Volume One, Chapter Three: Not Dead Yet?

“What did you say?!”

Wan’s mother reacted strongly, knocking over her chair as she stood up.

If it weren’t for the glass between them, she might have lunged at Lu Chaoxi to demand a divorce the next moment.

“How could Wan Yan marry you? I warned him not to marry you!”

Her chest heaved violently as she shouted directly at Lu Chaoxi.

Startled, Lu Chaoxi widened her eyes and said, “Mom… Wan Yan and I will be happy.”

“Shut up!” Wan’s mother slammed the glass fiercely, mercilessly cursing, “You filthy woman’s little bastard, you don’t deserve my son at all!”

Lu Chaoxi sat there stunned, tears welling up in her eyes.

She felt wronged and confused, unable to understand why Wan’s mother opposed their marriage so vehemently.

Was it because she was simply not to Wan’s mother’s liking? Or because she was unworthy of Wan Yan?

Lu Chaoxi knew she was born with many privileges, but unlike other wealthy daughters, she lacked literary refinement and the ability to manage a business.

She was inept at everything, a spoiled failure whose father had planned her whole life for her.

Her only courage was in pursuing Wan Yan, breaking free from a predetermined life to live vibrantly once on her own terms, and she was unwilling to give that up.

“Mom, I will work hard to be worthy of Wan Yan!”

Clumsily, Lu Chaoxi raised her hand and swore, thinking sincerity could change Wan’s mother’s mind.

But Wan’s mother cared about something entirely different than what Lu Chaoxi imagined.

“Shut up! Don’t call me mom!”

Just as Wan’s mother was about to continue her tirade, she noticed Wan Yan standing behind Lu Chaoxi.

“My wife is already frightened by you, Mom.”

Wan Yan pulled Lu Chaoxi into his arms to comfort her and said to his mother, “I’ve got the marriage certificate, and I don’t plan to divorce. Once the sentence is over, Chaoxi and I will take good care of you.”

“Wan Yan!” Wan’s mother forced the words out through her throat, “Are you trying to make me die of anger in prison?!”

At this moment, Lu Chaoxi interrupted naively, “Mom will live a long life! Wan Yan didn’t mean that…”

Her voice grew softer and softer as Wan’s mother glared at her fiercely.

She wasn’t unaware of the situation—she was instinctively defending Wan Yan.

Wan Yan lowered his eyes to look at Lu Chaoxi and said calmly, “Chaoxi’s health isn’t good yet; she can’t stay out too long. We’ll come see you later.”

Seeing them turn to leave, Wan’s mother shouted loudly, “Wait!”

Then she said to Lu Chaoxi, “You go out. I want to talk to my son.”

Lu Chaoxi glanced at Wan Yan; he didn’t say anything, so she obediently nodded and left.

---

Wan Yan glanced at his watch and asked, “What do you want to say, Mom?”

Everything had been arranged on Song Yin’s side, and Wan Yan was eager to take Lu Chaoxi there without delay.

Wan’s mother kept a stern expression and warned heavily, “Don’t you dare touch Lu Chaoxi, understand?”

Looking at his mother’s face, Wan Yan realized just how much she hated that woman—and her daughter, Lu Chaoxi.

“I understand. I won’t touch her.”

He didn’t want to touch her either.

In the car, Lu Chaoxi sat in the passenger seat, quietly observing Wan Yan’s expression.

She asked cautiously, “I snuck out to see Mom. Are you angry?”

“Hmm,” Wan Yan admitted bluntly, showing no pity, “Don’t bother my mother anymore. She doesn’t like you.”

Lu Chaoxi bit her lip to hold back tears, but they still fell.

Sniffling, she said seriously, “I will try my best to be a wife worthy of you!”

Wan Yan smiled sarcastically, “Do whatever makes you happy.”

The car finally stopped in front of a club with sleek silver doors tightly closed. Lu Chaoxi got out with a puzzled expression.

When Wan Yan got out and stood beside her, she asked, “Aren’t we going back to the hospital?”

Wan Yan gently stroked her face, “You go inside and have a look. I have a gift for you.”

His smile was incredibly gentle, making Lu Chaoxi momentarily dazed.

“Wan Yan, could you smile like this more often? I like seeing you smile.”

After she spoke, Wan Yan’s smile faded until it disappeared completely.

“You go in first.”

Lu Chaoxi obediently nodded, her heart full of anticipation as she grasped the cold door handle.

Before opening the door, she imagined that maybe Wan Yan had arranged a new wedding to make it up to her.

But what greeted her eyes were rows of white banners fluttering softly, white flowers filling the hall, and finally a huge black-and-white memorial photo.

At that moment, the smile on her face hadn’t yet faded.

Wan Yan, standing behind her, couldn’t see her expression—only that she had frozen in place.

He felt a sharp sense of satisfaction, a clear exhilaration.

After an unknown length of time, Lu Chaoxi slowly turned back around, and Wan Yan finally saw her expression.

It was calm—so calm it was devoid of any ripple, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

Lu Chaoxi blinked her dry eyes and summoned all her strength to say one sentence to Wan Yan before fainting.

---

She said, “Wan Yan, I can’t cry.”

She felt so unfilial, not sad at all, not wanting to cry even a little. Her father would surely be furious enough to come back to scold her. If only he truly couldn’t come back to scold her.

Wan Yan stood there silently watching, his hand never leaving his trouser pocket.

He was somewhat angry—perhaps because he hadn’t heard Lu Chaoxi’s heart-wrenching cries, or maybe for some other reason. He didn’t know.

Now, he didn’t want to touch Lu Chaoxi at all. He turned and got into the car, driving off cleanly and decisively.

Song Yin realized that Lu Chaoxi had been unconscious for an hour.

Early February in early spring was still cold, and Lu Chaoxi was thinly dressed. When she was taken to the hospital, her forehead was burning hot.

Song Yin called Wan Yan to report, and the man only asked, “Still not dead?”

“…No.” Song Yin paused before replying.

Wan Yan muttered on the other end, “She’s got a strong life force. Good. I’m not done playing yet.”

Song Yin didn’t know how to respond, but thankfully Wan Yan hung up right after.

After waking in the hospital, Lu Chaoxi broke down completely. Despite her frail, broken body, she smashed everything in the ward, crying hysterically until she fainted, then repeating the cycle upon waking.

For a whole week, she drifted between delirium and unconsciousness, tears dried up, lying lifeless on the bed.

She refused to let the doctors change her dressings or give her IV drips and wouldn’t eat.

Nurses could only sneak in to give her nutrition shots when she was asleep or had fainted from sorrow again.

During this time, Wan Yan never appeared, and Song Yin came by only out of routine to glance at her.

The only words Lu Chaoxi spoke were to ask where Wan Yan was.

Each time, Song Yin gave the same answer: “The master is very busy and has no time to see you.”

Lu Chaoxi’s body was exhausted from torment, her cheeks hollowed and colorless, completely lacking the bright vitality she once had.

Her haggard appearance was so distressing that she broke the mirror herself.

This was exactly the result Wan Yan wanted. He had succeeded.

The ward was dark, lit only by the light filtering in through the window, barely illuminating the furnishings inside.

Lu Chaoxi didn’t know when she had woken, staring at the ceiling ever since.

While she was unconscious, the nurse had quietly come in to administer another IV drip.