Chapter 83
Perhaps because her condition was already very serious when the video was recorded, Grandma Chen Yan in the video was wearing a ventilator and her face was completely bloodless.
"Miss, by the time you see this video, I may no longer be here."
I'm an old woman who's practically half-buried in the ground. I've never met any important people in my life, but I never expected to meet a young lady like you.
If it weren't for Miss, I probably wouldn't be alive now, and I wouldn't have the good fortune to watch Xiao Yan grow up, go to school, and go to university..."
As she spoke, her breathing became labored and her eyes welled up with tears: "Young Miss is my savior. Before I die, this old woman would like to shamelessly ask Young Miss for one more favor."
"Although Xiao Yan was adopted, he is the one I can't let go of the most. If one day Miss doesn't like our Xiao Yan anymore, I hope that Miss can occasionally go and see if he is doing well."
Before the recording was finished, Chen Yan's voice could be heard from outside the ward. The mother-in-law gave the caregiver a wink, signaling her to put it away quickly.
The video ended abruptly there. Xiang Wan looked at her mother-in-law, who was frozen in the last second, and felt a mix of emotions.
In fact, even without her, Chen Yan wouldn't starve to death. On the contrary, the studio he and Zhao Luyu run is quite profitable.
She actually knew they went to Shu'an Home Furnishings to discuss cooperation. Besides, how could someone who built their business empire from scratch in their previous life be underestimated?
As for the ending between her and Chen Yan, Xiang Wan was also at a loss.
Let's just let things take their course for now.
*
Chen Yan did not hold a grand funeral for his mother-in-law; only some of his friends attended.
As for the people from Lijia Village, Chen Yan didn't invite anyone except for the siblings Zhou Chengze and Zhou Xinyi.
The old woman had spent half her life bowing her head and bending her back, and those people had never given her a second glance. Even when they came, it wasn't out of genuine concern for her; they were probably just trying to curry favor with her.
Therefore, at his mother-in-law's funeral a week later, only Ni Zhen, Zhao Luyu, and some of his university classmates attended.
The trio was also among those invited. As for Xiang Wan, her invitation was given to her by Chen Yan through Shen Feiyang.
Even Jiang Zhuochun, the most oblivious member of the trio, guessed that there must be a problem between the two.
At the long table next door, four people sat around on both sides. Shen Feiyang and Che Nanbei were still considering how to start the conversation when they heard Jiang Zhuochun ask, "Did you and Chen Yan have a fight?"
Shen Feiyang & Che Nanbei: "..."
Xiang Wan was somewhat used to her friend's absent-mindedness, so she directly admitted, "We broke up."
Jiang Zhuochun was about to ask why when Che Nanbei quickly covered his mouth with a pastry: "Are you hungry?"
"..."
They didn't have much time to chat, as the other mourning hall was already empty, and it was just their turn to go and pay their respects to the old man.
Since it was a funeral, the four of them were dressed quite formally. Chen Yan stood at the entrance of the mourning hall and bowed to them to express his gratitude for their attendance.
After a few days apart, Chen Yan had become extremely thin, and even in a suit and tie, he could not hide the haggard look on his face.
Fortunately, Ni Zhen and Zhao Luyu were by his side, which put Xiang Wan at ease.
As he thanked the other people who came to pay their respects, Chen Yan said the same words to her, but the detachment in his eyes made her realize that the two of them could never go back to the way things were before.
On the other side, Ni Zhen and Zhao Luyu exchanged a glance, secretly wondering if their breakup was due to the rumors circulating at school.
'Who did you say initiated the breakup?'
'It must be Xiang Wan, after all, Chen Ruilin likes her so much, how could he possibly break up with her?'
I think so too.
Xiang Wan and the trio paid their respects to the old man, then got up and bowed to Chen Yan in return, offering a few words of comfort before going next door to eat the funeral meal.
Once most of the funeral attendees had finished paying their respects, Ni Zhen and Zhao Luyu went next door to entertain the guests, leaving Chen Yan alone in the mourning hall, lost in thought.
Ni Zhen checked if there was enough funeral food, while Zhao Luyu frowned and went out after seeing someone at the door.
When he returned, Chen Yan had just come back from the mourning hall, but Zhao Luyu pulled him into the mourning hall: "Li Xiaohua seems to be here too, with a very gangster-like man by her side."
Hearing this, Chen Yan frowned slightly: "Is he dyeing his hair blonde? And does he have slanted eyebrows?"
"It seems so." Zhao Luyu was also a little unsure, but seeing that Chen Yan didn't speak, he asked again, "Do you know that guy?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it's Li Yaozu who's here."
Who is Li Yaozu?
"Li Xiaohua's brother, we were from the same village when we were kids."
"Are you here to pay respects to your mother-in-law?"
"It shouldn't be."
Chen Yan was still wondering what Li Xiaohua and her brother were doing here when he heard the sound of a bottle being smashed next door.
Seeing Ni Zhen coming from next door, Zhao Luyu asked, "Whose plate broke?"
Ni Zhen had come looking for them. He looked at Chen Yan, and then at his friend with a hint of sympathy: "Li Xiaohua has come to cause trouble."
