Night soon fell.
Wen Lanyue stood alone in the garden, letting the wind blow over her.
She had already expected that breaking off the engagement wouldn’t be so simple.
Still, Uncle Qi’s condition was acceptable enough—just working as a secretary for one month.
Soon, she would be free of the title of Qi Yanli’s fiancée.
Suddenly, the housekeeper came over holding a phone.
“Miss Wen, it’s a call from one of your classmates. She sounded very anxious.”
She glanced at it—it was Qin Ke’er, her college roommate.
“Ke’er, what’s wrong?”
“Lanyue, hurry to the police station! Your family’s Young Master is trying to destroy Jiang Huai! Come save him, quick!”
Wen Lanyue shot to her feet, her expression changing drastically.
…
Half an hour later.
Wen Lanyue arrived at the police station.
Seeing Qin Ke’er sobbing uncontrollably, she hurried over.
“Ke’er, what on earth happened?”
“Lanyue, you finally came. You have to save Jiang Huai, or he’s going to prison!”
Seeing her, Qin Ke’er cried even harder.
“Stop crying first. Tell me clearly what happened, or how am I supposed to save him?”
Qin Ke’er stopped crying, hiccupping between sobs. “We were coming back from a road trip and were about to go out for dinner when this crazy woman suddenly showed up. She kept demanding that Jiang Huai admit he was your boyfriend and that he keep you in line or something. She just wouldn’t leave him alone. Jiang Huai only pushed her away because she was being so annoying, and the next thing we knew, she tumbled down the escalator…”
!!!
Wen Lanyue’s eyes widened in shock.
It was Ning Xi!
It had to be Ning Xi!
“Is she badly hurt?”
“We don’t know. She was taken to the hospital, and then at the hospital we ran into your family’s Young Master. He was furious—it seemed like he really cares about that woman. He called the police to arrest Jiang Huai right away and declared he’d prosecute him for assault to the very end!”
After hearing all this, Wen Lanyue’s mind went blank.
She didn’t know what to do.
Seeing her silence, Qin Ke’er couldn’t help but say, “Lanyue, please beg your family’s Young Master for mercy. Jiang Huai just graduated from college. If he really goes to prison, his whole life will be ruined.”
Beg for mercy?
How could she beg?
Ning Xi was Qi Yanli’s unforgettable white moonlight—the woman he loved but could never have.
Even when she burned Ning Xi’s wedding dress, Qi Yanli hadn’t said a word.
Now that Ning Xi had tumbled down an escalator, of course Qi Yanli would fly into a rage.
“I’ll think of something.”
Wen Lanyue turned to leave, and Qin Ke’er called out behind her, “Lanyue, Jiang Huai got caught up in this disaster because of you. You can’t just abandon him!”
“I know. I won’t abandon him.”
With that, she left the police station.
Outside, she looked up at the pitch-black night sky, her feelings a tangled mess.
If she hadn’t posted that photo of Jiang Huai on her social media that night…
Had she indirectly harmed Jiang Huai?
…
At the hospital, in a deserted corridor.
Qi Yanli’s tall figure radiated barely contained fury.
Irritation was written all over his brow as he asked in a low voice, “How is she?”
The doctor shook his head helplessly. “We were just days away from pre-surgery preparation, but now her injuries are severe—wounds of varying degrees all over her body. She’ll probably need a month to recover.”
A nameless fire instantly flared up in the man’s eyes.
The bone marrow transplant surgery was so close—and now, of all times, she had been gravely injured.
“Can Grandpa hold on?”
“The old man’s condition has been stable these past few days. If it stays this way, he can hold on for another month.”
Qi Yanli pinched the bridge of his nose with his slender fingers. “Go attend to your work.”
“Yes, Mr. Qi.”
After the doctor left, he picked up his phone and called Lin Sen.
“Young Master, what are your orders?”
“Have someone watch Ning Xi twenty-four hours a day, until Grandfather’s surgery is over.”
“Yes, sir!”
Qi Yanli turned and walked to the door of the hospital room, glancing inside through the window.
Then, with an indifferent expression, he headed toward the end of the corridor.
With a ding, the elevator doors slowly opened.
Wen Lanyue stepped out and came face to face with the man walking toward her.
Both of them instinctively stopped in their tracks.
A flicker of surprise crossed Qi Yanli’s dark eyes. He asked in a low voice, “Looking for me?”
“Mm. Can we talk?”
It had been more than half a month since she’d last had a proper conversation with him.
“We’ll talk at home.”
“Okay.”
And so she followed him back into the elevator.
Inside the elevator, Wen Lanyue kept thinking about how she would bring it up once they got home.
After all, she knew that getting Qi Yanli to reconcile was difficult.
As difficult as climbing to the heavens.
With a ding, the elevator doors opened.
Before Wen Lanyue could react, Qi Yanli beside her took her hand.
She wanted to shake him off, but held herself back.
They walked all the way to the parking lot.
After getting in the car, Qi Yanli started the engine, turned around, and left the hospital.
The atmosphere in the car was a little stiff.
After steeling herself for a long while, Wen Lanyue finally spoke first. “How badly is she hurt?”
The light at the intersection turned red.
The car slowly came to a stop. Qi Yanli stared straight ahead. “Very badly.”
Her heart tightened.
After that, neither of them spoke again.
Back at the South Shore villa, Qi Yanli went straight upstairs to the master bedroom with her.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
She said nothing, just watched as the man walked into the bathroom.
How was she supposed to ask Qi Yanli to drop the case?
Who knew how long had passed before the bathroom door opened.
Qi Yanli came out wearing a black silk robe, his damp short hair falling over his forehead, making him look all the more alluring.
Carrying a chill about him, the man walked up to her.
“You said you had something to tell me?”
Wen Lanyue raised her eyes to meet his dark gaze and said directly, “Can you let Jiang Huai go?”
Only endless silence answered her.
Qi Yanli lowered his eyes and stared into hers, as if trying to see right through her.
Sitting on the bed, she couldn’t help clutching the sheets.
“Weren’t you just classmates? Is he really that important to you?”
Wen Lanyue looked away. “He’s not important. But all of this started because of me. I don’t want innocent people dragged into it.”
Qi Yanli scoffed, letting out a contemptuous cold laugh.
Suddenly!
He pushed her down onto the bed, his slender fingers gripping her jaw.
“He’s not innocent. The surveillance footage captured everything clearly.”
Wen Lanyue couldn’t help talking back. “Can you be reasonable for once! It was the woman you love who clung to him and spouted all that nonsense—that’s what led to all of this.”
The man’s grip tightened.
“What do you mean, ‘the woman I love’? Explain yourself.”
Wen Lanyue refused to look at him, her gaze drifting elsewhere. “Do you dare say you don’t love Ning Xi? Anyone with eyes can see how important she is to you.”
Qi Yanli turned her face back toward him, forcing her to look him in the eye.
“Then let me tell you—I don’t love her.”
“…”
Hah…
He didn’t even blink while lying.
Wen Lanyue calmed herself down and repeated, “Let Jiang Huai go. Consider it my plea.”
“A plea? You’re begging me for another man?”
Qi Yanli was angered into laughter.
The fact that she had willingly spoken to him nicely tonight had surprised him somewhat.
But it was all for another man.