Chapter 103 p1
The Special Ward officers and vehicles had gathered at the front of the house, leaving only Xu Yincheng’s SUV and Xu Jinnan’s Porsche.
The SUV’s headlights illuminated the dark courtyard, the vehicle like a spotlight on a stage.
The window was down, revealing a strong, tanned arm, a hand holding a cigarette, the smoke curling upwards, then dissipating in the wind.
Xu Jinnan’s vision was blurry, likely a side effect of the taser.
Her legs felt weak and numb, and she leaned heavily on Li Lan’s shoulder for support as they walked towards the SUV.
She saw a familiar figure standing by the car – Xu Yincheng’s female bodyguard.
Dressed in black, her figure outlined against the dark car, a long, narrow case strapped to her back, she was talking to someone inside the SUV, then glanced towards them.
As they approached, they heard Xu Yincheng’s voice, low and cold, then saw his hand gesture dismissively. “Go,” he said.
The bodyguard nodded, then walked past them, her gaze lingering on Xu Jinnan for a moment.
Xu Jinnan noticed another car parked nearby, in the shadows.
The sound of a car door opening startled her, and she looked up to see Xu Yincheng emerge from the SUV, extinguishing his cigarette. His gaze swept over the bloodstains on her neck…
For a moment, even Xu Jinnan felt a chill, a hint of his… ruthlessness.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked, his voice sharp, his eyes narrowed, his usual warmth replaced by a coldness that surprised Xu Jinnan.
She shook her head, her voice weak. “Why are you back?”
“If I hadn’t come back, you would be the one in the ambulance right now. What were you thinking, rushing in like that?” he asked, his tone harsh, a rare display of anger.
“…I didn’t rush in,” she mumbled.
She hadn’t been reckless; she had simply been caught off guard, not expecting Xu Lian to attack her from behind.
She didn’t know Xu Yincheng well, knew his affection was actually meant for the original Xu Jinnan, but she still felt like a child being scolded by a parent.
It was a strange feeling, but not unpleasant.
“Does it hurt?” he asked, his voice softening slightly, seeing her pale face and weary expression. He didn’t have the heart to scold her further. “Get in the car.”
Li Lan, watching them, handed Xu Jinnan over to Xu Yincheng’s care. She had expected him to be angry with her for involving Xu Jinnan, but seeing him now, she felt a strange mix of emotions.
“I’ll go check on the situation,” she said, turning to leave.
Xu Yincheng’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, then he nodded curtly, not saying a word.
–
Inside the SUV, the sharp scent of antiseptic filled the air.
“Don’t try to be brave. Tell me if it hurts,” Xu Yincheng said, his voice gentle as he carefully dabbed the wound on Xu Jinnan’s neck with an antiseptic-soaked cotton swab, his expression grim in the bright light of the car’s interior.
The cut was deep, almost five centimeters long, a hair’s breadth from her carotid artery.
He stared at the wound, his voice hardening. “Why did you run after her? What if I hadn’t arrived in time?”
Xu Jinnan, remembering the case the bodyguard had been carrying, asked, “Was it… her who shot Xu Lian?”
“I did,” Xu Yincheng replied.
Xu Jinnan: “…”
She glanced at his hands, large and tanned, the calloused knuckles a testament to his… profession.
After Li Lan’s earlier comment, and now his own admission, she had a pretty good idea of what he did.
Something similar to a special agent, perhaps even a high-ranking officer.
Seeing her silence, he asked, “Are you scared?”
“Your aim is good. Xu Lian didn’t die,” Xu Jinnan replied.
As Li Lan had said, leaving Xu Lian alive was a crueler punishment.
Xu Yincheng, his expression softening at her praise, his earlier coldness melting away, chuckled. “It’s not easy to get a compliment from you.”
“If she had died, I would have lost sleep for days,” he added, a cold smile playing on his lips, though his touch, as he continued to clean the wound, was gentle. “Hurting you… there are consequences.”
“Aren’t you worried about… getting involved?” Xu Jinnan asked.
He was always so discreet, even in front of her. Wouldn’t this kind of direct intervention cause problems?
“I shouldn’t have interfered. It’s against protocol. But the Special Ward officers were too slow, too cautious,” he explained. Li Lan had just arrived with her team when he received the news, and he hadn’t had the patience to wait for them to set up a sniper position.
He had simply climbed onto the roof and taken the shot himself.
Making someone suffer was easy for him.
Xu Jinnan didn’t know what to say.
After all these incidents, she could see how much he cared for his younger sister, a protectiveness that transcended even blood ties.
It was strangely touching.
She winced as he applied more antiseptic to the wound, the stinging sensation making her inhale sharply. While it wasn’t as painful as alcohol, it still stung.
Fortunately, it was still a safe distance from her scent gland.
