“Li Jue?”
Ming Lan frowned at the man standing in front of her. But then she noticed something wasn’t right. Li Jue’s face and neck were unnaturally red, and his expression showed signs of pain.
At that moment, Li Jue, who had forced himself into the lounge and locked the door behind him, finally realized someone was already on the sofa. But he was too weak to react. His legs gave out and he half-knelt in front of the sofa, bracing himself with one hand as his eyes met Ming Lan’s.
“Ming Lan…”
She immediately shrank back, clearly seeing the restraint and control in Li Jue’s eyes quickly fade the moment he saw her. They were replaced by excitement and desire.
“Get away from me!”
A chill ran down her spine. Driven by instinct, Ming Lan managed to regain a little strength and quickly moved to the other end of the sofa, avoiding Li Jue’s outstretched hand.
She staggered to her feet, trying to run to the door. But before she could take a step, a sharp pain shot through her wrist as she was yanked back and thrown onto the sofa. Already exhausted, the impact left her even weaker. She could only hit at the hand gripping her wrist.
“Let go of me!”
Li Jue saw the disgust in her eyes. It stabbed into his heart like a knife. His rage exploded. In a fit of anger, he grabbed her other wrist and shouted,
“Even you think I’m worthless? That I’m disgusting?”
“Let me go!”
Ming Lan frowned in pain as she tried to pull her hand free, but no matter how hard she struggled, it was useless. Hearing Li Jue’s crazed accusations, she was just as angry.
“Disgusted by you? I wish you were dead!”
Li Jue’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe those words had just come from her mouth.
“Why?”
He loosened his grip slightly. Ming Lan tried to pull her hand away, but it was still stuck. She looked him in the eyes and answered,
“When I treated you like a friend, do you even remember what you were thinking? You know exactly what you were doing. Your shameful background isn’t the worst thing about you. The real problem is how deeply insecure, obsessive, and manipulative you are. I regret ever seeing you as a decent person. You belong in your own hell. Just seeing you makes me sick.”
Li Jue heard every word, but instead of getting angry, his eyes filled with a strange light. In that moment, the mask he wore to appear normal began to crack. Suddenly, he laughed. The sound was chilling.
“So you really knew all along? I was scared of this moment, but also hoping it would come. Ming Lan, you came into my life first, did you know that? When you smiled at me for the first time, it was the first time I ever felt warmth or happiness. But then I realized you smiled at everyone. That’s when I wanted your smile to belong to me and me alone. The more time I spent with you, the stronger that feeling became. It became unbearable. I wanted everything about you. I wanted you to belong only to me.”
By now, Li Jue had completely lost control. The alcohol had erased his rationality. His eyes were full of madness.
“And now that you know everything, why should I keep hiding it? I really am willing to do anything to have you.”
Ming Lan had known long ago that Li Jue would never change. Without Cheng Yurong around, he was completely unrestrained. She knew he could do anything to her. That was why she never expected her words to stop him. She was only stalling for time. Her real goal was the diamond brooch on his chest.
The brooch was held in place by a long pin that pierced his collar. The tip was secured by a small cap.
While Li Jue was distracted by his own rambling, Ming Lan kept her eyes on his. Her hand, still held tightly, twisted slightly. Her fingers stretched toward the glittering brooch.
Just as Li Jue leaned in closer, Ming Lan grabbed the brooch. The cold diamonds dug painfully into her palm, but she didn’t flinch. She pulled it out and drove the sharp end straight into his chest.
The sudden pain made Li Jue’s face twist. For a brief moment, his mind cleared. He slowly looked down at his chest. Ming Lan pushed the brooch in deeper with all her strength.
He let out a muffled groan and looked up at her.
“You really want to kill me?”
Ming Lan didn’t answer with words. She twisted the brooch harder.
Unfortunately, the pin wasn’t long enough. Li Jue grabbed her hand and slowly pulled the brooch out. Blood soaked through his black shirt and suit, staining Ming Lan’s pale fingers.
The diamonds had cut her palm, but she only frowned and gave him a cold smile.
“Too bad you’re still alive.”
Li Jue pried her fingers open one by one. The bloodstained brooch fell onto the sofa. His eyes paused for a moment when he saw the wound in her hand. Then he lowered his head and grabbed her hand.
Realizing what he was about to do, Ming Lan’s eyes widened in shock. She pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face.
“You disgust me!”
There were streaks of blood on his face, but Li Jue didn’t seem to care. He smiled as he looked at Ming Lan avoiding him, his eyes flashing with cruelty.
“You think I’m disgusting?”
Ming Lan backed away, grabbed the brooch from the sofa, and shouted,
“Stay away from me!”
“You think that’s going to stop me?”
Li Jue stepped closer as Ming Lan struggled in vain. Just as he reached out for her again, she stabbed at his hand without hesitation.
Blood began dripping from his palm. It filled his eyes with rage. He stared at Ming Lan, grabbed the brooch from her hand, and threw it to the ground.
“Ming Lan!”
Ming Lan sensed something terrible was about to happen. She tried to dodge but was grabbed by the arm. Just when it seemed there was no escape, a knock at the door interrupted everything.
Li Jue turned his head in frustration. Ming Lan’s eyes lit up. It had to be Yi An.
“Help me!”
As soon as she shouted, Li Jue tried to stop her. Ming Lan dodged his hand and took the chance to kick over the coffee table, causing a loud crash. Even if Yi An hadn’t heard her scream through the soundproof walls, the noise would surely draw attention.
