Chapter 43

At 10 a.m. on Sunday, the weather was still hot and humid. The room temperature was 33 degrees Celsius, which made people sweat profusely even if they were sitting at home doing nothing. The electric fan was spinning hard, but the hot air it blew out did not cool them down at all.

Li Muxue locked herself in her room, the door was locked from the inside, and she had stuffed the key under her pillow. She had not eaten or drunk anything for a day and a night, and her body was severely depleted, on the verge of shock!

She did this simply to stop her parents from forcing her to contact Shen Haoyu, because she was now convinced that Xu Chen was the person she loved most, even more than her own life...

Li Junsheng grew anxious and knocked on the door for five minutes, but Li Muxue still did not respond.

His tone changed slightly: "Xiaoxue, can you open the door first? Listen to what Dad has to say! Xu Chen is a child that your mother and I practically watched grow up. He's been sensible since he was little. Ever since his biological mother, Accountant Wang, passed away, he hasn't had a good life. We all sympathize with him. That child is indeed kind. Two years ago, he even went to jail for you. Your mother and I both know that..."

At this point in Li Junsheng's speech, Qiao Kexin carried a bowl of soy milk and two fried dough sticks from the kitchen to Li Muxue's door and continued, "But have you forgotten all the grudges between us and the Xu family? Can you really marry into the Xu family? Even if Xu Chen doesn't care and is willing to treat you well, what about his stepmother, Luo Mei? Can you be sure you and Luo Mei can get along well? And Xu Zhenguo, won't he give you a hard time because his son went to jail for you? Unless he can completely sever ties with his family, but that's practically impossible. What son would abandon his parents after marrying a wife? Have you considered all of this? Xiaoxue, love is a matter between two people, but marriage involves two families. It's too complicated! Haoyu is different; his family background is clean, and he's not arrogant..."

Li Junsheng continued earnestly, "Xiaoxue, your father has lived a mediocre life. Despite working hard and giving it my all, I still can't escape poverty. Your mother and I only hope that you won't suffer like us in the future..."

Another minute of silence followed, and Li Junsheng's worry turned into fear. He feared something had really happened to his daughter, so he began to plead: "Xiaoxue, even if Dad's begging you, please open the door, okay? Listen to me! Then you say you don't want to see Shen Haoyu anymore, and we won't! Is that alright? You go back to the Foreign Languages ​​Institute and focus on your studies. We can talk about relationships after you graduate, okay? Xiaoxue! Xiaoxue..."

The door finally opened a crack, and Li Junsheng and Qiao Kexin rushed in. They found Li Muxue was extremely weak, collapsing listlessly at the doorway.

Her face, body, and arms were covered in a dense layer of sweat, evaporated from her body by the intense heat. The stinging sweat stung her eyes, and the salty liquid blurred her vision; each blink felt like rubbing sandpaper.

The moment the door opened, the muscles in her cheeks twitched slightly uncontrollably. She tried to force a victory smile, but only managed a distorted expression that was worse than crying.

Her eyelids felt as heavy as if they were weighed down with lead, forcing her to squint, her gaze unfocused. She could even feel the sweat condensing into tiny grains of salt on her eyelashes, each tremor feeling like countless tiny needles pricking her.

The whole world began to sway and distort before her eyes, leaving only the silent flow of sweat and that almost numb mask sculpted by the high temperature and exhaustion...

Qiao Kexin dialed 120, and fifteen minutes later, the ambulance arrived with sirens blaring...

(To be continued)