"Who goes there?" he shouted, holding a fire poker.

Now that he's fallen on hard times, he has many enemies who want to kill him. He'd rather live than die, so he won't give up his life so easily.

Seemingly startled by his voice, the figure shrank back slightly, timidly peeking at him. By the firelight, Lin Chutian could at least make out that it was a disheveled woman, probably a beggar from the neighborhood. But what did she have to do with him?

He was a bad person to begin with, and he didn't have the extra kindness to give to strangers.

"Get out!" he said impatiently, pointing at the door with a fire poker.

The woman seemed not to understand his words. Looking at the firelight, she happily moved closer, her shivering body instinctively touching the flame. Seeing Lin Chutian's somewhat fierce expression, she hesitated for a moment, then shakily pulled a steamed bun from her bosom and handed it to Lin Chutian, saying, "Eat...eat, don't chase me away."

"Who would eat this stuff?" Lin Chutian scoffed instinctively, but the next moment his stomach made a loud hollow sound. He was extremely embarrassed and angrily patted his stomach.

But this woman...

Unlike her disheveled appearance, her voice had a distinct retroflex ending, soft and gentle, instantly pleasing to the ear. But Lin Chutian was horrified, his heart filled with shock. He abruptly lifted the messy long hair covering the woman's face and saw a familiar face. Although her face was covered in dirt, her clear, childlike eyes remained unchanged.

It's her!

"Why are you here!" He clenched his fists. The woman in front of him was his first wife, whom he had divorced and returned home more than ten years ago when he was successful. She was originally the legitimate daughter of a noble family. How could she have fallen to this state?

"Eat...eat...I won't hit you," the woman seemed frightened by him and weakly begged for mercy.

"You don't recognize me?" Lin Chutian asked, his expression complicated as he held the hard steamed bun in his hand.

Back then, as a poor scholar, he suffered from the constraints of not having enough money, so he thought of currying favor with the powerful and taking a shortcut. When he learned that the eldest daughter of a certain noble family would fall into the water while playing on a bridge, he didn't care whether it was true or not, he always thought he had to try it, just in case.

That very night, a woman fell into the water. His heart pounded, and he plunged into the icy water, embracing her tightly as if she were his future. He destroyed her innocence, forcing her to marry him. He thought that this would give him a boost to his career, but unexpectedly, this legitimate daughter was considered a disgrace to the family. Apart from giving her a three-courtyard house, she received no other dowry.

Feeling deeply deceived, he was furious and treated her coldly, ignoring, mocking, and humiliating her. Later, he gained the favor of the Third Prince and became his advisor. Seeing that he was gradually rising in status, he decided to get rid of this woman and simply divorce her. After all, she was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Jiang's family. Even if she was divorced and sent back to her family, she would not suffer any grievances.

Seeing that he didn't seem to intend to hit her, the woman gave him a small, ingratiating smile and handed him the steamed bun, saying, "Here, have some... have some."

The steamed buns were already cold and hard; even when he was at his poorest, he wouldn't eat them.

The woman stared with her clear eyes, seemingly wondering why he wasn't eating the delicious steamed bun.

She tore the steamed bun into pieces and fed them to him. "Delicious, not too hot." Her eyes crinkled, and the dirt on her face couldn't hide her charm. She even blew on the steamed bun very carefully to cool it down.

Lin Chutian's lips trembled slightly, and with the piece of steamed bun in his mouth, tears suddenly streamed down his face. When he was successful, many people fawned over him, but after losing power, everyone abandoned him, and there was no one he could trust anymore.

What good are fame and fortune? The higher you climb, the colder it gets. For the sake of temporary glory, I have been lonely for more than ten years.

For more than ten years after he divorced her, he rarely thought about her, and there were no other women by his side. This was because he did not trust anyone at all. He didn't know which faction these women were informants of, and they might stab him in the back. To him, women were just obstacles to his rise to the top. In this highly tense state, even if he had immense wealth, it seemed that nothing could satisfy him as much as this steamed bun.

Looking at his wife, who was laughing foolishly, Lin Chutian felt a pang of sadness and finally realized something was wrong. He touched her excessively slender wrist, and sure enough, she had been poisoned. The poison had already invaded her internal organs, and she only had two or three days left to live. And he couldn't save her.

He no longer has the chance to make amends to her or atone for his crimes!

"It was my fault, I'm so sorry, I'm the one who hurt you!" Lin Chutian, who had never felt sorry for his evil deeds in his life, hugged the woman's thin body and cried bitterly. To her, he was just a calamity, wasn't he? Without him, she would have been like other women from noble families, devoted to her husband and raising children, living a happy and fulfilling life. Why did it have to come to this?

The woman seemed confused, and after a long while she reached out and gently patted his back. "The steamed buns are all for you. Eat them. Aru, don't eat them."

However, the woman eventually left. Three days later, on a night of torrential rain, she fell silently into his arms. Lin Chutian gazed deeply at her face and smiled, "Don't worry, I will never let you suffer alone down there."

He committed suicide beside her, tears streaming down his face. If there were an afterlife, he would protect her and ensure her safety for the rest of her life.

“Of course, I want you to come to my lab. We’re in the same class.” Fu Yang stated his purpose directly. Su Sheng felt confused. How could this person be so arrogant, speaking to others in such a commanding tone? What did he mean by this superior attitude? Who did he think he was?

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