Chapter 46 begins with "Starting Over with You".
Song Luoyun knew she was a very strong person, and most difficulties couldn't defeat her. Even if something really happened, she could quickly adjust herself.
Before coming, she considered the worst-case scenario: she had traded her life for Denise's safety, and she herself might be at their mercy. She would keep this to herself and not put any psychological pressure on others.
In reality, she wasn't as composed as she imagined.
She simply didn't have time to be afraid; she had people who needed saving.
She stood at the entrance of the iron shed, watching the fat man throw away the wooden stick in his hand and replace it with a knife. Sunlight was reflected off the blade and dazzled her eyes.
The fat man now stood in front of Denise, deliberately gesturing as he placed the object on her skin.
Song Luoyun could only be driven forward silently.
She had to find the best excuse to get them to release Denise, so she moved very slowly and said, "What did Fu Qiaosheng tell you to do to me?"
"Do I even need to say it?" The fat man chewed on a toothpick, tilted his head and grinned, "Of course, rape first, then kill."
“He won’t kill me.” Song Luoyun tried his best to keep himself and her calm. “If I die, his object of amusement will disappear, and he will only become more extreme than he imagines.”
“You are very confident in yourself.” The fat man became somewhat interested in her words.
Song Luoyun said, "You're not familiar with him, are you? The person you met is different from the one I know. He allows you to deal with me as you see fit, but whether you're satisfied or not after the matter is over is up to him. He knows you're murderers and can easily sentence you to death. As for the rest, whether it's money or something else, do you think it will still count?"
"Wow, this little wench knows quite a lot, but unfortunately, your tricks won't work on us. What happens after you're dead, we'll discuss that after you're dead." The fat man spat out the toothpick, seemingly losing patience, and took two or three steps forward to pull her over.
Song Luoyun kicked him, and he clutched his groin and backed away in pain. Several more people came up from the side. One of them forcefully restrained her, while another raised his strong hand and slapped her across the face.
"Buzz—" Song Luoyun's head went blank, and her whole head was burning with pain. She tried her best to break free, but the difference in strength between men and women was too great.
"You really don't believe me? You can take a picture of what I look like now and send it to him, and see what he says. Will he reward you, or the opposite?" Song Luoyun struggled and spoke with all her might.
The fat man thought it made sense.
He retrieved his phone, snapped a photo with one hand, and sent a voice message: "Boss, this girl is with us now. I slapped her for being disobedient. Should we continue, or let her go?"
The stalemate subsided for a moment, but unfortunately, the fat man soon received a reply. He looked down at it and burst out laughing.
He deliberately raised his hand to show Song Luoyun, raised his eyebrows, and said boastfully, "Look, what did he say? Keep going, little girl, let me tell you, men are the most unreliable thing."
Song Luoyun stared at the message.
She saw Fu Huaizhi's message when she ran out; he was on his way.
She said that just to buy time.
So she went all the way, gritting her teeth and spitting heavily at the phone.
"Pah! He's two-faced. He wasn't like this before, always showering me with sweet words. Now look at him, he wants to kill me?"
The fat man looked at her indifferently, withdrew his hand, and wiped it on his clothes.
"You've gone too far, little girl. He went to all this trouble not for love."
“Yes, I went with someone else after him,” Song Luoyun said with a smile. “Because he was sick, my next one was much better than him. She was gentle, knew her place, and had more money and power than him. Why do you think he was so ruthless? Because he was jealous, jealous of everyone who was better than him.”
"You are quite beautiful. With a face like yours, it's no wonder several men are infatuated with you. But so what? You're in our hands now, and we can decide how to deal with you."
"Fine." Song Luoyun looked heartbroken. "Come on, if you have the guts, then come on."
These words left the group looking at each other in bewilderment.
According to her, she was not only Fu Qiaosheng's lover, but also had a relationship with another person of even higher status than him. Regardless of whether she would get into trouble or not, they would definitely not receive the corresponding compensation in the end.
