Lu Lishan sat in the car, feeling extremely irritable even though the air conditioning was set to the lowest temperature.

He pinched his brow hard, and his headache eased a bit.

But the pain in my heart only grew stronger.

From the first day he entered prison, he knew that he and Lin Yuqing would never be from the same world again. He could not take care of her for the rest of his life; he could only look up to her, miss her, and do his best to protect her.

So when he saw that she had contact with Gu Mang, he was both surprised and afraid.

Because he knew Gu Mang too well, he would never let such a rogue have a chance to hurt her!

He would eliminate anyone who threatened her, no matter the cost.

This is why he kept causing trouble for Gu Mang.

But today he was completely certain of one thing...

That person wasn't Gu Mang at all!

The subordinate hung up the phone, turned to him with a solemn expression, and whispered, "Brother Shan, news from Yangcheng says... Gu Mang is not dead yet!"

"Are you sure?" Lu Lishan asked warily. "Is Gu Mang in Yangcheng now?"

"Absolutely true."

"Hmm." He nodded, then frowned slightly.

Who is Jiang Can's husband?

It seems that Jiang Can is unaware that the person she married was not Gu Mang.

So what exactly is that person planning?

One question after another surfaced in Lu Lishan's mind. He felt like he had entered a maze and couldn't find the exit.

"Brother Shan, now that the person isn't Gu Mang, shouldn't we stop?"

"Alright," Lu Lishan said in a low voice, "Let's not bother them anymore since we have no grudge against them. But have you found out who that person is?"

"This..." the subordinate hesitated.

"Never mind!" Lu Lishan leaned back and closed his eyes to rest, but his phone suddenly vibrated not long afterward.

He handed the subordinate over to him, but the three words "Huo Zhiyan" on the screen made him feel somewhat disgusted.

He didn't want to associate with Huo Zhiyan, but his influence in Jiangzhou wasn't yet strong enough to easily offend any power. With the Huo family as his backing, he would always have a place in the future, whether in Yangcheng or Jiangzhou.

Lu Lishan let out a long breath and answered the phone just as the person on the other end was about to lose patience.

As expected, Huo Zhiyan immediately launched into a tirade of complaints: "What the hell are you doing? It took you forever to answer my call! Are you fucking looking for death?"

Lu Lishan's face instantly darkened, but he had no choice but to force a smile, "Young Master, what are your orders?"

"I heard that the former subordinates of those gang leaders you took down in Jiangzhou are coming to seek revenge?"

"That's true," Lu Lishan said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "but when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; that's an indisputable fact. They can't afford to seek revenge on us."

"Heh, you little rascal..." Huo Zhiyan scoffed, "You've got some guts!"

"Young Master, you flatter me."

"Since you're so capable, do me a favor."

Lu Lishan listened quietly.

Huo Zhiyan said, enunciating each word clearly, "I need you to help me get rid of someone!"

"Young Master, you're not joking, are you?" Lu Lishan said calmly, "We live in a society governed by law now. Making someone disappear isn't that easy."

"It might not be easy for others, but it'll be a piece of cake for you." Huo Zhiyan smiled. "Brother Shan, if you can pull this off, I wouldn't mind if your nightclub opened next to the Huo family manor! Then you'd have your own territory in Yangcheng. Would you still be afraid of not having a chance to rise to the top?"

Lu Lishan paused, then asked in a deep voice, "Who does the young master want to disappear?"

After an eerie silence, Huo Zhiyan uttered a few words heavily:

"The third young master of the Huo family, Huo Zhixing!"

A cold glint flashed in Lu Lishan's eyes.

"If you have time, come to Yangcheng. Let's meet and discuss this in detail!"

...

Jiang Can looked at Lin Yuqing curled up on the bed with a pang of heartache, and her nose tingled with emotion. She gently patted Lin Yuqing's back.

Since returning, Lin Yuqing hasn't said a word. As soon as she enters the room, she locks herself in her bedroom, her eyes seemingly unfocused, like a body whose soul has been ripped away.

"Sister Yuqing, are you hungry?" Jiang Can tried everything to talk to her. "Dr. Chen and Gu Mang are both outside. How about I have them cook something for you?"

Lin Yuqing's eyelids twitched, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Jiang Can's heart clenched.

The Lin Yuqing she knew was always energetic and impulsive, like a seagull riding the waves, as if there was no obstacle in the world that she couldn't overcome.

But now...

After a long while, Lin Yuqing took a deep breath, slowly sat up from the bed, wiped away her tears, and forced a smile at her.

"Can Can," she said softly, "I'm so sorry about today..."

"Why are you apologizing to me!" Jiang Can said anxiously, "It was Lu Lishan who came to cause trouble, not you who sent him!"

"But this is inextricably linked to me!"

“Sister Yuqing,” Jiang Can’s eyes widened, “you mean, he came for you?”

“But I don’t think so. He’s after Gu Mang! They had a grudge against each other when they were in there.”

"Heh, yeah." Lin Yuqing laughed self-deprecatingly. "Can Can, look at me. I used to look down on Gu Mang and thought he wasn't good enough for you!"

"But what was my ex-boyfriend like in the end? He was no different from Gu Mang; they both came from there!"

"Sister Yuqing..."

"He went to jail because of me!" Lin Yuqing could no longer hold back her tears.

Jiang Can was stunned, her mind went blank, and it took her a long time to hear her soft voice.

She only told Jiang Can half of her story with Lu Lishan last time.

This part was too tragic, and it was her most unbearable memory to recall.

“Actually… my parents divorced when I was very young,” Lin Yuqing murmured. “At that time, the court awarded custody to my mother, but she was just an ordinary traditional Chinese medicine doctor. She was busy with work and had to take care of a child, so her monthly salary was not enough to make ends meet. In order to make my life better, she found my stepfather.”

Jiang Can was slightly taken aback. She had met Lin Yuqing's stepfather before; he was a kind and gentle man who ran a small business.

Although she wasn't extremely wealthy, she was still able to live a comfortable life.

“My stepfather has a son, whom I’ve always called brother.” Lin Yuqing wiped away her tears, her lips trembling. “But while I treated him like a brother, he had inappropriate thoughts about me! Back in my senior year of high school, he tricked me into going to the construction site behind the school and forced me to be with him…”

Jiang Can's heart tightened, and he grasped her cold hand.

"But he didn't expect that Lu Lishan had been secretly following me. Just as he was pinning me to the ground, Lu Lishan stabbed him with a knife..."

“I panicked. My mind went blank. All I remember is blood everywhere. Lu Lishan was stabbing me with a knife, one cut after another. He was covered in blood. My brother was lying in a pool of blood, convulsing... until someone passed by and called the police.”

Jiang Can gasped. "So, that's why he was sentenced?"

Lin Yuqing looked at her quietly, a sorrowful expression on her pale face.