Соглашение Му Юйчэна

Глава 93

She seemed to wake up suddenly, and with tears in her eyes, she roared, "You two useless fools, why aren't you saving me!"

The two men who had originally captured Xiaojie rushed over, but were thrown away one by one. One hit the corner of the table and passed out, while the other was stopped by the door frame and fell outside, groaning in pain.

Xu Lie turned around and grabbed Fan Yingying by the neck, tightening his grip: "Did you drug Jialan?"

Yingying's face turned purple and swollen. She kicked and thrashed in pain, tears and snot streaming down her face. She pleaded, "Xu...Xu Lie...don't listen to her nonsense...I...how could I possibly hurt Lanlan..."

Xu Lie's lips curled slightly. Suddenly, he grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the corner of the wall. Yingying screamed shrilly, blood instantly staining the white wall and streaming down her face, making her look particularly gruesome. Xu Lie gripped her neck again, expressionless as he let the blood flow over his hand: "Don't make me ask a third time."

"Waaah... Xu Lie, Xu Lie, please spare me! Shao Junyi forced me to do this... My father embezzled company funds, and I was an accomplice. When Shao Junyi found out, he threatened me to help him steal company secrets. I... I didn't want to, but without his money, my father and I would go to jail. Xu Lie... I really didn't mean to harm Lanlan. It was Shao Junyi... He wanted to please Meng Xueer, he wanted to make you and Meng Xueer be together, so he made you think Lanlan was having an affair with him... I was really forced... You... you spare me! This was all planned by Shao Junyi and Meng Xueer..."

Xu Lie's hand, which was gripping her throat, trembled, and his chest heaved. After a long while, he finally asked, "You're saying Xue'er had a share too?"

Yingying was still sobbing when Xu Lie suddenly punched her hard in the stomach and roared, "Speak!!"

Yingying's face was contorted in pain, but in front of this man who was more terrifying than a demon at this moment, she didn't even dare to groan: "No...no! Meng Xue'er didn't know at first...later...later Shao Junyi told her. Shao Junyi did all this for her, just to make her happy, she couldn't possibly not know!"

—Xu Lie, I love you very much, and I have never deceived your feelings.

—Xu Lie, back then you knelt on the ground begging Xue'er to stay, 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.

—This afternoon, I was supposed to go find you, but Yingying dragged me to her house halfway there. She drugged my drink…Xu Lie…

what to do?

Xu Lie's fingers unconsciously dug deeper and deeper, his eyes filled with confusion and despair.

What should I do? He asked himself, what should I... do?

He abandoned her when she was betrayed by her friends; he ripped open her wounds when she was humiliated and hurt; he left her resolutely when she knelt on the ground begging for mercy. Garan, Garan… how much pain did you endure then?

He was wrong! Everything was wrong! He couldn't blame anyone but himself. He was the one who professed love for her yet never reciprocated with trust; he was the one who, as a husband, failed to protect his wife; he was the one who ripped a happy family apart. Garan, Garan… what should I… do?

“…You will kill her! Xu Lie! Xu Lie!…” Xiao Jie kept pulling on his wrist and calling his name.

Xu Lie suddenly woke up with a start, only to find that the woman in front of him had rolled her eyes back and was no longer breathing. He slowly released his grip, not even bothering to check if she was alive or dead, his whole body in a daze.

Suddenly, he grabbed Xiaojie's shoulders urgently and asked loudly, "Where is Jialan? Where is Jialan now?"

Xiao Jie's gaze shifted from Yingying to him. After a moment of silence, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped him hard. Xu Lie froze, and a second slap followed. But he felt no pain at all, only anxiously asking, "Where is Jialan? You know, you must know, right?"

"I don't know!" Xiaojie looked at him coldly. "Lanlan and her brother went abroad, and they may never come back in this lifetime."

Xu Lie trembled. It was her…brother. The one who came back to pack his things, the one who hugged her at the airport, was her brother. So, it turned out, he was the one who had been suspicious and hurting her all along!

"Let go!" Xiaojie shouted angrily, taking a few steps back and seeing the confusion and pain in his eyes, yet also a touch of pity. Although he was despicable, it was clear that this man truly loved Lanlan very much.

"Which...?" Xu Lie murmured, "Which country did Garan go to?"

Xiao Jie said calmly, "I don't know. You can ask your former in-laws if they're still willing to tell you." Xiao Jie emphasized the word "former," then carefully observed his reaction.

Xu Lie's face turned deathly pale. He stared at her blankly, his expression bewildered and helpless, yet filled with a mixture of hope and uncertainty: "We're not divorced yet. Galan... will Galan forgive me?"