The fat man was about to find out Fu Qiaosheng's attitude.
The next second, they heard a series of braking sounds behind them, and a car even crashed into the shed, startling everyone inside.
"Damn it!" The fat man immediately raised his knife, pointing the tip at Song Luoyun.
Song Luoyun didn't dare to move, watching the person walking towards her.
The shed, neglected for years, was filled with dust that spread from under the wheels of vehicles, creating a white blur in the field of vision.
A person's silhouette was outlined, the dust was dispelled, and he walked step by step, as if standing in the light.
He was wearing a hospital gown with only a coat over it; his lips were pale, and the blood-stained clothes were even more visible.
But there wasn't the slightest change in his expression; it was profound, carrying an endless sense of oppression.
Song Luoyun heard someone tell the fat man, "Yes, it's Fu Huaizhi."
The fat man gripped the knife tightly, grabbed Song Luoyun, and held it to her neck.
"Don't come any closer!" the fat man said quickly, his voice trembling.
Fu Huaizhi paused in front of the dust.
His eyes were cold and resolute as he looked at the redness and swelling on her face.
He left behind two words: "You dare to hurt her, just you try."
"You, if you come closer I'll..." The fat man was still struggling.
Before he could speak, a number of people emerged from the car behind, dressed in uniforms and armed with police equipment, and pointed them at the outlaws.
"Do you believe I really will paddle down!" The fat man, as if he were going to do anything, pressed down on Song Luoyun with increasing force. "Leave! All of you, leave!"
"Do you think your movements are faster than a bullet?" Fu Huaizhi asked.
"Bang!" Suddenly someone fired a shot.
The fat man was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly. Song Luoyun took the opportunity to push him aside and ran towards Fu Huaizhi.
The bullets did not injure anyone, but due to the evacuation of the hostages, the individuals had nowhere to escape and were quickly apprehended by the police.
Song Luoyun didn't dare to look back at all, and ran forward with her head down. She was very scared and still had lingering fears.
Suddenly, I fell into someone's arms.
She felt a sense of security, which made her feel at ease instantly, but knowing that she was safe also caused her tears to fall.
She hugged Fu Huaizhi tightly, calling softly, "Fu Huaizhi..."
The man's palm touched her head, but the temperature was cold. Song Luoyun didn't notice and looked up at the other side: "Denise, take her away first!"
She left Fu Huaizhi and ran towards Denise. There was another commotion behind her. She turned around and saw the man lying on the ground.
"Fu Huaizhi!"
...
Song Luoyun became the only one who was sober.
Back at the hospital, her chin and collar were smeared with Fu Huaizhi's blood, and the metallic smell wafted into her nostrils from time to time, but nothing was more shocking than the scene she had witnessed with Fu Huaizhi.
Fortunately, neither of them was seriously injured.
Denise was drugged and has no other injuries; she will slowly wake up.
As for Fu Huaizhi, his wound had reopened before it had healed, and the excessive blood loss made his recovery process even slower.
Fu Yuxuan didn't return until evening, his face filled with anger.
“Grandpa knew about this; he did it on purpose,” he said.
In the afternoon, all members of the Fu family were inexplicably summoned to the Fu family's old residence, where the rule was to hand in their cell phones. They waited all afternoon, but did not even see Fu Huaihe.
“That old geezer, I didn’t expect him to be waiting for me here, just because he recently retired,” Fu Yuxuan said.
Song Luoyun asked him, "Why did he do that?"
“He wants to get Fu Qiaosheng promoted.” Fu Yuxuan became angrier the more he thought about it. “He is dissatisfied with Fu Huaizhi’s resistance and would rather let the Fu family be ruined by Fu Qiaosheng than let him take office.”
Song Luoyun felt a chill run down her spine. "Grandpa is on Fu Qiaosheng's side. Will they suppress this matter?"
"It's hard to say." This was also a headache for Fu Yuxuan.