Xu Yincheng, seeing her wince, her face pale and damp with sweat, a few strands of hair clinging to her cheeks, making her look strangely vulnerable, reached out and gently brushed them away.
He rarely saw this side of Xu Jinnan.
“Why did you leave the Xu family?” she asked suddenly.
He was a Xu, after all, but having been away from North City for so long, few people knew him, so she hadn’t thought much about it before.
But now that he was back, having saved her…
He paused, as if surprised by the question, then, after applying a bandage to the wound, said, “Nannan, do you know why I left?”
Xu Jinnan shook her head.
She vaguely remembered two entries about him in the diary the original Xu Jinnan had kept in the metal box.
– Dad was drunk and beat up Xu Yincheng. So, it wasn’t just me. I helped him, but it hurt.
– Xu Yincheng is very kind to me, but he left today. He told me to take care of myself. How ironic.
Who would want to stay in a place like that? she thought. If it weren’t for Lu Yun’s manipulation, the original Xu Jinnan could have left too.
“You were still young then. I didn’t leave just because of Xu Tao and Lu Yun,” he said, gently tucking a stray curl behind Xu Jinnan’s ear. “Something happened, and I had to leave. And I realized that to protect you, I needed to become stronger.”
“What happened?”
“I… crippled someone and almost ended up in the Special Ward. Then, I met someone who offered me a job, and… here I am.”
So, his departure had been unavoidable?
In Xu Tao’s eyes, Xu Li was his favorite, the only one he hadn’t abused. If Xu Yincheng had been arrested, Xu Tao, with his obsession with appearances, would have been furious.
But the original Xu Jinnan hadn’t known the reason for his departure.
So, when he left, her only ally in that house of horrors, she had felt abandoned, his departure another scar on her already wounded soul, another crack in the foundation of her sanity.
“Nannan,” he said softly.
“Yes?”
Xu Jinnan’s responses were becoming slower, her head spinning.
“For a long time, I regretted leaving. I knew you didn’t want me to go,” he continued, remembering the first time he had returned, and the way Xu Jinnan had looked at him, like a stranger.
He leaned back in his seat, the fabric of his shirt stretching slightly across his broad shoulders.
His thoughts drifted back to that day.
Even the highest-ranking officials in North City would have shown him deference, his position within the organization granting him considerable power and influence, even years ago.
Let alone the Xu family, or the Xu Corporation.
They would have groveled at his feet.
But Xu Jinnan hadn’t even reacted, her gaze cold and distant, as if she had never seen him before.
He had asked her, “Will you come with me?”
She had looked at him for a long moment, a strange smile playing on her lips, as if mocking him, then said, “I’m not going anywhere. My mother is here. I have to stay.”
She had been an adult then.
He had thought perhaps he had returned too late, that she no longer needed him, that she couldn’t forgive him.
And he had seen the depth of her affection for Lu Yun, her unwavering loyalty to her mother.
So, he hadn’t pressed the issue, simply warning Xu Tao and Lu Yun that if anything happened to Xu Jinnan, he would make them pay.
He had assumed Xu Tao had listened, and he had also believed in the strength of Xu Jinnan’s bond with Lu Yun.
So, he had given Xu Jinnan space, offering only protection and discreetly handling any… problems.
Of course, he hadn’t always been able to intervene in time.
Like with the recent incidents, the distance and the delays in communication preventing him from protecting her.
It had taken time to rebuild their relationship.
–
Xu Jinnan listened, the pieces falling into place.
That was why she had found it strange, that with such a powerful brother, the original Xu Jinnan had still suffered so much at the hands of the Xu family.
She had rejected his protection.
And the reason…
Xu Jinnan mentally retraced the timeline. Xu Yincheng’s departure had left her alone, vulnerable to Xu Tao’s abuse and Lu Yun’s manipulation, her spirit slowly breaking, her mind twisting into a dark, distorted shape.
He had returned too late; the original Xu Jinnan was already gone, beyond saving, knowing no one could rescue her from the darkness.
She had already made her decision, a plan to take them all down with her.
The hidden powder was a testament to her resolve.
Xu Jinnan thought, Even then, she still cared about him, her plans for revenge, her desire to end it all, encompassing the entire Xu family, their sins and their cruelty.
Except for Xu Yincheng.
She had still cared for her brother.
Xu Jinnan felt a strange warmth in her chest, a sense of connection to Xu Yincheng, as if she recognized a part of him, a shared experience, a shared understanding of loss and pain.
“So, whatever you want to do, I’ll support you,” he said, his voice gentle. “And I won’t let them hurt you.” He hadn’t harmed Xu Tao and Lu Yun before, partly because of Xu Jinnan, but now… he had no such reservations.
As for the Xu family…
“You did well,” he said, his voice approving.
“Brother, there’s something I need to ask you,” Xu Jinnan said.
