Xia Wan, who had messed things up, didn't even dare to go home. She stayed in the hospital for two days and then wandered around the surrounding cities. It wasn't until she saw a video online about Zhuang Yan killing his sister at the age of five that she rushed back to find out the truth.

Shortly after landing, Xia Wan was detained. She was in a daze when the police took her away. It wasn't until she was put into the police car that she learned that Lu Yan had called the police to arrest her.

Xia Wan took out her phone and saw the trending topic online without even having to search for it. After reading it, her hands were shaking.

He was detained in the detention room for three days before being bailed out by Xia Qingshan.

Once in the car, Xia Wan looked exhausted: "Dad, why are you only coming to pick me up now?"

"Do you think I didn't want to get you out of here sooner? It's Lu Yan who refused to sign the letter of understanding." Xia Qingshan got angry at the mention of this and slammed the car door shut.

With Zhuang Yan preceding him and Lu Yan following him, the wrinkles between his brows have deepened in the past two days, and his hair has turned completely white.

"You went on a show and caused so much trouble. Do you know how much effort I've put into you? You can't do a single thing right, but you've caused a lot of trouble. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have lost 100 million."

Xia Wan was already feeling guilty. After getting into the car, she huddled in the corner like a quail, not daring to face her father's disappointed expression. She only reacted after hearing "one hundred million".

"What, one hundred million?"

Xia Qingshan recounted Zhuang Yan's demand for money to her, growing angrier as he spoke: "Once this Xicheng project is finished, I'll make him cough it up!"

When Xia Wan offered Zhuang Yan 50 million to negotiate, he refused outright. It turned out he looked down on money because it was too little and asked for 100 million.

Her father actually returned all that money.

Xia Qingshan: "If it weren't for the fact that he has the Yi'an Group backing him, I would have reported him for extortion!"

He recently landed a major project and is currently in a very tense period. If Yi'an Group were to cause trouble at this time, it would be very difficult to deal with them.

It's okay, just put up with them for a few months, and then settle the score with them later.

"Dad, did you make up that video about Zhuang Yan online?"

"It's me." Xia Qingshan looked at her coldly. "What, you still can't forget him? You can't bear to deal with him?"

Xia Wan asked, "Is that true?"

Xia Qingshan scoffed, "What his mother said, how could it be false?"

"But his parents have always disliked him and are prejudiced against him. Can we trust what they say?"

"It's good that netizens believe it. As for the prejudice you mentioned, if Zhuang Yan were my son, I would have broken his legs long ago." Xia Qingshan's face was full of hostility. He then warned Xia Wan, "If you have any improper thoughts about Zhuang Yan, I will beat you too. If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have arranged this marriage in the first place. What bad luck! You stay at home for the month before the wedding and don't go anywhere."

Xia Wan felt her blood run cold. She clearly realized that there was no possibility for her and Zhuang Yan at this point.

Zhuang Yan offended her father, and her father wished Zhuang Yan were dead.

Unable to take action himself, he planned to use public opinion to force Zhuang Yan to his death.

Zhuang Yan said so many harsh things to her, and she wasn't a cheap person who had to be with him. The eldest daughter of the Xia family should have dignity, and she should stand with her father against the common enemy, but she just couldn't bring herself to hate Zhuang Yan.

Images of Zhuang Yan flashed through her mind: his busy figure in the kitchen, his focused driving, his immersive work on documents, and his winter sunbathing on the balcony like a cat in a thin white sweater.

Xia Wan even simulated Zhuang Yan's expressions and voice in different scenes, and then connected it with the dream. She liked the home in the dream and she liked Zhuang Yan in the dream.

If she hadn't run away from her arranged marriage and had successfully gotten engaged to Zhuang Yan, would her future have been just like in her dream?

Once she marries Gu Qian, she and Zhuang Yan will be completely separated. The thought of this makes her heart clench, as if it's being squeezed tightly by both hands.

She used to be too confident, thinking that everything was within her grasp, so she was indifferent.

Xia Wan curled up uncomfortably, covering her head with her right hand.

After all, she was the daughter he had raised. How could he not understand what she was thinking? Xia Qingshan felt a bit disappointed in her. Women were just prone to being blinded by love, which was why they rarely achieved great things.

Xia Qingshan turned his gaze to the window, and only when they were almost home did he hear Xia Wan ask a question.

"Dad, can I not get married?"

"No way," Xia Qingshan said in a deep voice. "You were the one who ran away from the wedding. After breaking off the engagement with Zhuang Yan, you were the one who insisted on being with Gu Qian. I even swallowed my pride and asked the Zhuang family to recognize him as their godson. Now you're engaged and the wedding is just around the corner. You think you can just not get married? Where do you think I'll put my face? Your marriage isn't just your business. You can be willful once, but that's enough."

But she regretted it... She was too willful to see herself clearly, which led her to make the wrong judgment.

"What about Lu Yan? Why can Lu Yan not get married, and why is she still having an ambiguous relationship with Zhuang Yan?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Your uncle will find her a good man." The Lu family's strength has declined, and they have been on a downward spiral for the past few years, dropping from the top five in Rongcheng to the top 50. Lu Yu is now planning to use Lu Yan as a favor to "sell" her for a good price. Currently, the Lu family is going to cooperate with Haicheng. The other party is a forty-year-old divorced man who has nothing but money. That may be Lu Yan's final destination.

Knowing that Lu Yan would have a miserable life in the future, Xia Qingshan didn't hold it against her too much this time. He believed that those who act shamelessly will eventually be punished by heaven.

Xia Wan understood the meaning; as long as Zhuang Yan wouldn't be with Lu Yan, she would feel better.

After being locked up for three days, Xia Wan was exhausted. When she got home, she locked herself in the bathroom and washed herself from head to toe.

She fell asleep soon after lying down in bed. She had a nightmare in which Zhuang Yan was lying on a white hospital bed, his thin body tattered and bloody. She reached out to wipe the blood away, but the more she wiped, the more blood appeared. Her hands trembled uncontrollably. In both reality and in her dream, she couldn't understand why Zhuang Yan, who was perfectly fine, had become like this.

Zhuang Yan died in front of her.

Xia Wan witnessed the whole thing, and fear suffocated her. She wanted to rush up and wake Zhuang Yan, but her body wouldn't move. She opened her mouth to call for a doctor to come and save Zhuang Yan, but instead, she silently shed tears.

Gradually, Xia Wan opened her eyes. For a few seconds, she was in a daze, unable to distinguish between reality and a dream. Her cheeks were cold, and when she touched them, they were covered in tears.

Why would I have this kind of dream? What does it seem to be foreshadowing?

Feeling a tightness in her chest, Xia Wan got up and poured herself a cup of hot water. Her palms felt warm, but she still felt cold.

Dreams and reality are opposites, Xia Wan told herself, but the thought of Zhuang Yan's silent face in her dream made her heart clench with pain.