They possessed a great deal of evidence against Fu Qiaosheng, but it was precisely because of Fu Huaihe's obstruction that they were unable to hand it over to the police, allowing Fu Qiaosheng to continue roaming the outside world.
This time, by playing with human lives, Fu Qiaosheng could have been convicted outright, but Fu Huaihe will probably drag someone else out to take the fall.
Song Luoyun got goosebumps all over.
“Let’s discuss this after Fu Huaizhi wakes up. Hey, do you know why he committed suicide?” Fu Yuxuan said.
She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Because of me?"
“It does have something to do with you.” Fu Yuxuan sat down. “When you broke up, you left a diary. He found it and went crazy afterwards.”
“You must have written something in your diary that triggered him. He thought of his mother and felt that he had ruined you. After that, he kept living according to the contents of your diary. He said he wanted to know how you felt, but he became depressed first.”
Her diary was a constant outlet for her emotions. She wasn't actually that upset about many things, but once she found an outlet, she would pour out more and more of them.
She didn't say a single good word about him in there.
Even on the last page, it says: Hate him, run!
That's what I thought at the time, and that's what I did.
I just never expected it would become the trigger for his loss of control.
“I roughly know why you broke up. He’s not a very good person, so it’s normal that I don’t like him,” Fu Yuxuan said. “But as his brother, I really can’t stand him like this. I’m telling you this: you should talk to him clearly, or start over. It’s up to you to decide.”
He handed Song Luoyun a towel, and Song Luoyun quietly wiped the bloodstains from her neck, looking quietly into the ward.
When they arrived at the hospital again at noon the next day, Fu Huaizhi had already woken up, but he could not be discharged, so he stayed in the ward to deal with Fu Qiaosheng's matter.
Before Song Luoyun knocked on the door, she heard him on the phone and said in a cold voice, "Just grab him. If Grandpa doesn't agree, take him away too."
Upon seeing her, he hung up the phone, his brows relaxed, but he suddenly fell silent.
Song Luoyun sat down, not looking at him, not knowing where to look.
She said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, you've suffered an undeserved misfortune," Fu Huaizhi said.
Song Luoyun said in a low voice, "No, it's just that I'm a bit carefree."
She looked at Fu Huaizhi's body. He was in much better condition than the day before, and his eyes had brightened. However, he could hardly move his left shoulder.
Then she remembered the man Denise had mentioned. Even now, she found it hard to believe that the person in front of her had done something to hurt her not long ago.
Without asking about those depressing things, she pointed to a bouquet of flowers and a fruit platter next to her and told him, "These are all things I brought with me. Flowers make this place more vibrant. If you don't like them, I can change them to something else."
"No need, I like it very much," Fu Huaizhi said.
Song Luoyun continued, "Okay, these fruits are all prepared for you, remember to eat them."
After a brief exchange, she got up and left.
As soon as the door opened, another voice came from behind: "Song Luoyun".
She turned around.
He said, "You don't need to pity me."
...
In the following days, whenever Song Luoyun had time, she would go to the hospital to see Fu Huaizhi.
The two didn't say much, just asked about each other's injuries and exchanged a few words about their recent situations, before quickly parting ways.
Song Luoyun gradually became unclear about Fu Huaizhi's thoughts. If he still wanted to develop a relationship with her, he should have taken the initiative, but he didn't express anything and seemed to intend to let them go their separate ways.
A week later, Song Luoyun went to find him, but before she could enter the ward, she listened to Fu Huaizhi and Fu Yuxuan's conversation at the door.
Fu Yuxuan sat on the sofa, his face full of dissatisfaction. "I told you to stay in the hospital for a few more days, why did you insist on being discharged? There are people here who can take care of you. What if something happens to you after you go back?"
Fu Huaizhi remained calm: "Can't we hope for something better?"
“I wish I could, but didn’t you stab yourself?” Fu Yuxuan said. “Don’t tell me that stabbing your left shoulder was just a coincidence. Don’t think I don’t know you aimed for your heart.”