“Ask away.”
“Did you know about… the Xu family’s secrets?”
“Some of them,” he replied, not wanting to lie to her. He knew about the incestuous relationships within the family, having learned about it before leaving Qucheng, but he hadn’t investigated further, wanting to distance himself.
And with his position, his background had been thoroughly vetted. If it hadn’t been for Xu Jinnan’s discovery and her collaboration with Li Lan, the Xu family’s secrets might have remained hidden for years.
Xu Jinnan took a deep breath, her head still spinning slightly. She had another question, one she had been wanting to ask for a long time.
“Ask me anything. But after this, you need to rest,” he said, his hand gently touching her forehead, which was cool to the touch, despite the warm air in the car.
Xu Jinnan’s body still tingled from the taser, and she wasn’t sure if it was the lingering effects of the electric shock, or if she was actually getting sick. “About Bai Xiao’s death…”
Xu Yincheng, hearing her question, interrupted her. “I wasn’t her biological son,” he said, his voice flat. So, he didn’t care about her death. “Even if she hadn’t died, with her intentions towards you… she deserved it.”
Xu Jinnan: “…”
He chuckled. “And Xu Tao wasn’t my biological father either.”
Xu Jinnan: “…?”
Her mind reeled, struggling to process the information.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, his voice gentle. “What matters is that you’re my sister. Nannan, you’re the only family I have left.” He was likely also a victim of the Xu family’s trafficking operation, but he didn’t want to dwell on it.
It didn’t matter anymore.
Xu Jinnan looked at him, meeting his gaze, a warmth she hadn’t noticed before.
“Is that why… you’re so good to me?” she asked softly. Because of their shared trauma?
He didn’t answer, simply taking a tissue and gently wiping her forehead. “Didn’t I tell you to rest? You look terrible.”
“Okay,” she murmured, her head heavy, her mind still racing, unable to relax, the weight of the Xu family’s secrets, the unanswered questions, a constant pressure.
She closed her eyes, exhaustion finally overcoming her, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Xu Yincheng took a blanket from the back seat and covered her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before he got out of the car.
He had been sitting in the back with her, and now, stepping outside, he saw Li Lan standing by Xu Jinnan’s Porsche, her arms crossed, her back to him.
Hearing his footsteps, she turned around.
He stopped a few feet away from her, taking out a cigarette and placing it between his lips, his expression unreadable.
“Can I have one?” Li Lan asked.
He raised an eyebrow, offering her the cigarette, then, as she reached for it, pulled it back, a playful glint in his eyes.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, following her gaze to a bloodstain on her arm.
“It’s from a colleague,” she replied.
He nodded, but didn’t give her the cigarette. After a moment of silence, Li Lan, catching the scent of tobacco from his cigarette, asked, “Is she alright?”
He exhaled a plume of smoke, then, seeing the wind carry it towards Li Lan, extinguished it.
“She needs to rest. She’ll probably sleep for a day,” he replied.
“I didn’t expect her to get hurt,” Li Lan said.
“It was a risky operation.”
Li Lan looked at him, surprised. “I thought you would be angry with me.”
He smiled faintly. “It was her decision. Why would I blame you?”
Li Lan paused, then didn’t say anything more.
He put his hands in his pockets. “The official statement about the Xu family… is your department handling it?”
“Jointly with the Qucheng authorities,” she replied.
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Delay it for a day,” he said.
“?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” he said, glancing back at Xu Jinnan, who was fast asleep. “She deserves a few days of peace, with someone by her side. She shouldn’t be burdened by this.”
“You mean Shen Shu?” Li Lan asked.
“Yes.”
She didn’t understand the connection between Shen Shu and delaying the official statement.
–
Xu Jinnan’s sleep was deep and dreamless, her body sinking into the soft mattress, a pleasant sensation of weightlessness, like floating in a warm ocean, or drifting through soft sand.
Sometimes the descent was rapid, sometimes slow, a gentle pull downwards, her mind drifting, her thoughts a hazy blur.
She tried to swim upwards, to reach the surface, but she couldn’t, her limbs heavy and unresponsive, and she heard Shen Shu’s voice calling her name, her cries echoing in the darkness, her heart aching with a sadness so profound it felt like she was dying.
She heard Shen Shu say—
“Why?”
“Xu Jinnan, if you leave, don’t come back.”
“Xu Jinnan, from now on, you’re you, and I’m me.”
“Xu Jinnan, I agree to the divorce.”
Her head throbbed, her heart ached, a suffocating pressure, as if she was being buried alive, the sand and the water closing in around her, her lungs burning.
She wanted to open her eyes, to see Shen Shu’s face, but she couldn’t.
She wanted to reach out, to hold her, but her hands were empty.
The water engulfed her, the sand pulling her down, down, down… A tear escaped her eye, staining the white pillowcase a dark gray.
