Chapter 48
Shen Haoyu slammed the door of the private room shut. The KTV speakers were playing disco DJ music, which he turned up to the maximum volume. The frantic drumbeats completely drowned out the sounds of his fists and slaps hitting Li Muxue's face, the sound of clothes being torn, and her almost inhuman, incredibly shrill cries for help and heart-wrenching screams...
When that thin membrane, rich in blood vessels and nerve endings, symbolizing chastity, which she had cherished and protected for twenty-three years as a wedding gift for Xu Chen, was shattered by an overwhelming force, Li Muxue felt an excruciating pain. A stream of crimson fluid flowed between her legs like a weeping brook, flowing and flowing…
An hour later, the door to the private room opened, and Shen Haoyu walked out nonchalantly, impeccably dressed. Inside, on the sofa lay Li Muxue's battered body—bruises around her eyes, blood seeping from her mouth, and her body covered in Shen Haoyu's teeth marks. Blood soaked between her legs; she was nearly unconscious…
Li Muxue lay in the private room for an unknown amount of time before her consciousness gradually returned. She clearly knew what had happened. She crawled laboriously on the wool carpet to the corner of the room, where she reached for her phone with trembling hands. Fortunately, the phone wasn't broken. She dialed Xu Chen's number. Her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible: "I'm in karaoke room 311 at XX karaoke room. Please come save me, I think I'm going to die..."
The thing Xu Chen regretted most in his life was believing Li Muxue's last phone call—"I'm fine, I just made things clear with Shen Haoyu, and I'm going home right away."
He forced himself to calm down, but the unease felt like countless needles pricking his spine, making him restless. He dialed Li Muxue's number again and again, but no one answered for hours. A cold, almost animalistic fear gripped his entire body until his phone rang again…
Thick, dark clouds, seemingly soaked in black blood, filled the sky. Xu Chen ran wildly, sweat and tears blurring his vision. His heart pounded in his chest. He dared not think of that horrifying scene; it was like a red-hot iron, searing his soul.
The door to the karaoke room was like a mocking maw. Ignoring the waiter's attempts to stop him, Xu Chen, like a wild beast that had lost its cubs, kicked open the heavy door of room 311.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
The private room reeked of alcohol, cigarettes, and a... rusty, metallic smell. A huge screen emitted a ghostly blue light. And in the center of the carpet, a figure huddled up.
That's Li Muxue.
At this moment, she resembled a torn rag doll, carelessly discarded on the ground. Her white dress was ripped to shreds, stained with dark red blood and dirt, the hem tattered. Her exposed skin was covered with bruises of varying shades, some fingerprints, others horribly long, scabbed welts. Her cheeks were swollen, her lips cracked, and dark scabs of blood had formed. Her long hair, soaked with sweat, tears, and even blood, clung to her forehead and the carpet, a disheveled mess.
The most striking feature was the clear, purplish pinch marks around her neck.
Xu Chen's breath stopped. All the sounds of the world faded away instantly, leaving only the roar of his own blood rushing to his head. He staggered forward, his legs giving way, and he collapsed to his knees on the carpet. He wanted to touch her, but his fingers trembled like withered leaves in the wind, unable to find a place to hold her. He was afraid that with the slightest touch, she would shatter completely like fragile glass.
"Mu Xue... Mu Xue..." His voice was hoarse and incoherent, as if it were being squeezed out of a throat chafed by sandpaper.
She seemed touched by the faint call; her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyelids lifted with difficulty, barely opening a crack. Those once clear and bright eyes were now filled only with boundless pain, fear, and a deathly stillness that terrified Xu Chen. She recognized him; her lips moved, but no sound came out. Only a single, murky tear rolled down her cheek, mingling with the carpet fibers.
This single tear, like boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius, scalded Xu Chen's heart.
"ah--!!!!!"