Fu Huaizhi acquiesced.
Fu Yuxuan got angry at himself, "Are you really reckless? You just want to dump the company on me and then die? Are you even human? If you hadn't asked me, I wouldn't even want those shares."
“Your vocal cords are useless? You’d better take good care of yourself. When you get back to the company, I’ll give your shares back to you,” he said.
Fu Huaizhi remained silent.
Fu Yuxuan couldn't accept the passive-aggressive treatment, so he stood up abruptly, so angry that he wanted to swear.
He made up his mind. No matter what Fu Huaizhi thought, he was going to resign from his job at Fu Corporation and leave the mess to him. He wouldn't care anymore, he would never care again!
The door was suddenly pushed open.
The people inside and outside the door looked at each other, and even the person on the hospital bed was stunned.
“Go tell him,” Fu Yuxuan said. “I can’t take it anymore.”
Song Luoyun was completely confused.
What could she possibly say?
Fu Yuxuan walked past her, his anger palpable. Song Luoyun could only walk further in, watching Fu Huaizhi.
Unable to reconcile the brothers' relationship, all she could say was, "Are you being discharged from the hospital?"
"Hmm," Fu Huaizhi said, "There's a lot of backlog at the company."
"So you live at home?" Song Luoyun asked.
Fu Huaizhi was silent for a moment, then finally said, "Don't pay attention to what he said."
How could I not care?
If something like that happens once, it will happen again. You might be lucky to escape unscathed the last time, but what will happen next time?
Song Luoyun said tactfully, "Why don't you see a doctor? Sometimes you can't even notice something's wrong with yourself, and you can become inexplicably depressed."
Fu Huaizhi said, "Okay."
She brought a new bouquet of flowers today, but unaware that Fu Huaizhi was planning to leave, she simply placed the whole bouquet on the table.
She had been holding back some things for a long time, and fearing she might not have the chance later, she said them directly.
“Fu Huaizhi, I’m not pitying you. What happened before is in the past. I don’t like to dwell on the past. I only care about the present and the future.”
For some reason, Fu Huaizhi now seems like a child, sitting quietly and listening to her lecture.
"But I've found you're trapped, Fu Huaizhi. After everything that's happened, I don't blame you anymore. I hope you're doing well, and maybe we can start over."
The fragrance of flowers is spreading, and it's sweeter than last time.
The molecules land on the skin, turn into sugars and integrate into the body, dopamine is secreted, and cells are beating.
Fu Huaizhi only heard her last words after the girl left.
She said they could start over.
...
Soon, the news reported extensively that Fu Qiaosheng had been arrested and imprisoned.
Smuggling, fighting, [illegal activities], multiple offenses to be punished concurrently.
Shortly after this incident was exposed, Fu Qiaoying sent her a message, gloating: "Grandpa had been protecting Fu Qiaosheng all along, but when he realized he couldn't protect him anymore, he ran away first, saying he was going to retire in the mountains, but actually he was afraid of being dragged down with him."
Song Luoyun: [They are very shrewd; when it comes to profit, there is no room for sentiment.]
Fu Qiaoying: [We've disliked him for a long time, and this is like doing a public service. It's just a pity for his children; their mother was abandoned long ago, and their father is a scoundrel, so now they're being cared for by a wet nurse.]
Song Luoyun: [Aren't they being sent back to the woman's side?]
Fu Qiaoying: [Fu Qiaosheng bought custody long ago. Their mother took the money and left. She doesn't necessarily want a child as a burden. Besides, they're used to living the life of a young master and princess, and they might not want to go back.]
Song Luoyun: [Then I hope they can receive a good education.]
Fu Qiaoying: [There's no need to worry about that. Fu Huaizhi hired tutors for them, so thankfully he didn't kick them all out.]
After this incident occurred.
One day after class, Song Luoyun bumped into Wu Shilan as he went outside.
She was already six or seven months pregnant, but she always wrapped her body in gauze, afraid that her premarital pregnancy would be discovered.