She woke up with a gasp, her eyes still wet with tears, the coolness against her skin a stark contrast to the burning heat of her body. She stared at the crystal chandelier above her, the light refracting through the prisms, creating a dazzling display, the words “I agree to the divorce” echoing in her mind.
It felt so real, yet also like a dream.
She couldn’t tell the difference, her heart pounding as she sat up, a wave of dizziness making her vision blur.
She steadied herself against the bed, glancing around the room, the luxurious furnishings, the marble floor, the curtains partially drawn, revealing a glimpse of the balcony, where a wind chime with feather decorations swayed gently in the breeze.
The room was elegant and romantic, and she thought she could still hear the sound of the ocean, though the world outside was dark; it was still night.
She reached for her phone on the nightstand.
Several missed calls and messages, from Tong Jia, Cai Ying, Viola, and a few business partners.
She instinctively searched for Shen Shu’s name among the notifications, then, after a moment, saw a new message at the top of the list.
It was from her lawyer.
She only read the first line: Miss Xu, Miss Shen has agreed to the divorce. Regarding the remaining legal matters…
–
Xu Jinnan sat there, frozen, her hand resting on the bed, her phone vibrating insistently beneath her, but she didn’t move, her mind blank, her body numb, as if her soul had left her.
She felt a strange sense of detachment, the irony of it all, the absurdity of her own actions, a cruel joke.
She had been the one to initiate the divorce, yet now, with Shen Shu’s agreement, she was the one devastated, her heart shattered.
The sky outside was dark and overcast, the clouds heavy with rain.
The sound of the ocean grew louder, closer, the waves crashing against the shore, a rhythmic drumming that echoed in her ears, her head spinning, her vision blurring.
She bent down, her face buried in the blankets, her body trembling.
They were really divorced.
–
Xu Yincheng watched as the doctor settled Xu Jinnan in bed, then he turned off her phone, which was lying on the nightstand, and left the room.
Li Lan was waiting outside the door, her gaze lingering on the phone in his hand.
“You’re cutting off all communication? Aren’t you worried about the Xu Corporation? There’s no one to handle things,” she said. The news had already broken, and with Xu Jinnan’s phone off, no one could reach her.
“In her current state, do you think she cares about the Xu Corporation?” he asked, his voice flat.
“Be careful. She might be furious when she wakes up,” Li Lan warned.
He chuckled softly. “She’ll understand. She’s not unreasonable.”
“…What if Shen Shu tries to contact her?” Li Lan asked. Then, she might not be so understanding.
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s the point,” he said, his voice a low murmur.
Li Lan looked at him, his usual coldness tinged with a hint of… something she couldn’t quite place. Then, she realized. “You delayed the official statement to make Xu Jinnan look bad, didn’t you?” she asked. Combined with turning off her phone…
It was a calculated move to provoke Shen Shu.
She paused, thinking. “Xu Yincheng, have you considered that Shen Shu might blame her for the divorce? Even if she’s worried, she might not contact her. Pride is a powerful thing,” she said.
“No,” he replied simply.
“Then what?”
He didn’t answer, his expression unreadable, his silence a familiar habit, as if he was always one step ahead, his plans hidden, his motives unclear.
Li Lan, giving up, turned to leave.
“It takes two to tango,” he said softly. “No one should have to constantly… grovel.” He wasn’t trying to manipulate Shen Shu into contacting Xu Jinnan; he was trying to make Xu Jinnan understand.
Li Lan paused, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.
“Are you also trying to tell me that relationships are a two-way street, that I should give up on… him?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He leaned against the wall, his tall frame and expensive suit a stark contrast to the dark, patterned wallpaper, his usual coldness tinged with a hint of… something she couldn’t quite define. “Li Lan, I’m not interested in marriage, or relationships. Find someone… more suitable,” he said gently.
“I will,” she replied, her voice flat. “After you’re dead.”
He stood by the window, watching as she walked away, her figure disappearing down the hallway.
His phone vibrated, and he checked the message.
[Holy shit, Xu-ge, what happened to my CP?! Did they get divorced? Did you know about this? What’s going on with the Xu family? Every time you go home, my world turns upside down!]
Xu Yincheng: “…”
[You’re the one who’s obsessed with CPs! Explain this to me! I refuse to accept this!]
Xu Yincheng: “…?”
He bit his lip, muttered “Idiot” under his breath, then closed the chat and opened Weibo.
Several hashtags were trending:
#QuchengTraffickingCase
#XuJinnanMotherAttemptedMurder
#LuYun
#XuShenDivorce
#XuCorpStockPlummets
#XuJinnanCompany
#NanShuDivorce
Each one linked to the others, creating a tangled web of interconnected stories, but as he clicked on one of them, the page crashed.
Weibo was down.