Why should she forgive you! Xiao Jie swallowed back the words she was about to blurt out, because Xu Lie looked terrified and desperate, as if he were living on only a sliver of hope. She knew that if she shattered that hope, even someone as strong as him would collapse. Xiao Jie sighed and shook her head: "I don't know. If Lanlan still loves you, or..." Suddenly thinking of Xue'er, who had spent four months with him in America, she couldn't help but sneer: "Hopefully you haven't done anything to wrong Lanlan."

The short sentence exploded in his ears like a bomb. Xu Lie suddenly remembered where he was and what had happened last night. He suddenly wanted to laugh, a vein in the back of his head throbbing, coinciding with his pain. Just moments ago, he had been condescendingly thinking that they would be even in the future, but now he felt only a chilling sadness.

Who is the most despicable? Who is the most shameless? In the quiet hotel room, Xu Lie, his head resting on his hand against the wall, laughed silently. All the pain, the resentment, the jealousy—all his emotions seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving only a desolate emptiness. Loneliness, like a venomous snake, burrowed into his heart. Only now did he realize how terribly wrong he had been; only now did he understand the meaning of cause and effect, and the deepest regret. He didn't even have the right to cry; he didn't even have the right… to regret.

Garan! Garan! Do you still love me? Are you willing to come back to me? I swear, this time I will never hurt you again, this time I will never let you leave my side again. Garan…my wife…

Insert bookmark

Chapter Nine: Redemption

Chapter Nine: Redemption

When Xu Lie stepped out of the hotel, he was fully awake. The streets were bustling with pedestrians, bicycles, and cars. The air was stuffy and irritating. Under his feet was not a clean asphalt road, but an old, cracked surface covered with black oil stains, giving the impression that stepping on it would leave him covered in sticky grime.

Xu Lie walked a few steps without reacting, then casually pulled out his phone and dialed a number. Soon, a luxury car that seemed completely out of place on the street slowly pulled up in front of him and stopped.

A young man in a black suit stepped out of the car and said respectfully, "Young Master, let me take you home first."

Xu Lie pressed his cold temples and shook his head, saying, "I'll drive back myself. Take care of things here for me, and don't leave any trouble behind, understand?"

The young man nodded calmly, "Don't worry, young master." After a pause, he added, "That Meng Yingying, young master, do you intend for her to give birth, or...?"

Xu Lie sneered and casually said as he got into the car, "Leave it there, I'll handle it myself later."

The young man was startled by his expression, quickly lowered his head, replied "yes," and hurriedly entered the simple, low-class hotel.

Xu Lie drove quietly, the car speeding up and faster. From the crowded and noisy streets to the quiet and monotonous highway, the scenery on both sides rushed past. Several automatic cameras at the intersections flashed white lights enthusiastically, but Xu Lie seemed completely oblivious, just pressing the accelerator like crazy.

The car was silent, everything seemed frozen, even the strong wind whipping against the doors felt unreal. Xu Lie pressed his lips tightly together, not uttering a word, his breath steady as he gripped the steering wheel, accelerating! Accelerating! Accelerating again!

How he wished that Galan was still by his side at this moment, holding his hand and acting cute; how he wished that the speeding car could drive all the way to Galan's side so that he could hug that frail body tightly; how he wished that the car could drive into the time tunnel and take him back to the past, back to the past when he had never hurt Galan.

No matter how fast he drove, it seemed that fate had no intention of taking his life. Xu Lie returned safely to the Xu residence. Looking out the car window at the cold, empty house, a long-standing loneliness, always hidden deep in his heart, slowly welled up, bubbling up like white bubbles, which then burst one by one.

If he is the kind of person who ruthlessly values self-respect and pride above all else, then he should completely erase Lin Jialan from his life, even if he made a mistake and regretted it, he should never admit it or compromise.

If he could pin all the blame on the culprits who destroyed their marriage, then he could find breathing room to escape, put aside his burdens, and use everything he could to put his revenge into practice.

If he possessed enough kindness, tolerance, and magnanimity, and desired nothing more than Garan's happiness, then he should have quietly inquired about Garan's well-being. Knowing she was living a happy and peaceful life would have been enough for him. Even if he could only watch over her silently from the shadows for the rest of his life, compensating her in return, he would have no regrets.

But no! None of these are him! He's not so ruthless as to detach his emotions from himself, not so cowardly as to run away even knowing everything, and certainly not... so selfless as to let go of his beloved. So, at this moment, he doesn't want to do anything; he just wants to find Galan quickly, to hold her in his arms as soon as possible, and then, never, ever let her go again.

He can integrate all the mistakes, regrets, and hurts of the past into his very being, and spend a lifetime slowly experiencing and repaying them to her.