Chapter 2

“Shen Qing!” Bai Lu was so furious her lungs felt like they would explode. She almost screamed.

She realized the woman in front of her was even more formidable than before. When her eldest brother was still around, the two of them had often bickered, but back then, Shen Qing, mindful of her status and upbringing, would always be left speechless with anger after their big blowouts. She had never seen this cold, detached, yet razor-tongued side of her.

Lu Zhi didn’t care what the young lady in front of her was thinking. She leaned back gently in her chair and methodically listed the obvious facts Bai Lu had chosen to ignore.

“From last October until now, this is the second time he’s collapsed in public. His check-ups went from once every three months to once a week. He used to play golf whenever he had free time; now, he hasn’t touched a club in two months.”

“Bai Lu, outsiders might not know these things, but don’t you? Are you lying to yourself, or are you truly blind?”

“I…” For a split second, Bai Lu barely understood Shen Qing’s words, a brief emptiness flashing across her face.

Lu Zhi quietly watched the bewilderment on the other’s face slowly turn to confusion, then to hesitation and disbelief. She waved her hand, and the woman standing nearby with a hesitant look, holding a glass of honey water, quickly stepped forward and placed the cup in front of Bai Lu.

“Drink this to sober up. If you don’t want to eat, go upstairs and change your clothes immediately.” Lu Zhi stood up. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

She tossed these words over her shoulder and left the dining room without looking back, leaving Bai Lu behind to grind her teeth. Eventually, Bai Lu grabbed the glass and gulped down more than half of it.

Lu Zhi didn’t have to wait long. Bai Lu quickly came out wearing a light yellow Chanel suit. She had removed her hairband, her face was bare of makeup, and her hair was still in a simple updo with a pink pearl hair clip. Stray wisps of baby hair clung softly to her skin. Even disheveled, she was still beautiful.

Lu Zhi raised an eyebrow. The girl at least knew the occasion wasn’t right and hadn’t worn any of her usual outlandish outfits.

The black Bentley business car door slammed shut with a “bang.” Lu Zhi and Bai Lu sat on opposite sides of the back seat, not speaking a word to each other, both focused on their phones.

Midway, Lu Zhi switched to a tablet, first checking today’s news about Yifang Group. It was relatively calm, with good and bad news mixed together. The bad news was about the same problematic, unfinished real estate projects from the past two years, along with some routine top-pinned advertisements from the PR department.

Bai Lu was on her phone contacting Father Bai’s secretary, asking about her father’s condition in detail. Since her allowance and cards were usually handled by the secretary, a trusted confidant who had followed her father for nearly twenty years, she was relatively polite to him. Her screen was full of emojis ranging from tantrums to wheedling to outright threats.

Lu Zhi glanced sideways at the other’s brightly colored screen, then thought for a moment and typed “Zhou Ying” into the tablet. The internet instantly returned results, the first being his encyclopedia biography.

Lu Zhi clicked on it.

Zhou Ying, twenty-seven years old, a rising star in the financial world. The Yingshi Capital he founded at the age of twenty-two had, in just five years, invested in and held original equity in sixteen listed companies. The total value of projects successfully exited in recent years had also reached tens of billions. He was hailed by insiders as a true “Angel” investor.

Lu Zhi slowly scrolled down. The encyclopedia entry gave a very detailed description of his company and his past investment cases, but there was almost no mention of his family background, as if crafting the myth of a self-made man.

Lu Zhi, however, knew the truth from the storyline. A person almost capable of turning stones into gold naturally couldn’t be truly self-made. On the contrary, he was born into a financial dynasty; his ancestors had practically all worked in banking and financial systems. The children of the Zhou family started using money to gain experience in the stock market at the age of six. As long as their own abilities were passable and they could leverage their advantages, achieving this level of success wasn’t that surprising.

And Zhou Ying, as the so-called male lead of this world, naturally possessed advantages others couldn’t match.

As a minor supporting female character, one with a somewhat villainous tint, the foolish little Bai Lu played her role diligently. She was strictly following the plot, currently yearning day and night, causing trouble in every possible way, and even willing to die, all to marry the male lead, Zhou Ying. But unfortunately, her heartfelt devotion was met with indifference. Zhou Ying wasn’t swayed by Bai Lu’s extraordinary beauty; instead, he grew annoyed with her for repeatedly provoking the female lead, Lin Wei. In the end, when it came time to carve up the dying camel that was Yifang Group, he showed no mercy.

And Lu Zhi’s current role, Shen Qing, couldn’t even be considered a supporting character. She was just a passerby mentioned in the words of the villainous female supporting character Bai Lu. She had already exited the plot early, dying a sudden death.

The car smoothly entered through the back gate of the People’s Hospital, passed through rows of inpatient buildings, and stopped in a secluded courtyard at the very back.

Bai Lu looked up, surprised. “Why didn’t we go to a private hospital?”

Lu Zhi had already gotten out of the car. She was wearing a pair of beige, flat-soled leather loafers, paired with a light-colored long skirt. She looked relaxed and comfortable.