She sought out Song Luoyun because of this matter; she was still in time to marry into a wealthy family, but her partner went to prison, leaving her with nowhere to turn.
Song Luoyun always kept her distance from people she didn't like, but she couldn't resist their persistent pestering.
Wu Shilan wanted to take her to a secluded place, but she refused to go, and the biggest concession she made was to stay at the top of the stairs.
She tried to keep her voice down, worried about being overheard, but the harshness in her tone was undeniable: "You put Brother Qiaosheng in jail? Why did you do this to him? What am I and the baby in my belly supposed to do?"
“You didn’t think about the baby in your belly when you were doing those things,” Song Luoyun said.
“I was wrong about that, and I apologize to you, but you're all fine, aren't you? You don't need to hold a grudge against him.”
“If something happens to me, it won’t just be a matter of him going to jail.” Song Luoyun was so angry she almost laughed. “And the child in your belly, it shouldn’t have been kept in the first place.”
"What do you know? What gives you the right to tell me what to do with my life?" Wu Shilan frowned.
Song Luoyun didn't argue with her: "Fine, then stop bothering me and just live your own life."
"If you arrest him, how am I supposed to live?" Wu Shilan grabbed her anxiously.
Song Luoyun told her, "Do you really not know what kind of person he is, or are you pretending? He has never thought about marrying you. He has many children. The one in your belly has many half-siblings. You can go to the Fu family to get a paternity test."
"How could that be?" Wu Shilan's expression changed drastically. "He said that he only has me."
“Because he has dismissed everyone else, you are about to be the next one,” Song Luoyun said.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Wu Shilan's voice grew louder and louder, finding it hard to accept.
Song Luoyun silently stepped back and said to her, "Wake up, you know better than I do whether he's worth it or not."
Wu Shilan didn't follow; she squatted on the ground, sobbing. Song Luoyun didn't pity her; it was her own choice.
After leaving the teaching building, she suddenly wanted to see Fu Huaizhi. They hadn't seen each other since he was discharged from the hospital, and she still had a vague worry in her heart, afraid that something might happen to him.
She left the school and it was already dark when she left the subway station. She glanced at the time; he would probably be home by then.
Walking along the familiar road, going upstairs, I raised my hand to press the doorbell, my eyes inadvertently glancing at the security camera on the door lock.
With a click, the door unlocked and opened automatically. After all this time, he still hadn't deleted her face from the system.
The house seemed to be empty and pitch black. She walked towards the bedroom, having already prepared an excuse in her mind: she would say she had come back to get her things.
As she pushed open the door, she felt a wave of heat and turned on the light, only to see a figure on the bed.
Fu Huaizhi lay on his side, his brows furrowed, his hands resting beside him as if he wanted to hug something.
Song Luoyun walked over and softly called out, "Fu Huaizhi?"
No response.
She called out again.
Still no response.
Alarm bells rang in my mind. I looked around the room. There were no knives, not even pen nibs. He shouldn't have had a chance to hurt me, but something was definitely wrong with him.
She walked over, intending to pull back his blanket, but first touched his hand, which was incredibly hot.
I just remembered to check his forehead temperature; he had a fever, and it was quite serious.
"Fu Huaizhi." She tried to wake him, gently patting his hand.
The man slightly opened his eyes, but his breathing was slow.
“You have a fever, I’ll take you to the hospital,” she said.
"I've taken my medicine." Fu Huaizhi struggled to speak, his pupils even appearing blurry.
“But you look seriously injured,” Song Luoyun said. “Did you catch a cold? Or is your wound infected?”
Fu Huaizhi shook his head, too exhausted to speak, and quickly closed his eyes.
Song Luoyun could only lift his blanket, unbutton his shirt, and check his injuries.
The swelling had spread, his heart was racing, and the veins on his neck were bulging with pain, indicating a likely infection. Song Luoyun couldn't move him herself, so she had to call Fu Yuxuan for help.
