Qin Xuan's pace never faltered. Supporting Shen Yina, he walked forward along the corridor. Two meters away stood Wang Xiang, and right behind Wang Xiang was the entrance to the hospital room.

Two meters.

One meter!

When the distance between Qin Xuan and Wang Xiang closed to a single meter, Wang Xiang began to tremble all over. He could see that Qin Xuan's chilling gaze seemed capable of freezing a person to the bone!

Yet, convincing himself that Qin Xuan would never dare to lay a hand on him, he forced his trembling legs to hold their ground, puffed out his chest with a supreme effort, and tried to stare Qin Xuan down.

At that exact moment, Qin Xuan raised his hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" Wang Xiang asked through clenched teeth.

"Get out of the way."

Qin Xuan's voice was nonchalant as he casually patted Wang Xiang's shoulder.

Slap!

The blow was hardly heavy at all, but Wang Xiang was swept violently aside, looking as though he had willingly stepped out of the way to give Qin Xuan a wide berth. Wang Xiang felt utterly humiliated, but the moment he was touched, a wave of nameless terror paralyzed him, leaving him too terrified to even draw a full breath.

Right in front of Qin Xuan and Shen Yina now was the doorway of the ward. One more step, and they would be entirely out of this place.

"Shen Yina! If you dare to walk out that door today, don't ever think of yourself as my daughter again!" Shen Donglai finally snapped back to his senses. Seeing them reach the exit, he immediately hurled a final threat.

Fury blazed in his eyes. He could not possibly let Shen Yina walk away; if she left, his grand dream of latching onto the Beijing Wang family would go up in smoke.

He knew all too well that Qin Xuan possessed formidable martial arts prowess, and any heavy-handed physical obstruction on his part would prove useless. Threats were his only remaining weapon against Shen Yina. Left with no other choice, Shen Donglai racked his brain and found nothing else that could hold any leverage over her—after all, ever since high school, Shen Yina had never relied on him for living expenses, let alone now.

The moment those words left his mouth, Qin Xuan clearly felt the delicate frame of the young woman in his arms shudder, as if genuinely startled by Shen Donglai's harsh tone. But the trembling lasted only a second. Shen Yina immediately reached out a hand and gently tugged at the corner of Qin Xuan's sleeve. "Pay him no mind. Let's go."

Qin Xuan sighed inwardly, took her by the arm, and stepped out of the room, turning the corner into the hallway.

Watching the two of them depart so decisively, Shen Donglai was struck dumb with shock. He had never imagined that his ultimate trump card—one he prided himself on—would fail to stop Shen Yina for even a single second.

Could it be that in Shen Yina's eyes, he had long ceased to exist as a father? This was simply outrageous! Shen Donglai seethed with anger, yet he dared not give chase for fear of taking a beating.

Even at this juncture, Shen Donglai remained stubbornly unrepentant and devoid of any self-awareness, proving what an utterly hopeless specimen he truly was. That his relationship with his daughter had deteriorated to this point was, when all was said and done, entirely his own fault.

With Qin Xuan supporting Shen Yina out of sight, Wang Xiang finally exhaled a massive sigh of relief and regained his composure. He realized at last that the gap between himself and Qin Xuan lay not merely in their respective backing, but in raw personal strength and bearing.

"My precious son, why did you suddenly step aside and let him pass?"

Wang Hongying walked up to him with a puzzled expression.

"Ah!"

Still immersed in the oppressive aura Qin Xuan had conjured moments ago, Wang Xiang jumped in fright at the sound of his mother's voice. Turning back, he hastily covered. "Mom, we don't need to worry about him. There's plenty of time to deal with that punk; let him squirm for a while longer. Didn't you say Cousin Zixi is visiting Jinling soon? Once Cousin Zixi arrives, that punk is completely finished. Until then, I just wanted to toy with him a bit and use him to sharpen my own skills."

"Good, good boy, Mom believes in you. Absolutely, no matter how grand a person's background is, a bit of tempering is always necessary."

Wang Hongying beamed with satisfied praise.

Paying no mind whatsoever to Shen Donglai, who remained trapped inside the ward, mother and son turned and strolled off together.

Left standing alone in the center of the room, Shen Donglai was consumed by a torrent of bitter regret. If only he had driven that Qin Xuan away sooner, wouldn't things between Shen Yina and Wang Xiang have worked out smoothly?

Now look at the mess—he had even lost his daughter.

"Oh, Bank President Shen, you're still here?"

After a long silence, a voice filled with mild surprise drifted in from outside the ward.

"Ah, Secretary Zhou. I was just checking in on my daughter."

Shen Donglai's face instantly blossomed into a warm smile as he hurried over to greet the visitor. Sure enough, it was Zhou Bosheng, who happened to pass by after finishing his visit with Zhou Xiaoyu.

"Haha, is that so? Since I'm passing by, it would feel rather discourteous not to step in and offer my regards." Zhou Bosheng was in high spirits, especially since Zhou Xiaoyu was recovering at a remarkable pace. "I hear your daughter is an absolute beauty. What do you say, care to let an old man have a look? Who knows, maybe that boy Xiaoyu and her would hit it off splendidly."

A spark ignited in Shen Donglai's chest. What did that remark imply?

He knew that officials always spoke in half-truths. Could this mean the Secretary intended to play matchmaker between Zhou Xiaoyu and his daughter? While this Zhou Secretary might not wield the overwhelming influence of the Zhao family or the Beijing Wang family, he was still the municipal party secretary; forging a connection with him would be exceptionally advantageous.

Yet, Shen Donglai felt on the verge of tears. Where in the world was his daughter supposed to be found in this room? She had already left with Qin Xuan, and by now, they were probably well past the hospital gates.

"Ahem, well, you see, Secretary Zhou, my daughter only sustained minor injuries, and she has already been discharged..." Shen Donglai replied with an awkward grimace.

"Is that so? Haha. Well then, I won't disturb you any further. I'll take my leave."

Unfazed, Zhou Bosheng laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and turned away.

Shen Donglai stood frozen in a daze for a long while. Mulling it over from every angle, he ultimately concluded that the Beijing Wang family remained the most formidable force of all.

"Since there are members of the Beijing Wang family right here in Jinling, letting such a connection slip away would be an absolute waste... Yes, I must forge this tie. Even if that rebellious girl lacks manners, once the Wang family deals with that punk Qin Xuan, I'm sure she will eventually appreciate my painstaking efforts. Splendid, that's what I'll do..."

***

"Don't you think you've made things entirely too rigid with your father?"

Supporting Shen Yina, Qin Xuan quickly exited the hospital grounds, letting out a soft sigh.

"Sigh, what's so rigid about it?" Shen Yina sighed as well, but a smile quickly bloomed on her face as she leaned a fraction closer to Qin Xuan's side. "Right now, I just feel a thousand times lighter and more at ease."

"Fair enough."

Sensing the lingering weakness in her frame, a hint of worry crept into Qin Xuan's thoughts.

"Are you certain you want to return to the dormitory? Your shoulder injury may not be life-threatening, but strenuous movement is out of the question for the next couple of days. Staying in a dorm won't be very convenient."

"Oh..."

Shen Yina blinked in sudden consternation. She genuinely hadn't factored that issue into her plans. Her entire focus moments earlier had been fixed on escaping that suffocating cage and walking away with Qin Xuan. Only now did it dawn on her that while she had finally tasted true freedom, she had lost her resting place.