“Private hospitals are only suitable for recuperation. Their high-end equipment and doctors’ skills can’t compare to the precision and expertise here.”

Bai Lu let out a delayed “ah” after hearing her explanation, but her expression didn’t relax; instead, she grew even more tense.

A public hospital was still a public hospital; the living environment couldn’t compare to the warmth of a private one. The space was filled with harsh white and the smell of disinfectant.

Two men in suits were sitting in front of Ward 906. One was Father Bai’s driver, the other likely his life assistant. They immediately came over upon seeing the two women appear in the corridor.

Bai Lu had no interest in greeting them. She pushed open the ward door. Inside was a suite of about forty square meters. On the left, near the window, was a lounge area with a small sofa, bookshelves, and a desk. On the right was a specialized single patient bed, flanked by a ventilator and a monitor that were not yet in use.

Father Bai was half-reclining in bed. He was only sixty-four. Among his peers, he should have had another ten years in power. But the pain of losing his son and his chronic illnesses made him look far from his previously well-maintained appearance. A tailored, dark high-end suit would usually make him look sharp and energetic, but now, the blue-and-white striped hospital gown cruelly exposed his inherent frailty. His hair lay messily against his face, he looked weary, like a man on his deathbed.

“Dad!” Bai Lu’s heart suddenly ached. Two streams of tears fell without warning. She practically threw herself onto the bed. It was hard to tell if it was grief or fear, possibly both.

In truth, the moment Lu Zhi finished speaking, Bai Lu had believed eighty percent of it. She had certainly noticed these details that family members could easily perceive; she just hadn’t thought much about them. Her father was only sixty-four. Subconsciously, she had always considered her father a towering mountain or an almighty deity, forever able to shield her from the wind and rain. She had never considered that he could also become fragile. Once Lu Zhi calmly laid out that information, the details she’d noticed but never connected instantly surfaced in her mind, slowly forming a conclusion that shocked and terrified her.

Her father’s appearance clearly confirmed it.

Her father was indeed ill, and very seriously so.

This filled her with fear.

Lu Zhi didn’t disturb Bai Lu’s emotional release but quietly watched from behind as she threw herself onto the hospital bed, sobbing.

Originally tending to Father Bai was a woman who looked only a few years older than Lu Zhi. She was Father Bai’s mistress and had been with him for many years. Although without any official status, she handled all the daily care a mistress of the house would. Now, with tact, she stepped back two paces, not disturbing the father and daughter.

Father Bai’s secretary was also present. He was nearly fifty, and though he should have been working, he now stood up and nodded politely at Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi returned a faint smile and said nothing.

Father Bai was initially taken aback by his daughter’s sudden outburst, then slowly came back to his senses. He gently stroked the top of his daughter’s head. “Lulu, don’t be afraid. Daddy is fine. These are all old ailments. I’ll be better after a few days of rest.”

“Daddy, don’t lie to me…” Bai Lu cried and shook her head. Tears flew out with the motion. Her flower-like face looked battered by wind and rain, incredibly pitiful.

Father Bai patiently comforted her. She was his only daughter, raised as preciously as a jewel since she was small. He had never imagined he might have to leave her so hastily.

She was still so young. Without the protection of her father and brother, she wouldn’t survive in the cutthroat world of wealth and fame, which was like a shark feeding frenzy. Father Bai already regretted not educating this daughter the way he had trained his eldest son. Twenty years of indulgence had made her happy enough, but she was like a dodder vine. Without a continuous infusion of family power, she would likely wither instantly.

“Shen Qing, you came too.” Father Bai gathered his momentarily low spirits, rallied himself, and looked up at Lu Zhi standing by the door. “Little Li told me you stayed the whole night yesterday. Thank you for your hard work.”

Lu Zhi shook her head. “It was my duty.”

Father Bai smiled. He was not a man who smiled often, his face usually carrying the sternness and severity characteristic of someone in power. But now, he showed a trace of the kindness of a normal elderly man. “You are a good child. Bai Hao, he…”

Lu Zhi pressed her lips together and remained silent.

Objectively speaking, after Shen Qing married into the Bai family, she hadn’t suffered many grievances at home, apart from Bai Lu being somewhat spoiled. Father Bai had never had high demands of her. Even Bai Hao had usually concealed things well, always attentive and seemingly free of any philandering habits.

In wealthy and noble families, being well-matched had already eliminated a large portion of life’s conflicts. She had only been married to Bai Hao for two years; emotionally, there were no major visible issues. Regarding other material aspects, one family had wealth, the other prestige—a complementary combination that naturally wouldn’t cause friction. Moreover, at the time of their marriage, Bai Hao had generously signed over 1.5% of Yifang Group’s original equity to her, clearly showing full sincerity.

Although Bai Hao was now dead, and his disgusting betrayal had come to light, the union between a scholarly family and a wealthy clan involved more than just affection—there were also many intertwining interests. That was why Shen Qing had still hurried over upon receiving the call.