Chapter 136
　　The culprit's attack on Zhao Di meant they likely knew she had recovered. Jia Wenjun and Wu Peng had previously kept Zhao Di's recovery a secret to protect her from the culprit. Now that prevention was impossible, there was no need to hide her condition any longer.

　　After all, the more people who cared for and paid attention to Zhao Di, the safer she would be.

　　The police were informed, and naturally, so were the doctors at the hospital.

　　This change brought Zhao Di, who had previously faded into obscurity, back into the spotlight.

　　The hospital heavily promoted the success of the surgery. The media reported on Zhao Di's recovery at the first opportunity, and the doctor immediately notified Zhao Di's husband, Lin Yang.

　　Lin Yang hadn't been seen at the hospital since Zhao Di's surgery failed.

　　He was dumbfounded when he received the call from the hospital.

　　"Are you telling me the truth? Zhao Di is getting better?" Lin Yang frowned, listening to the doctor on the phone. Besides surprise, there was no joy on his face.

　　He had been planning to sell the house to cut his losses. Zhao Di's recovery was irrelevant to him. From the day he learned that Zhao Di was in a vegetative state, he had been thinking about how to sever ties with her.

　　He knew that the naive and generous benefactor was only sponsoring Zhao Di for a year. He was afraid of having to take over the burden again, so he planned to take advantage of Zhao Di's unconscious state to sell the house himself. Then, he would find a reason to divorce Zhao Di, getting all the assets in his hands while avoiding the burden. Since that burden couldn't hire a lawyer, he would pull some strings, get the divorce finalized, and then be done with it.

　　He was already in talks with several potential buyers. Zhao Di's awakening at this time was deliberately going against him, wasn't it?

　　Hanging up the phone, he didn't even consider going to see the recovering Zhao Di. Instead, he grumbled as he walked towards the entrance of the neighborhood, thinking of buying a few bottles of wine to drink and figure out a solution.

　　As he stepped out of the community gate, he saw Bai Ma Shan feeding a stray dog in front of the pet hospital.

　　The dog was limping, and its tail and fur were rough and unkempt, clearly an old dog.

　　"Brother Bai!" Lin Yang waved to Bai Ma Shan.

　　"Little Lin, what brings you here today?"

　　"Just out to buy something, ran into you."

　　Bai Ma Shan looked at him. "Why the long face? I heard Zhao Di has woken up. You should be happy."

　　Lin Yang shook his head. "Sigh, it's a long story."

　　"What's troubling you? Tell me about it. Maybe I can help."

　　Lin Yang couldn't think of a good solution at the moment. He knew Bai Ma Shan was experienced and willing to help. Probably only Bai Ma Shan in the whole neighborhood could give him some ideas.

　　"Brother Bai, I'm only telling you this because I consider you one of my own. I know I should be happy that my wife woke up, but I really can't be. Think about it, even though she's better, who knows how much she'll recover? If she can't work for the rest of her life and I have to support her, how exhausting would that be? It sounds unkind, but I really want to divorce her. Life is hard for everyone. Who doesn't want to live a little easier?"

　　Bai Ma Shan didn't immediately respond, but patted him on the shoulder. "Come into the shop and we can talk slowly over tea."

　　Inside the office, Bai Ma Shan made Lin Yang a cup of green tea. Lin Yang picked it up, drank it in one gulp, put down the cup, and sighed. "Brother Bai, am I just unlucky? Why do I have so many problems?"

　　"You do have some bad luck," Bai Ma Shan refilled his cup.

　　"Life is short. How can I take care of her for the rest of my life? If the roles were reversed, and I was lying in bed, Zhao Di certainly wouldn't take care of me. They say that husband and wife are birds of the same forest; they fly away when disaster strikes. I'm only doing this out of desperation."

　　Bai Ma Shan knew he wasn't telling the whole truth, so he deliberately said, "You want a divorce. Now that Zhao Di is awake, it's actually easier to handle."

　　Lin Yang stammered. "Actually, I've been selling the house recently. I was thinking of giving her a sum of money for medical expenses after I sell it, so we can part ways amicably. But now that she's awake, she might not agree to me selling the house."

　　Bai Ma Shan instantly understood his intentions. He had previously thought Zhao Di would never wake up, but now that Zhao Di had recovered, it caught him off guard. Of course, he didn't want to sit idly by. Now that Lin Yang was offering himself up as a bullet, how could he not use him?

　　Bai Ma Shan poured him another cup of tea and asked, "Did you two buy the house after you got married?"

　　"Yes."

　　"That's marital property. Unless there was a special agreement when you bought it, it's split equally between the husband and wife."

　　Bai Ma Shan didn't need to guess that the unwilling expression on Lin Yang's face meant that Lin Yang originally wanted to take it all for himself, which was why he wanted to get rid of Zhao Di.

　　To get Bai Ma Shan to help him, Lin Yang lied through his teeth. "I was the one paying the mortgage for that house. She didn't contribute any money at all. I'm willing to give her a sum of money for medical expenses, which isn't really treating her unfairly. After all, the mortgage on the house hasn't been paid off yet. Once it's paid off, there won't be much left. You know I also have to support my parents. They don't have any pension. They're counting on me. What if Zhao Di doesn't want a divorce and clings to me, and doesn't agree to sell the house? What am I supposed to do?"

　　Bai Ma Shan tapped his fingers on the table. "There might be another way."

　　Lin Yang immediately put down his cup and asked, "What way?"

　　"Now that Zhao Di is getting better, why don't you take her home and take care of her yourself? If she sees you sacrificing so much for her every day, she might be so moved that she agrees to let you sell the house." Bai Ma Shan finished speaking, picked up his cup, and slowly drank his tea.

　　Lin Yang repeatedly considered Bai Ma Shan's words. He certainly didn't want to take Zhao Di back to take care of her, but if he had Zhao Di in his hands, a vegetable, wouldn't he be able to do whatever he wanted?

　　If she dared not listen to him, he would give her a lesson. If she kicked the bucket at home, he could just say it was a natural death, and then the house and money would all be his, wouldn't they?

　　At this moment, the old stray dog that Bai Ma Shan had been feeding suddenly ran up and begged Bai Ma Shan for food.

　　Bai Ma Shan turned around and found a handful of dog food to throw to it. The old dog was overjoyed. As it was eating, it suddenly started coughing violently and couldn't breathe.

　　Bai Ma Shan went over to look at it, and his hand pinched the old dog's throat. The old dog still had the dog food that Bai Ma Shan had specially prepared for it on the table in its mouth. The large granules of dog food were dry and rough, perfect for lodging in the throat and trachea.

　　Bai Ma Shan's technique was very subtle. His thumb, hidden in the dog's fur, could feel the dog food. With a slight exertion of his thumb, he precisely pinched the middle of the old dog's throat. His other hand pretended to be stroking the dog to stabilize its body. No matter how much the old dog cried, Bai Ma Shan's movements remained unchanged, steady and without flaws.

　　The tablet-shaped dog food was stuck in the trachea, unable to go up or down. Before long, the poor old dog stopped breathing and didn't move anymore.

　　"Alas, the dog is old, and its hind legs are a little paralyzed. It just died from eating something. How pitiful," Bai Ma Shan said with a look of regret, and carried the dog's body out.

　　Lin Yang, who had watched the whole process, was thoughtful, and then revealed a strange smile.