A roar, inhuman in its intensity, exploded from Xu Chen's chest! The sound contained pain, anger, and despair. He abruptly bent down, using the gentlest of strength he possessed, and carefully pulled Li Muxue into his arms. She was terrifyingly light, like a shattered dream. The moment their bodies touched, she trembled uncontrollably, letting out a suppressed whimper.
"Don't be afraid, Muxue, don't be afraid... I'm here, I'll take you away..." Xu Chen's voice trembled violently. He took off his coat, wrapped it around her battered body, and rushed out of this hellhole like a madman.
On the way to the hospital, Xu Chen felt like every second was an eternity. The taxi driver asked curiously, "What happened to this girl? She's badly injured!"
Xu Chen pleaded, "Master, please drive quickly, don't ask any more questions!"
He held the person in his arms tightly, feeling her weak breathing and intermittent spasms. A volcano within him erupted violently, the scorching lava burning his very core! Shen Haoyu! This name, like the fangs of a viper, was deeply embedded in his brain, releasing deadly venom! He imagined how that beast had abused her, how he had touched her pure body with his filthy hands, how he had grinned maliciously as he watched her struggle in agony… Every imagined scene was like a dull knife, slowly slicing and torturing his heart!
The lights in the emergency room flickered on, like the entrance to hell. Xu Chen leaned against the cold, icy wall, then slowly slid to the floor. His hands and arms were still stained with Li Muxue's blood. That dark red, viscous liquid now burned in his eyes, transforming into a flame of revenge that would incinerate his last shred of reason!
Several hours later, the doctor emerged from the emergency room with a grave expression: "The patient has multiple soft tissue contusions, fractured ribs, a mild concussion... and... a severe laceration. The patient has suffered extreme shock and trauma and needs to rest. He absolutely cannot be subjected to any further stimulation."
Xu Chen's teeth were grinding together, and the bloodshot eyes were frighteningly red...
After Li Muxue was transferred to a ward, Xu Chen stayed by her bedside. When she briefly woke up from her coma and saw Xu Chen's haggard face, her first reaction was to curl up, her eyes filled with fear.
“Mu Xue, it’s me, it’s Xu Chen…” He comforted her, his voice hoarse, as if his heart was being torn apart.
After confirming that she was safe, Li Muxue broke down. She gripped Xu Chen's hand tightly, tears streaming down her face, but desperately shook her head, pleading, "No...don't call the police...Xu Chen, please...don't call the police..."
"Why?!" Xu Chen roared, his anger flaring up again. "He did this to you! He has to pay for this!"
“No…no…” Li Muxue’s eyes were filled with a deep-seated fear: “Call the police…everyone will know…I…I’ll be ruined…I can’t face anyone…Shen Haoyu’s family is rich…we can’t fight him…he will definitely retaliate…and my dad…my dad still works at his family’s auto repair shop…he will fire my dad…we can’t…we can’t…”
Her fears were so concrete, so real, like cold chains binding her tightly. She preferred to swallow this immense bitterness and humiliation alone rather than dare to shake the seemingly unbreakable wall of power.
As Xu Chen watched her trembling on the hospital bed and listened to her desperate and helpless reasons, the volcano in his heart erupted completely! The angry lava was no longer scorching hot, but turned into a pitch-black, viscous, and all-destroying hellfire!
He gently stroked Li Muxue's bandaged forehead, his movements incredibly tender, but his eyes had become two bottomless abysses burning with dark flames. His voice was low and slow, yet carried a chilling, resolute curse-like quality:
"Okay, Muxue, we... won't call the police."
Li Muxue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and weakly closed her eyes.
Xu Chen leaned down, brought his ear close, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, each word deliberate and clear, like a blood oath etched deep into her soul:
"You should rest well and recover from your injury. Don't be afraid, leave everything to me."
He straightened up, took one last look at Li Muxue's pale and haggard sleeping face, then resolutely turned and walked out of the ward...
(To be continued)
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