Jun Jiuli shoved him into the sea, her foot pinning his head firmly. Just as he was about to drown, she’d pull him up for a breath, tormenting him in a vicious cycle.
Lu Yunnan was discovered the next morning, his body swollen and pale, the sea having just receded from his neck. He was alive, but unconscious.
Within three days of his discharge from the hospital, he was back in it. When he woke up again, he was on the verge of madness.
“Uncle Lin, am I still alive?” He clutched his throat, shrinking further into the covers in fear.
“Young Master, what nonsense are you speaking? Of course, you’re fine. The doctor said you just need a few days of observation before you can be discharged.”
Steward Lin helped Lu Yunnan sit up, thoughtfully propping a pillow behind his back.
“Young Master, why did you go there so late at night?” Lu Yunnan tightly gripped his hand.
“Uncle Lin, Xia Xilin is dead. She dragged me into the sea, Uncle Lin, she wanted to kill me. It was so terrifying, so terrifying. I definitely saw it clearly, Uncle Lin, you must believe me.”
“Yes, yes, Young Master, everything you say is correct. The most important thing now is to recover your health.”
“Uncle Lin, do you think I’m lying to you?”
“Not at all. I’ll go to the冥店 (míng diàn - a shop selling offerings for the deceased) later to buy some things to burn for Madam, so she won’t bother you anymore, alright?”
“Yes, go do it now. Hire a somewhat famous Daoist priest to come to the house and perform an exorcism. I’m afraid she’ll resent Yuanyuan and try to cause trouble for her.”
“Understood.”
Recalling Jun Jiuli’s terrifying face and the ruthless way she attacked, Lu Yunnan felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Why did that woman hate him so much? It was all her own doing. If she had confessed from the beginning, none of what happened later would have occurred.
With his mind occupied, he couldn’t rest properly. His phone had been ruined by the seawater yesterday, so Steward Li replaced it with a new one. He turned on the new phone and dialed his personal assistant.
“Go and check which hospital Xia Xilin had her abortion at.”
“Boss, this… this…”
“Why are you stuttering? Is there some hidden information that I, even I, am not privy to?”
“Madam did not go to a hospital.”
“She induced the miscarriage herself with medication?” Lu Yunnan scoffed.
“It’s impossible to even imagine. Medication-induced abortions are so damaging to the body. If no one is around, there’s a high chance of complications. A woman as selfish and self-serving as her, how could she possibly harm her own body like that?”
“Boss, it was Miss Yuanyuan who accidentally pushed Madam down the stairs, and that’s how the child was lost.”
“You’re talking nonsense. How could Yuanyuan be that kind of person? Are you conspiring with Xia Xilin to slander my Yuanyuan?”
The assistant knew he would react like this. Better a dead comrade than a live one. With a hardening of his heart, he sent over the video of Qiao Yuanyuan pushing someone.
Lu Yunnan was completely shocked after watching it. He had never seen such a fierce and malicious expression on Qiao Yuanyuan before. After the shock, he immediately blamed the assistant.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Miss Yuanyuan’s relationship with you is extraordinary, and Madam’s importance in your heart… If I had said something, Boss, you wouldn’t have believed it. Besides, Boss, you didn’t care about Madam, so I didn’t mention it to avoid bothering you.”
Lu Yunnan angrily smashed everything within reach to the ground.
“You scoundrel, you’re lying. Who told you I don’t care about her? Why? Why is it like this? Go, investigate the doctors who examined Xia Xilin and Qiao Yuanyuan back then. Contact me immediately once you have the results.”
“Yes, Boss.”
After hanging up, the assistant breathed a sigh of relief. This psychopathic CEO was truly difficult to serve. He also felt pity for Madam, but he was on the Lu family’s payroll and had to act according to their wishes.
As soon as Lu Yunnan hung up, he immediately called Qiao Yuanyuan.
“Yuanyuan, where are you? Can you come to the hospital to accompany me now?”
“I’m at home making soup for you, Brother Yun Nan. I was just thinking of coming to the hospital to see you later.”
“No need to make the soup. Have the driver bring you over now.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry, Brother Yun Nan?”
“Just come over, it’ll be fine.” With that, he hung up abruptly, a sharp pain piercing his heart.
If everything was his misunderstanding of Xia Xilin, then how much pain had she endured back then?
She had suffered so much, he deserved to die a thousand deaths. No, Qiao Yuanyuan was the one who deserved to die.
Shortly after, the information arrived on his phone. It turned out that everything had been fabricated by Qiao Yuanyuan.
She had stumbled upon that necklace by chance. After learning the necklace’s true owner, her family planned all of this.
She had never undergone any scar removal surgery on her waist; he had been played for a fool by her entire family from beginning to end.
That doctor had also been bribed by the Qiao family. Xia Xilin was his savior, the woman he loved, and the person he should compensate and care for his entire life.
But that person was already dead, dead in the cold, cold sea. Lu Yunnan’s eyes, red from crying, erupted with intense hatred.
He would make Qiao Yuanyuan regret her actions. He would retaliate a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
He made another call. The Qiao family had earned a lot by clinging to him over the years; it was time to bring down their empire.
When Qiao Yuanyuan entered the room, she saw Lu Yunnan staring blankly at her. This made her a bit nervous. She touched her face and said,
“Brother Yun Nan, is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Qiao Yuanyuan, you are truly an expert at pretending.”
Large tears immediately welled up, streaming down like pearls. With a reddened nose, she spoke in a wronged tone,
“Brother Yun Nan, what are you talking about? Yuanyuan doesn’t understand. Has someone spoken ill of Yuanyuan to you? Brother Yun Nan, please don’t easily believe others’ gossip. I love you so much, can’t you feel it?”
As she spoke, she sat by the hospital bed, attempting to grasp Lu Yunnan’s wrist.
Lu Yunnan directly slapped her across the face. Her left cheek quickly swelled and reddened. Qiao Yuanyuan felt a buzzing in her ears, such was the force of the blow.
Qiao Yuanyuan looked at him in disbelief, her voice broken and tragically beautiful as she said, “Brother Yun Nan, you hit me? You actually hit me. I even gave you my kidney for you.”
“Don’t use that to guilt-trip me. You donated a kidney to me; how many kidneys are worth the benefits your Qiao family received? Why did you lie to me? Why?”
“Brother Yun Nan, I didn’t lie to you. Yuanyuan has never lied to you. Has someone been gossiping to you? Those people just can’t stand to see us together. Brother Yun Nan, please don’t believe them.”
“I see you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin.”
Saying this, he cupped her face in his hand and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through picture after picture of evidence, along with that video.
“Paper can never cover fire, hahaha. Qiao Yuanyuan, I will make your entire Qiao family pay for this.”