Mu Chenyan furrowed her eyebrows because something had gotten on her nerves. She sneered, “From ancient times, fights between jealous women were caused by these women’s own actions. Talk to Yuan Xuan if you’re in love with him and ask him why he didn’t marry you. Why are you stubbornly arguing with me?

“I wouldn’t have gotten you into this mess if we were in each other’s shoes now. If I desired Yuan Xuan, I would’ve thought of every way to improve myself to gain his favor. Otherwise, someone else would’ve stolen my man even if it wasn’t you!”

Mu Chenyan did not mince her words.

“I only said that you ruined a good hand of cards because I felt that your misfortune was caused by greed in the end!”

Shu Qinger was filled with rage. She shot daggers at Mu Chenyan. “Are you calling me greedy?”

“Yes!” Mu Chenyan gritted her teeth and stood by her words. “You planned the kidnapping and rape incident in England on your own, didn’t you?”

Shu Qinger widened her eyes in disbelief. She retreated slightly before her trembling body curled up into a ball.

Mu Chenyan saw that her face had turned ashen while she sounded rather hesitant now. She was unsure of whether to continue speaking.

“You… What are you saying? I don’t… I don’t understand…”

Qinger attempted to redeem herself. She spared no effort to control the scene.

“What do you know? Aren’t you extremely pleased with yourself now? You think that you’re pure in Yuan Xuan’s eyes while I’m tainted. You’re trying to slander me in every possible way!”

Mu Chenyan had never planned to expose her in the beginning but the malicious aura in her heart kept recklessly gnawing at her conscience.

Shu Qinger would have buried this secret in the depths of her heart forever if she had not been provoked.

“That kidnapping case was a constant burden in Yuan Xuan’s mind! He thought that he had made you suffer by implicating you. Most importantly, when he witnessed you getting raped, this formed an invisible wound in his heart that served as a reminder that he was eternally indebted to you. However, he was unaware that you had orchestrated everything. You were merely suffering the consequences of your own actions!”

Mu Chenyan paid attention to Shu Qinger’s gloomy expression when she spoke.

Qinger had never imagined that Mu Chenyan would say this. She attempted to calm her anxious heart. She furrowed her eyebrows and scowled while her beautiful little face became rather fierce. “Mu Chenyan, do you have any proof?”

“These are my inferences!”

“Inferences?” Qinger was at a loss. She sneered, “In other words, are they merely baseless accusations?”

Mu Chenyan turned and walked towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake. “Take a seat, I’ll explain everything to you properly.”

Shu Qinger trailed Mu Chenyan. The two women resembled close-knit sisters from afar.

Qinger sat opposite Mu Chenyan with her back facing the lake. Her little face looked even paler when the bright moonlight and gleaming water reflected off it.

“Your original plan was to kidnap me!” Mu Chenyan confidently said. This threw Shu Qinger off but she forced herself to look focused instead. She sneered, “Keep going, I’m listening!”

“Unfortunately, there was a problem with the timing. I’d returned home suddenly because something happened at home. Worse still, you had sent several greenhorns to do the job!

“They carried out the kidnapping after receiving the order from their superiors but they kidnapped you and Yuan Xuan instead. Chinese girls all looked the same to them and they assumed that the girl by Yuan Xuan’s side was definitely me. You had intentionally copied my style during that period of time as well.”

Shu Qinger sneered, “Nonsense! Why would I copy you?”

“Previously, you said that Yuan Xuan seemed different when you met him in Italy compared to the times you saw him in England. In Italy, a carefree person like you would never wear a uniform like a ‘good girl’. Wouldn’t you have hated to dress like that?”

This point had really hit the mark and revealed Shu Qinger’s true feelings. She remained silent but gestured for Mu Chenyan to continue.

“You felt threatened because I was always with Yuan Xuan, so you paid attention to me in many ways. You even copied my habits on purpose!

“This caused the kidnappers to accidentally kidnap the person who was backing them financially. Suddenly, things descended into chaos when they realized that both the police and the criminals of the underworld were pursuing them!

“However, their superiors had instructed them to rape Miss Mu in front of Yuan Xuan. Unfortunately, you had really shot yourself in the foot because of that.”

The anger in Mu Chenyan’s eyes had vanished after she finished speaking. It was replaced with disappointment instead.

“Is this what you meant when you said that I ruined a good hand of cards?”

The corners of Qinger’s lips curled upward into a terribly sarcastic smile once she had heard everything. This was actually not far from the truth.

When her gorgeous face was coupled with this expression, people would immediately think of her as a femme fatale!

“You have such a vivid imagination. How did you come to this conclusion?”

Shu Qinger calmed her thoughts and got up before she approached Mu Chenyan. Fury and resentment were both present in her bright pupils.

Mu Chenyan kept quiet and merely looked at Shu Qinger. Moments later, she murmured, “Qinger, this wasn’t just a wild guess.”

Shu Qinger sniggered while the dark aura in her eyes grew more intense. “If this isn’t a wild guess, are you saying that you have evidence?”

Mu Chenyan faintly smiled. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re a fine example of an egoist!”

“A fine example of an egoist?” Shu Qinger smirked.

“This term is very popular now! Are you merely using it on me to hide the fact that you made all those accusations against me without any concrete evidence?”

Mu Chenyan rose as well. She met Shu Qinger’s gaze while they were on opposite sides. Both of these women had similar figures and identical auras. It seemed as though neither of them was willing to give in to the other party.

“You probably know that term better than I do! You went out of your way to save Yuan Xuan but an egotistical person like you wouldn’t have done it purely out of love.”

Mu Chenyan spoke slowly. She did not want to attack Shu Qinger or get back at her; she merely wanted her to stop treating everyone else like idiots!

“You merely treated Yuan Xuan like an item in your private collection before he became everything to you. That’s why you grew increasingly obsessed with him after that plan failed. Am I wrong?”

Shu Qinger’s face was filled with embarrassment after Mu Chenyan saw through her.

The previous incident had been concealed so well that even the assassins were unaware of their financial backer after they were caught. It would have been impossible for them to accuse her. She had never imagined that Mu Chenyan could easily come to this conclusion just by “guessing”.

She had lost everything now. How could she allow Yuan Xuan to discover the secret behind his debt of gratitude?

She had used this opportunity to benefit herself by tricking others. Although other people had taken advantage of her, she made Yuan Xuan feel as though he owed her an enormous favor.

How would Yuan Xuan treat her if he discovered the truth?

She had certainly shot herself in the foot.

She feared that Yuan Xuan would avoid her because he assumed that Shu Qinger was tainted. This led her to continue on as Zhao Ruoxin previously. She had even added an additional element because of that…

Shu Qinger looked at Mu Chenyan. She sneered, “Mu Chenyan, have you ever thought that you’d be too smart for your own good one day?”

Mu Chenyan remained silent. She merely glanced at Qinger’s slightly contorted face. Shu Qinger was so angry that her shoulders trembled. A painful tremor surged in her heart before she unconsciously realized that both of them had been thwarted by fate.

Shu Qinger had lost her mind. Suddenly, she swung her arm at Mu Chenyan and yelled, “Why don’t you just die?”

Mu Chenyan reacted instantly. Perhaps she had realized that something was wrong the moment Qinger reached her hand out. She instinctively dodged sideways…

Qinger exerted a lot of force. It seemed as though she had planned to push Mu Chenyan into the artificial lake. Unfortunately, Mu Chenyan had escaped to the side while Qinger who was panting terribly could not stand steadily. She tumbled forward before she fell into the man-made lake…

“Splash!”

The water level rose during the splash…