Sure enough, the next moment, Ming Lan saw the doorknob twisting frantically. But the door was locked.
Li Jue realized her plan and tried to subdue her. If he could knock her out before the door opened, he could still pretend he was drunk and explain everything. He might even be able to take her away.
What he didn’t know was that it really was Yi An outside.
Yi An didn’t bother looking for a key or asking anyone for help. Inside the lounge, Li Jue was just about to act when a loud crash came from the door.
Realizing it was locked, Yi An didn’t hesitate. With one strong kick, she broke the door open.
The moment it swung open, she saw what was happening inside. Rage surged through her so fast it blurred her thoughts. Without hesitation, she grabbed a vase from the doorway, walked up behind Li Jue, and smashed it down on his head with all her strength.
Noticing Yi An’s movement, Li Jue had no choice but to let go of Ming Lan, barely dodging the blow. The vase only smashed against his back and shattered into pieces on the floor.
Li Jue collapsed onto the sofa on the other side, unable to recover for the moment. Yi An was about to approach him, but her hand was pulled back by Ming Lan.
The tension Ming Lan had been holding finally released. With the last of her strength, she grabbed Yi An’s hand and her body leaned uncontrollably to the side.
Yi An quickly held her and pulled her into her arms.
“Ming Lan, are you alright?”
Hearing Yi An’s voice, Ming Lan forced herself to stay awake and gave instructions with the little energy she had left.
“Don’t be rash. Go to the hospital first. Keep this quiet for now.”
After saying that, Ming Lan could no longer hold on and passed out.
Yi An glanced at Li Jue, who was unconscious on the other side. Rage filled her, but she could only follow Ming Lan’s instructions. She picked Ming Lan up and walked out. As she passed by Li Jue, she gave him a hard kick. Hearing his low groan, she ordered the bodyguards who had arrived in response to the noise.
“Send him to the hospital. Keep him under watch.”
By then, most of the guests had already left. Yi An took Ming Lan down the stairs from the other side, and their car left through the back gate. The size of the estate worked in their favor. The disturbance barely attracted attention from the front.
When Ming Lan woke up again, she was lying in a familiar hospital room. Yi An did not trust the Ye family’s hospital, so she had brought her straight to Qinglan Hospital.
As soon as Ming Lan opened her eyes, she saw Yi An sitting nearby. Yi An also noticed Ming Lan’s movement and quickly approached her.
“How are you feeling?”
Still weak, Ming Lan forced a small smile to reassure her.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“The doctor said someone drugged you, but because of your long-term medication and unique condition, the drug only caused drowsiness and weakness. Combined with the shock, you fainted. But you’ll need to be monitored for a while to make sure there are no further complications.”
Yi An’s tone grew heavy. This incident reminded her of what happened in her past life. At the same party, she had caught Cheng Yurong and Li Jue together. Back then, she believed they didn’t know each other and that Li Jue had assaulted Cheng Yurong. But Cheng Yurong had insisted it was just an accident, claiming they had both been drunk. Even after they ended up together, Yi An had found it hard to believe.
It wasn’t until this lifetime, after being reborn, that she realized Li Jue and Cheng Yurong had already been involved in something shady. Yi An had thought that since Cheng Yurong hadn’t come to the party, nothing would happen. But being too busy, she had overlooked the danger. It nearly cost Ming Lan her life.
“I’m sorry.”
Yi An lowered her head, filled with guilt. She blamed herself for being careless.
“Don’t be like that. You saved me.”
Yi An had arrived just in time. She was the only one Ming Lan truly trusted. Ming Lan didn’t want her to feel guilty, so she changed the subject.
“What about Li Jue? What’s his condition?”
At the mention of Li Jue, Yi An’s hands tightened, but she still answered truthfully.
“He drank a lot of alcohol, and they found traces of the same drug in his system. He also lost a lot of blood. He’s still unconscious.”
“The injury to his chest didn’t reach the heart?”
Ming Lan’s mind immediately started working.
“No. The doctor said it missed his heart by less than a centimeter.”
Yi An only found out at the hospital that Li Jue’s chest wound had nearly been fatal. The vase she had smashed only caused superficial injuries.
Ming Lan had known the brooch pin was still a little too short. But even if Li Jue didn’t die, the pain he was in would be enough for now.
Yi An looked at her seriously.
“You’re just going to let him off that easily?”
“Of course not. But even if we report this, there’s no solid evidence. At most, it will be treated as mutual assault.”
Besides, Li Jue’s injuries were much more serious than hers. The only places on her body that could provide fingerprints were her sleeve and wrist, which wouldn’t help much.
Another issue was that Ming Lan hadn’t realized she had also been drugged. But she was certain Li Jue had been. From the way he locked the door and reacted after seeing her, it was clear he knew he had been drugged. That made the whole situation even more uncertain.
“The most important thing right now is to find out who drugged us and who they were really targeting. Pulling something like this at a party under the Ye family’s nose can’t be that simple.”
They had to take things step by step. This was just the beginning. Ming Lan didn’t want to complicate matters too quickly. As for Li Jue, she had her own plan.
She would return the pain he caused her in her previous life, in the same order and with the same intensity. She would make sure he suffered, not with revenge in secret, but in broad daylight. He would live in humiliation, dragged through misery until the very end of his life.