“Why so nervous? I never intended to harm you, nor could I bear the consequences of hurting you. After all, you’re Li Yan’s precious darling. Weren’t you curious about how I’ve lived these past seven years? Words alone aren’t proof—I just wanted you to see it with your own eyes.”
Rose calmly lit a cigarette as she explained.
Seeing that she truly meant no harm, Ran Yuan relaxed slightly but remained cautious.
“You really won’t hurt me?”
“One attempted harm taught me a bloody lesson. How could anyone be foolish enough to fall twice in the same spot? Follow me, scholarship student.”
Rose sneered and stood up first.
Ran Yuan swallowed hard, rising to follow while discreetly scanning her surroundings.
A single glance made her frown deeply.
Was this… a place for humans to live?
The conditions were utterly appalling.
Sweltering and damp, the air thick with the stench of rust from decaying metal sheets. The entire space was less than ten square meters, crammed with a narrow, worn-out sofa bed, a chipped table missing a leg, a fan that looked ready to collapse, a tattered clothing box, and a few pairs of shoes—every inch of usable space exhausted.
Even in the most ordinary circumstances, she had never seen such squalid living conditions.
It could only be described as a refugee camp.
“You’ve been living here for seven years?”
Ran Yuan asked, her tone heavy with disbelief.
“Yes, thanks to your ambiguous lover, I’ve been suffering in hell all this time.”
Rose chuckled lightly and opened the container door.
The air wafted in, carrying a nauseating mix of urine, sweat, and the rot of decaying garbage.
The combination was utterly revolting!
Ran Yuan couldn’t help but cover her nose, her expression growing complex as she watched the woman step outside.
“Well, if it isn’t Jiang Xiaoman? Didn’t they say you went to the Upper City District to live in luxury? What brings you back?”
“Slut, those soft-shelled shrimp in the Upper City District couldn’t satisfy you, could they? Come here, big brother will treat you right tonight… guarantee you’ll be screaming in pleasure.”
“Who’s the beauty behind you? New around here? Let me have some fun with you.”
The local hoodlums whistled and made lewd remarks at the sight of Rose, but they were all talk. Until they confirmed whether Jiang Xiaoman had truly been banished to the Lower City District for offending Sister Xue, they didn’t dare lay a hand on her.
“Piss off. Annoy me, and I’ll have Brother Bao finish you.”
Rose, cigarette dangling from her lips, flashed a wicked grin and flipped them the middle finger.
Behind her, Ran Yuan—who had understood their exchange—turned as pale as paper, devoid of color.
She no longer needed to ask how Rose made a living here; their conversation had laid it bare.
She used to despise Jiang Xiaoman for wielding power and treating people like dirt.
But seeing Jiang Xiaoman now, she felt only pity.
The crime didn’t warrant this. Even if atonement was due, her punishment was far too severe…
Could Li Yan truly be behind all this?
In her daze, they reached the street corner.
A skeletal hand suddenly seized Ran Yuan’s ankle.
“Medicine, give me medicine…”
She screamed in terror.
Unfazed, Rose stepped forward and kicked the person away. The man howled twice before beginning to crawl gloomily on the ground like a zombie.
Ran Yuan’s stomach churned violently, and she could no longer hold back. She crouched on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably.
“What kind of person is Li Yan in your eyes?”
Rose silently crouched down, smoking as she asked in a hoarse voice.
The other person merely shook her head, her eyes red-rimmed.
Li Yan had always been good to her. He never forced her to do anything. Even when she rejected his advances out of insecurity, he accepted her decision and quietly stayed by her side.
Every time something happened, he was the first to step up and help her.
No matter when she looked back, he was always standing behind her, her strongest support.
He showed her only his most flawless, gentle, and considerate side.
Yet it was precisely because he was too perfect that she felt increasingly insecure, believing she wasn’t worthy of someone like him.
How could a mere mortal dare to covet a deity?
She had been striving to become someone worthy of him, but no matter how hard she tried, the vast gap between them always made her hesitate.
Ran Yuan didn’t want to believe Jiang Xiaoman’s words.
But the reality before her eyes left no room for doubt.
People are selfish.
Li Yan chose to show her only his best side.
Yet he poured all his darkness unreservedly onto Jiang Xiaoman.
This place… was hell, a living hell Li Yan had specially prepared for Jiang Xiaoman, all to avenge her grievances.
“I’m sorry…”
Apart from apologizing, Ran Yuan could do nothing.
But she also knew that the harm Jiang Xiaoman had suffered could never be undone.
Such a kind soul—she’ll probably go to heaven after death.
A mocking smile curled at the corner of Rose’s lips.
What a dull spirit. She couldn’t even be bothered to lift a finger against her.
“I don’t need your apology. The one who wronged me was never you.”
“Are you… going to take revenge on Li Yan?”
Ran Yuan asked with a conflicted expression.
From her standpoint, she had no right to interfere in their grievances.
But she wouldn’t stand by and watch Jiang Xiaoman harm Li Yan.
“I’d like to, but do you think I can?”
Rose rolled her eyes and retorted.
Both fell into silence.
“Life is truly hard. I just want to live. I brought you here only to show you what I went through. Now that I’ve finally escaped this damned place, I don’t want to end up dead and dismembered. Li Yan listens to you. I’m begging you—ask him to let me go. Even though I know I don’t deserve to ask for your forgiveness.”
She lit another cigarette, her expression troubled.
Proud as she was, she still couldn’t bring herself to say “I’m sorry” to Ran Yuan.
“He won’t do that!”
Ran Yuan hurriedly asserted.
Almost as soon as she spoke, several speeding cars screeched to a halt in front of them.
Li Xue stepped out with a cold expression and gestured to her subordinates.
The black-clad bodyguards immediately moved to restrain Rose.
“Don’t hurt her! I asked her to bring me here. It’s not her fault!”
Ran Yuan’s heart leaped into her throat as she recklessly shielded Rose.
“Yuan Yuan, you don’t need to defend her.”
Li Yan frowned deeply, unable to understand why she, the victim, would protect the very person who had harmed her.
“I’m not speaking for anyone. Everything I said is true. During the years she disappeared, I’ve been constantly worried about her situation, which is why I took the initiative to ask her to bring me here to see.”
Ran Yuan didn’t back down, her eyes filled with complex emotions, yet her tone remained resolute.
“So it was all a misunderstanding. As long as everything’s fine, we were all just alarmed over nothing.”
Chi Jin stepped forward with a smile to defuse the tension for everyone.
But how could Li Xue let go of this hard-won opportunity to extort concessions?
“Didn’t Mr. Li confidently claim that Xiao Man kidnapped Secretary Ran? My people have been wrongly accused for no reason – how do you plan to settle this?”