Before Chen Yan could speak, Zhao Luyu, with his short temper, snapped, "What? What's she doing here?"
Ni Zhen sighed, somewhat helplessly: "She said Chen Yan has to take responsibility for her."
"..."
As they walked toward the next house, they stumbled upon the confrontation between the trio and Li Xiaohua.
Although the trio didn't know why Xiang Wan and Chen Yan broke up, based on the rumors flying around the school, they naturally assumed it was related to the girl in front of them.
Not to mention that every word she said was demeaning to Xiang Wan, and she even called Wan Wan a mistress.
Che Nanbei was the first to get furious, and she and Che Nanbei started pulling each other's hair and fighting. Shen Feiyang initially felt that it was a bit unfair for one person to fight two people, so he just watched coldly.
When she saw that Li Xiaohua had scratched a bloody line on Che Nanbei's face with her fingernails, she couldn't hold back and started fighting with her.
Jiang Zhuochun was cheering on the two of them, and later Zhou Xinyi also inexplicably joined the fight, creating a chaotic scene, but no one tried to stop the fight.
Ni Zhen and Zhao Luyu came from the mourning hall and saw the spectacular scene. They exchanged a glance and tacitly refrained from trying to mediate.
As for Chen Yan, he glanced around and noticed that Xiang Wan was not there, so he asked Zhou Chengze, who was standing next to him, "Where is Xiang Wan?"
"Xiang Wan left after receiving a call from the company before Li Xiaohua caused trouble. She should be in the parking lot now."
Chen Yan frowned and looked around, noticing that Li Yaozu was also missing: "Have you seen Li Yaozu?"
"Li Yaozu is here too? I didn't see him."
Chen Yan remained silent, but in his mind he was pondering what Li Xiaohua's true purpose was in causing trouble.
Looking at the chaotic scene, Zhou Chengze glanced at him again and said, "Go find Xiang Wan. Nothing will happen here."
Seeing that Li Yaozu wasn't there, Chen Yan was genuinely worried that he might cause trouble for Xiang Wan. So he told Ni Zhen to keep an eye on things before heading towards the parking lot...
*
On the other side, in the parking lot.
Xiang Wan originally planned to attend the funeral before returning to the company, but because the foreign company she was cooperating with suddenly went bankrupt, she needed to go back to confirm the public relations plan, so she had to leave midway.
She remotely unlocked the car door with her car key, and just as she was about to get in, she saw a man rushing towards her from the opposite direction.
She didn't recognize him at first, until he asked her for compensation.
"Xiang Wan—your little boyfriend deceived my feelings and almost made my sister commit suicide. You have to pay compensation."
Xiang Wan: "..."
Before she could even cause trouble for the other party, trouble came looking for her first.
She closed the car door and looked at the tattooed, blond man across from her. She guessed that he was probably Li Yaozu from Lijia Village, and also Li Xiaohua's brother.
The daughter is named Xiaohua, but the son is named Yaozu.
Just by hearing this name, you can tell that he was born with the hopes of the whole family, who were counting on him to bring honor to their ancestors.
Xiang Wan calmly scanned him from head to toe, then asked him, "Since you say Chen Yan deceived your sister's feelings, you should go find him. Why did you come to me?"
"He has no money, you have money."
"..." She could roughly tell that the other person was brainless, and she didn't really want to waste her time with him: "Then how much money do you want me to pay?"
He thought she would ask for an exorbitant amount, but she probably didn't expect him to agree so readily. Li Yaozu was a little stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he asked for a small sum: "Ten thousand yuan."
Xiang Wan: "..."
She originally intended to pay him first and then blackmail him into working at the sewing machine, but she didn't expect him to be so bold yet so ignorant.
She pursed her lips, somewhat speechless, glanced at her watch, and decided to simply pay up to resolve the immediate problem: "Okay."
She doesn't want to waste time on things that can be solved with money.
However, just as she took out 10,000 yuan from the bag in the passenger seat, she saw Li Yaozu pull out a knife and rush towards her.
Strangely, even though he was the one swinging the knife at her, his expression was one of terror, as if someone had possessed his body and was making him kill her.
Xiang Wan was wearing high heels, and with the cars parked too close together, there was nowhere for her to hide.
She tried to run towards an empty area of the parking lot, but tripped over a banana peel that had appeared on the ground and fell to the ground.
Just then, she twisted her ankle. She tried her best to dodge his knife in the face, but she couldn't avoid the knife that slashed her thigh.
Although the wound did not reach the major artery, it was very deep, and blood gushed out immediately, staining not only her pants but also the ground.
Xiang Wan initially remained calm, but the massive blood loss in a short period of time prevented her from thinking of a countermeasure, and she could only instinctively dodge his attacks...
Chen Yan appeared at this time.
"Xiang Shuhan, get out of the way—"
Chen Yan shouted at her as he rushed toward Li Yaozu. Xiang Wan was already somewhat delirious and didn't even have the strength to get up. After calling for an ambulance, she watched as the two of them wrestled together.
Just as the cold light was about to slash towards Chen Yan's carotid artery, Xiang Wan frowned and shouted to warn him to dodge.
However, whether he didn't hear it or couldn't dodge in time, the dagger still sliced across his neck...
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