Upon hearing these words, Yu Nanzhi’s anger surged, and the faint trace of pity he had felt for her moments earlier vanished without a trace. “What do you have to be pitied for? You only suffered minor injuries, but Shuangshuang—she lost her entire life. You’re out of prison now, healed, but what about her? She can never come back to life. She’s the one to be pitied, not you! So tell me, what exactly is pitiable about you?”
What exactly is pitiable about you…
Ji Liao remained silent, her heart bleeding.
From beginning to end, Yu Nanzhi never considered her pitiable. In his eyes, all her suffering was deserved.
“Ji Liao, the two lives you owe can never be repaid, even a hundred years after your death,” he reminded her once again, whispering the past into her ear.
Ji Liao stayed quiet, her face taut with cold indifference as she placed her hand on his handsome face, caressing it.
Yu Nanzhi couldn’t decipher her thoughts and allowed her to pat him gently. To his surprise, however, her tender gesture was actually her way of gauging her position.
Then came another sharp, forceful slap—she had struck him hard across the face once more.
Yu Nanzhi was stunned, and Lu Chengnuo outside the door was equally taken aback.
Finally, she roared recklessly, “Her death has nothing to do with me! Don’t you dare pin those two lives on me. Even if I admitted to it in prison back then, it was only because you forced me to. I, Ji Liao, am and will always be innocent!”
“Ji Liao, even now, you still refuse to admit your mistakes?”
“I’ve done nothing wrong! The one at fault is you—you blind fool!”
Yu Nanzhi’s face flushed with rage then paled. It was the first time he had been insulted so harshly. Ji Liao had grown bold—first calling him a mad dog, now a blind fool. Did she really think he wouldn’t dare to retaliate?
The door swung open silently, and Lu Chengnuo appeared in the doorway, glaring at the chaos in the hospital room before striding aggressively toward Yu Nanzhi. “You haunting bastard!”
A punch landed on Yu Nanzhi’s face, causing his head to jerk to the side, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Good, very good,” Yu Nanzhi said, his sharp, icy gaze fixed on Lu Chengnuo’s face as a cruel smile—one he hadn’t shown in a long time—spread across his lips. “Not only has Ji Liao grown bold, but even a random nobody dares to lay hands on me. Heh… Have you thought about how you’re going to beg for my mercy?”
Lu Chengnuo’s anger flared, his fists clenching as he prepared to charge forward again, but Ji Liao dropped to her knees beside him, wrapping her arms around his legs.
“A’nuo, don’t be impulsive!”
Ji Liao’s plea had the opposite effect, fueling Lu Chengnuo’s rage even further. “He’s hurt you this badly, and you’re still defending him?”
“No, A’nuo, listen to me!”
A crack appeared in the fury of Lu Chengnuo’s eyes. He crouched halfway, gripping Ji Liao under her arms and lifting her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.
The scene was painfully glaring.
For a moment, Yu Nanzhi desperately wanted to rush over and snatch Ji Liao away, to warn this meddlesome man and make it clear exactly whose woman Ji Liao was.
Lu Chengnuo placed Ji Liao on the bed. Though still seething, he restrained himself from lashing out. Pulling up a chair, he sat before her, lifting her delicate legs and resting them on his own lap. With meticulous care and simmering anger, he used a wet wipe to clean the blood around the soles of her feet, paying extra attention as he neared her wounds.
“A’nuo…” Ji Liao reached out to stroke his black hair, her touch gentle and affectionate, making Yu Nanzhi seethe like a boiler ready to explode at any moment, his anger simmering uncontrollably.
“Don’t be angry, I’m still fine, aren’t I?”
Lu Chengnuo’s expression was dark and terrifying as he glanced at Ji Liao, scrutinizing her from head to toe. Seeing the disheveled and injured young woman, he thought, Where the hell is she fine? This is downright life-threatening.
“Your tongue is so red.” Lu Chengnuo cupped Ji Liao’s cheeks with both hands. She didn’t want to open her mouth, but his thumb gently pried it apart.
The motion was so tender, as if she were a fragile treasure—something Yu Nanzhi could never compare to.
“This matter isn’t worth mentioning. How is Qing’er? Is she alright?”
“Her fever has broken. The night-shift doctor is still monitoring her.”
“Then you should rest for a while. I’ll go keep watch.” Just as she tried to pull her legs back, Lu Chengnuo pressed them down.
Seeing the raw, gaping wound, Lu Chengnuo felt a dull ache in his chest. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped the gauze around it layer by layer, but his sharp gaze remained fixed on the arrogant Yu Nanzhi.
The latter watched their every move with a cold expression. Their interaction resembled that of an ordinary, loving couple—she cared for him, and he cared for her.
Yu Nanzhi had always disliked anyone treating Ji Liao well, whether in the past or present. As if driven by an uncontrollable impulse, he stepped forward and scooped Ji Liao into his arms. Lu Chengnuo, quick-eyed and swift-handed, immediately grabbed hold of Ji Liao’s arm.
“Let go of me!” Ji Liao shouted angrily.
Yu Nanzho pretended not to hear, sneering at Lu Chengnuo as he said arrogantly, “She told you to let go.”
Lu Chengnuo, humiliated and enraged, retorted with sarcasm, “Anyone with eyes can see she detests you. You’re the one who should let her go.”
“Hah!” Yu Nanzhi scoffed disdainfully, “Do you even know who she is?”
“Regardless of who she is, she has nothing to do with you now.”
Yu Nanzhi laughed coldly, “She is my wife, Yu Nanzhi’s wife. Tell me, should I let her go?”
Wife!
The shock wasn’t limited to Lu Chengnuo—Ji Liao was equally stunned.
In this lifetime and the next, she never dared to imagine Yu Nanzhi acknowledging her as his wife. She never expected him to utter those words so abruptly today.
Yet, it brought no joy—only irony.
Ji Liao sneered, “Yu Nanzhi, have you forgotten we signed divorce papers five years ago?”
Yu Nanzhi froze abruptly, as if recalling the past, his mind conjuring the image of Ji Liao signing without hesitation.
“What’s wrong? Has your privileged memory failed you? Have you forgotten everything, thinking I’m still the woman who loved you to the point of self-debasement?”
In his heart, it felt as though a gust of wind had scattered the past—and her along with it—into the crowd, never to be found again.
When he didn’t respond, Ji Liao continued, “You’re right before me, but you’re no longer worthy of my love. Yu Nanzhi, let me go and let yourself go. From now on, we walk separate paths and have nothing to do with each other. If more must be said, it’s that we are ‘Incompatible in life and death.'”
Ji Liao struggled against Lu Chengnuo’s grasp, trying to return to his side. Yu Nanzhi, stunned for only a moment, sensed her movement and tightened his hold, refusing to let her escape his embrace.
His profound gaze concealed emotions no one could decipher—reluctance, regret, and resentment.
She couldn’t see it, and he didn’t want her to.
“Do you think saying that will make me let you go so easily?” Yu Nanzhi held her tightly as he spun around, shaking off Lu Chengnuo’s hand. After taking a few steps forward, he suddenly turned back, his long leg cutting a perfect arc through the air that forced Lu Chengnuo to retreat several steps.
The air was thick with the scent of mint. Ji Liao struggled desperately. “Yu Nanzhi, we’re already divorced! Let me go!”
“Whether we’re divorced or not isn’t for you to decide!”