Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 47

He reached out and placed the crumpled papers in my hand, saying in a desolate and weary tone, "The divorce papers, I've already signed them. Tomorrow I'll go to the American branch, and as you wish, I'll never touch you again."

I stared blankly at the few sheets of paper in my hand, tears streaming down my face, unable to make out what was written on them. I only felt Xu Lie brush past me, then suddenly let out a cold laugh and added, "If you married me for my money, then congratulations. I've already transferred five percent of the company's shares to your name in the agreement. That should be enough to satisfy your appetite, right?"

As I listened to his footsteps receding into the distance, it felt as if countless needles were piercing my heart, each one sharp and insidious, causing excruciating pain without drawing blood. Xu Lie, do you know how truly, truly I love you? I abruptly turned around.

"Lie—" I called out to him in a hoarse voice from crying, but my tone was surprisingly calm.

He slowly turned his head, looked at me, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

I knelt on the ground, looking at him with unwavering determination and resolve: "Xu Lie, I love you very much, and I have never deceived your feelings. If we are separated by misunderstanding today, I will never be at peace with it. So, I will make one last effort. Xu Lie, you knelt on the ground begging Xue'er to stay back then, and now I kneel here begging you to believe me, not to leave, not to despair of me, not to abandon me. I... really, really love you."

Xu Lie stared down at me, his eyes churning with a torrent of emotions. He stepped closer, and a surge of joy welled up inside me. But then, abruptly, he closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his expression was icy and resolute: "Save this act for your next prey. I'm... tired of it!"

With a loud "bang," the door slammed shut. Suddenly, everything went black. In a daze, I saw my rotting heart hanging before me, with countless bloodied, mangled men in black tearing at it, occasionally glancing back at me with a bright smile, as if to say: This is your retribution for killing us.

I curled my lips into a slight smile, mocking my own heart: "Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable. Ah, Lin Jialan, have you tasted the blood yet?"

With a "bang," I fell to the ground, losing consciousness, my right hand still tightly clutching the divorce agreement.

When I woke up, everything was black; I could barely see anything. After a while, the scenery became clear, and everything was white. I looked around and realized that I was in a hospital.

"Oh my, young mistress, you're awake!" Huanjie happily helped me up. "I was so scared! When I opened the door, I found you lying unconscious on the floor. Lie down for a while, I'll go call Dr. Liu."

I nodded blankly. A moment later, Uncle Liu pushed open the door and came in, holding a report in his hand, his face full of worry. He sat down in front of my bed and said bluntly, "Lanlan, you're pregnant."

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at him. He nodded, indicating it was true: "It's been a month."

I abruptly covered my mouth to stop myself from sobbing, but tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. A child… I have a child, a child with Xu Lie.

"But the situation is very bad right now..."

I stood up abruptly, grabbed the report from his hand, and asked, "Is this proof?"

He stared at me blankly and nodded in a daze.

I quickly turned around, pulled out the IV drip, jumped out of bed, and rushed out without even changing out of my hospital gown. Uncle Liu's anxious voice shouted after me, "Lanlan, where are you going? Your condition is terrible..."

I couldn't hear anything, so I rushed to the hospital and hailed a taxi. The car stopped at the airport entrance, and I searched all my pockets but didn't have a single penny, so I had to give the driver a pair of earrings as collateral.

Xu Lie! Xu Lie! Do you know? We're having a baby! It's our baby! I ran frantically around the boarding gate, searching desperately. I even asked a flight attendant to make an announcement for me, and the beautiful voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Mr. Xu Lie, your wife urgently needs to see you. Please proceed to Gate 1 after hearing this announcement..."

"Xu Lie! Xu Lie!" I shouted, clenching my fists and ignoring the stares of others. My voice was hoarse, but I didn't care. Slowly, it seemed that some people were moved by my plight and began to search and shout with me. However, no matter how many places I searched, I still found nothing. I dragged my heavy steps out of the airport amidst the comforting words of the crowd.

