"So," she asked, a playful smile on her lips, "you don't believe me?"

"Do you think I should believe such nonsense?" Zhou Yanran scoffed. "You're shameless, making up such lies just to cover yourself."

Tao Yu shrugged. "There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me. I can't exactly tell you Linze's private preferences just to prove I'm his girlfriend, can I? Like how he enjoys being tied up, or that he prefers not to… do it in bed. If you keep pushing, I suppose I'll have to tell you he likes me calling him 'Sir.' But that's all you're getting."

Zhou Yanran was speechless.

The eavesdropping housekeeper was even more shocked. Dr. Tao and him are innocent, right? Why does she make it sound so real?!

Yue Linze listened calmly to these fabricated kinks, then finally said, "Tao Yu."

He only spoke her name, but the housekeeper sensed a storm brewing. He coughed, straightened up, and pretended to hear nothing while subtly angling his ear closer to his phone.

Zhou Yanran sputtered, then burst out, "How can you be so shameless, airing such private matters? Typical of someone from a poor background, so vulgar. I don't understand what Linze sees in you!"

As soon as she finished, the housekeeper saw Yue Linze's expression darken. He sighed inwardly. Mr. Gu lacked class, and now his chosen daughter-in-law was no better, blinded by money and resorting to such low blows.

She doesn't suspect anything now? How gullible. Tao Yu smiled sweetly. "I wonder the same thing. Why would Linze like someone crude, poor, and awful like me, and completely ignore a beautiful, wealthy lady like Miss Zhou? Could it be because Miss Zhou is always meddling?"

"Why would I care about who Yue Linze likes?" Zhou Yanran felt exposed, as if stripped bare. Thoroughly enraged, she lashed out, "He's a cripple! Why would I ever be interested in him? I only went to his house back then to see how pathetic he was."

"Miss Zhou," Tao Yu said, her brow furrowing in displeasure.

Zhou Yanran sneered. "He truly is pathetic. Can't even walk. He used to be so proud, and now he's a useless shut-in. He has the nerve to attend Uncle Gu's birthday party? Isn't he afraid of having a panic attack seeing so many people?"

"Miss Zhou, please show some respect," Tao Yu said sternly.

Zhou Yanran laughed. "I would show respect, but he doesn't deserve it. A cripple born to a woman so desperate she needed a man to marry into her family? What right does he have to my respect?"

"This woman! I'll go deal with her!" The housekeeper, enraged by the insults to Yue Linze and his deceased mother, nearly had a heart attack. He started to move.

"Stop," Yue Linze said quietly, his eyes downcast.

The butler froze, then turned to see Yue Linze's cold expression. He closed his mouth, turned back, and glared at the phone as if it were Zhou Yanran herself.

"Miss Zhou…" Tao Yu's lips thinned; her patience was wearing thin.

Seeing Tao Yu's serious expression, Zhou Yanran realized she had struck a nerve. Growing bolder, she continued, "What? Are you upset that I'm talking about him? But he is a cripple! A penniless, useless cripple. With Uncle Gu around, he won't get a penny from the Yue family. Then you'll be begging on the streets with your useless cripple. Not that you aren't already good at that…"

Slap!

Before she could finish, a slap landed hard across her face. Zhou Yanran's head snapped to the side. 

"You… you dare hit me?!" she shrieked, incredulous.

"You're vile. Did you think you wouldn't get slapped?" Tao Yu said calmly. At first, she'd thought Zhou Yanran was just foolish, not truly malicious, and posed no real threat to Yue Linze. She'd treated the provocation as a game. But Zhou Yanran had escalated things, and needed to be put in her place.

The butler, fuming just moments before, felt a surge of satisfaction at the sound of the slap. However, it was short-lived. Zhou Yanran's shriek turned into a furious scream. "How dare you hit me, you nobody! I'll kill you!"

Tao Yu gasped, and the sound of a heavy thud followed.

The butler jumped, seeing Yue Linze hang up the phone. Knowing he was going to confront the situation, the butler hurried to push his wheelchair.

By the time they reached the restroom, a crowd had gathered. Yue Linying arrived, looking at Yue Linze, who ignored him completely.

Yue Linying, seething, snapped at the crowd, "Get out of here! Do you want to wake Father with all this commotion?!"

"Young Master, the door is locked. Miss Zhou and Miss Tao are both inside…" a servant said hesitantly.