In the hospital, Fu Yuxuan sat outside, yawning incessantly. He felt like he owed them something in his past life. He had finally managed to arrange a romantic date with Qi Qiao, but they ruined his beautiful night.
The doctor treated Fu Huaizhi's wounds again, disinfected them, prescribed medicine, and his body temperature gradually decreased, and he became more conscious.
Fu Yuxuan was then responsible for taking them home.
Song Luoyun dared not leave and stayed in the room to take care of Fu Huaizhi.
It was late at night when she was so tired that she decided to lie down on the sofa in the living room to sleep. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard a faint sound from over there, and she was forced to open her eyes and go over.
Suddenly, she was enveloped by a warm breath, a pair of hands wrapped around her waist, and a fluffy head nuzzled behind her ear.
"Where did you go?" Fu Huaizhi asked vaguely, like a child who had just woken up.
Song Luoyun remained motionless: "Why did you suddenly wake up?"
"I can't see you," Fu Huaizhi said. "You didn't leave."
“I didn’t leave. I was afraid something might happen to you.”
"There are no sharp objects here, the windows are all sealed, there's no gas, it's very safe." He's starting to look more and more like a clingy golden retriever.
Song Luoyun said, "But you still have a fever."
"It won't happen again," he promised.
Song Luoyun: "I didn't mean to blame you."
He stubbornly said what he wanted to say: "What you don't like will never happen again."
“…Okay.” Song Luoyun could only say.
Fu Huaizhi's fever hadn't completely subsided, making it difficult to determine if he was truly himself. He didn't want Song Luoyun to leave and wanted her to come to his room to keep him company. They lay down together, and he wanted to hold her.
"Fu Huaizhi," Song Luoyun called softly.
The man's breath sprayed onto her back: "Hmm?"
"What were you thinking when you pointed the knife at yourself?" she asked.
The man remained silent for a long time.
Song Luoyun thought he had already fallen asleep before she heard his response: "I don't know, maybe, I want to see my mother."
“You will meet again in the future,” Song Luoyun said. “But I’m afraid that after you meet her, I won’t be able to see you again.”
"Okay." Fu Huaizhi was overly obedient. "I'll listen to you."
"You'll be alright, right?" Song Luoyun said.
Fu Huaizhi hummed in a very long tone.
Song Luoyun didn't say anything more, feeling his warmth, her drowsiness was dispelled.
Then, as drowsiness returned and she was about to fall asleep, she heard Fu Huaizhi say something:
"Are you willing to start over with me?"
With her eyes closed, her consciousness began to drift, and she had forgotten whether she had responded or not.
...
When I woke up, the bed was empty except for the wrinkled sheets, which proved that someone had been there.
Song Luoyun went out. Breakfast was laid out in the kitchen. The familiar dishes and routine made her feel as if she had returned to that time before.
But Fu Huaizhi was not there.
She went to scoop out some porridge, taking only one bowl. Just as she was about to turn around, another pair of hands embraced her from behind.
The porridge almost spilled, but was then placed back on the island counter.
Fu Huaizhi nuzzled against her ear, like a puppy marking its own territory.
"What are you doing?" Song Luoyun asked.
Fu Huaizhi ignored her question: "Good morning."
"Good morning," Song Luoyun said. "Has your fever gone?"
“Yes, I’ve cancelled it,” he said.
But it doesn't look like it.
Why are you still hugging her like this, and so tightly, even after you've broken up with her?
"Does your wound still hurt? Don't get too close, or it will get infected again," she said.
The man obediently loosened his grip. "Okay."
Just like how the fire made him stupid.
Song Luoyun took another bowl, filled it with porridge for him, and sat down. He sat beside her.
She didn't look at him, but felt uncomfortable and awkwardly asked, "What's wrong with you today?"
"Let me get closer to you," Fu Huaizhi said, reluctant to let go of her hand.
Only then did the conversation from last night come to mind.
"Are you willing to start over?"
-"good."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