I had just hopped into a taxi when a familiar sports car came hurtling towards me and screeched to a halt at the airport entrance.

My heart leaped with joy, and I flung open the car door to greet them. But a woman in a white dress stepped out first, followed by Xu Lie. I stood frozen, half inside and half outside the car, listening to and watching their conversation.

"Xu Lie, why did you have to leave here for her?"

Xu Lie remained silent.

Xue'er sighed, "You still love her very much, don't you?"

Xu Lie chuckled self-deprecatingly: "What makes you say that?"

"Because you can't face her honestly." Xue'er's tears fell softly. "It's just that you're too proud. Even if you love her, you can't tolerate her betrayal, so you chose to leave."

Xu Lie's face turned pale, and he said coldly, "Stop talking."

“Xu Lie, running away is not the solution. The more you run away, the deeper your love for her will become, just like I did back then.”

Xu Lie's lips trembled slightly, and he suddenly raised his voice, growling at her: "Then what do you want me to do? Go back to her as if nothing happened? Pretend I don't know she's having an affair? Be constantly worried that she has another man, and even if she gets pregnant, I'll have to worry about whether it's my child?!"

My face turned deathly pale instantly, and I swayed precariously inside and outside the car, almost falling out. But their voices continued to drift in.

"Xu Lie, please don't do this." Xue'er cried out and touched his cheek. "I've never seen you like this before. I'm so scared."

Xu Lie closed his eyes and it took him a long time to calm down before he said in a softer voice, "I'm sorry, Xue'er."

"Xu Lie..." Xue'er suddenly threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, choking back tears, "Let me go with you. Let me stay with you through this difficult time, please, Xu Lie, give me a chance!"

"Xue'er, you..." Xu Lie's voice was somewhat hoarse, and after a long while, he finally said, "Why bother?"

Xue'er pushed him away abruptly, pulled a stack of things out of her pocket, looked at him with tears streaming down her face, but smiled extremely brightly: "I've even prepared my passport and plane ticket. We're in the same class, so don't even think about pushing me away!"

"You, you!" Xu Lie stared at him in shock, his face a mixture of gratitude and bewilderment, unable to utter a word.

I slowly closed my eyes. The driver kept asking me whether I wanted to get in or get out of the car. I closed my eyes in a daze and watched the handsome man and beautiful woman walk into the airport hand in hand. I felt a deep pain and a chill in my heart, followed by numbness.

I turned around and walked step by step down the road. It seemed like many people were pointing at me and shouting something in my ear, but I couldn't hear anything and didn't want to hear it.

"Lanlan—!" A pair of hands caught me and shook me vigorously. I vaguely saw a handsome face, clear-eyed and dashing. I gave him a happy smile: "Brother, why are you back?"

"Lanlan! Lanlan!" My brother wasn't as happy as I was; instead, his face was filled with panic. "Lanlan, why are you bleeding so much? Lanlan—!"

"Brother." I nestled into his arms, a faint smile on my face. "Brother, do you know? Xu Lie doesn't want me anymore. He doesn't even want our child." My vision blurred, and I collapsed into my brother's embrace.

When I woke up, I was surrounded by a cacophony of shouts and a strong stench of sweat mixed with alcohol. I opened my eyes with a furrowed brow, and when I moved my hand, my body made a clattering sound; I also felt a slight pain in my wrists and ankles.

"Boss, that girl's awake!" a still-childish voice called out.

"Hey hey, awake?!" A gruff male voice drowned out all the shouts and came towards me. "Hey everyone, come quick! Look at the new girl Linlin brought back."

I struggled to open my eyes and was immediately startled by the greedy, drooling faces before me. Just as I was about to jump up and back away, I felt a sharp pain all over my body, accompanied by a clattering sound.

I was startled, and only then did I realize what the problem was. I was now locked in a cage, my limbs were shackled with golden chains, I was dressed in rough women's clothing, and my hair was haphazardly hanging down in front of my chest. The cage was being carried to the center of a simply furnished hall.