The time he called was almost the time Qin Yinan fainted from saving her. At the time, her whole focus had been on Qin Yinan; she had not paid any attention to her phone.

Su Zhinian had never called her, especially after that drunken night, their relationship was lukewarm as best, so why would he suddenly call her? Was it due to something important?

After a short hesitation, Song Qingchun called Su Zhinian back, but no one answered.

Song Qingchun frowned slightly and moved her phone away from her ear to end the call. As she did so, her gaze fell on the time shown on screen. It was slightly past 9 pm. Her heart froze; the man had once said, if she was unable to fulfil her side of the contract, he would make Song Empire disappear!

She had to be at his place by 7 pm according to the contract. She had lost track of time due to Qin Yinan, and she had also forgotten to call Su Zhinian to ask for a day-off. Now she had even ignored his call

The more she ruminated on it, the chillier her heart felt. Song Qingchun rushed to the hospital entrance to hail a taxi while praying ardently that Su Zhinian had decided not to return home that day.

Song Qingchun paid the driver and got out of the car.

Before entering the gate, Song Qingchun glanced at the second floor of the bungalow. It was shrouded in darkness; not one light was on. Her heart, which was in her throat, relaxed slightly because it seemed like Su Zhinian was not home.

Song Qingchun jogged to the front door. She keyed in the password, pulled open the door, and reached for the light switch. The large chandelier in the first floor living room lit up the whole interior space.

The air in the room was rather damp, so Song Qingchun shrugged off her coat before bending down to pull her slippers out of the shoe rack.

Song Qingchun walked toward the kitchen to start working on dinner. She only took two steps when she saw Su Zhinian sitting on a sofa in the living room. Her whole body shook from the fearful surprise, and she froze.

Su Zhinian is at home? But why would he be sitting in the dark? Could it be that he's been waiting for me to come home to lay a nasty trap for me?

Song Qingchun's heart raced exceptionally fast. She did not even dare to glance at Su Zhinian. With a bowed head, she stood there quietly, waiting for the scolding that did not come.

However, his complete silence made her skin crawl with consternation. She unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva and started apologizing. "Mr. Su, I'm so sorry for being late"

Her only reply was a roomful of silence.

The stress in Song Qingchun's heart only increased; she even had trouble breathing. She continued in a shaking voice. "I swear this is the first time and also the last time

"Mr. Su, I have truly learned my lesson; it was not my plan to be late."

Song Qingchun apologized profusely but got no reply from Su Zhinian. Finally, she could not help but quietly raised her eyes to look at Su Zhinian. Then, she realized the man was almost collapsed on the sofa, his head slumping weakly on his shoulder.

Is he asleep?

"Mr. Su?" Song Qingchun bit the bottom of her lips and called Su Zhinian twice. Since he still gave no reaction, she collected her courage and approached him carefully.