Chapter 49
The cold, fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor shone on Xu Chen, casting a long, distorted shadow of him, like a demon crawling out of hell. He walked out step by step, the surrounding air becoming stagnant and cold due to the intense killing intent emanating from him.
Not going to call the police?
Yes, don't call the police...
Because the legal punishment was too lenient! Too slow! It was far from enough to quell the overwhelming hatred in his heart! That bastard Shen Haoyu, that beast, he didn't deserve any trial! He only deserved to repay his debts in the most primitive, painful, and bloody way!
Xu Chen's lips slowly twisted into an extreme, almost manic arc. It was no longer a human smile, but the cruel fangs of a beast locking onto its prey.
"Shen Haoyu..." he murmured the name as if tasting the most potent poison in the world: "You wait... I will come for you myself... I will use your blood to wash away the wounds on Mu Xue's body... I will make you regret... regret that you ever came into this world!"
The flames of rage had completely consumed him. The once gentle, even somewhat reserved young man was dead. What emerged from the hospital room was merely a walking, talking weapon, consumed by vengeance. Hell is empty; all the devils are here. And Xu Chen was now going to personally open that gate to hell for Shen Haoyu.
The last thing Xu Chen did before leaving the hospital was to walk to the nurses' station, leave Li Junsheng's phone number, and give them a message: "Nurse, if I haven't returned by 8 a.m. tomorrow, please help me contact Li Muxue's father and tell him that his daughter is seriously injured..."
Under the night sky, his solitary figure blended into the darkness, each step treading on silent thunder, each step burning with the flames of destruction. A storm, born of extreme love and hate, was about to descend upon this seemingly peaceful city in the most devastating way…
————
The hospital corridor stretched endlessly. The sharp smell of disinfectant pierced their nostrils, mingling with an invisible anxiety, weaving a vast, suffocating net. Li Junsheng and Qiao Kexin were running through this net, their steps faltering, their hearts pounding in their throats at the cold words on the phone: "Your daughter, Li Muxue, is seriously injured and hospitalized." Qiao Kexin staggered, nearly falling several times. Li Junsheng supported his wife, his own hands trembling uncontrollably. Countless terrifying thoughts flashed through their minds: a car accident? An accident? Each guess made their faces grow paler.
Finally, they found the ward number. Li Junsheng took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy door.
The morning sunlight slanted through the window and fell on the hospital bed. The light, which should have been warm, was like a searchlight, cruelly illuminating every inch of the wounds on the figure on the bed.
Is that their daughter?
The daughter who was wearing a white floral dress yesterday morning, smiling and saying to them, "Dad, Mom, I'm going out for a bit"?
Qiao Kexin's foot was planted firmly in the doorway, a muffled sound escaping her throat as if someone were choking her. The world in her eyes instantly faded, leaving only the shocking white of the hospital bed and the fragile, slightly raised outline of the body on the white sheet.
Li Junsheng stumbled and grabbed the doorframe to steady himself. He opened his mouth, wanting to call out "Xiaoxue," but found that he couldn't make a sound, only heavy, bloody breathing.
They moved to the edge of the bed. Every step felt like walking on broken glass.
Closer, closer still. The scars became clearer, more gruesome, assaulting their eyes. Their daughter's cheeks were swollen and disfigured, a patchwork of bruises and purple, with dark red scabs at the corners of her mouth. Her arms, exposed outside the blanket, were covered in bruises and bite marks. Her eyes were closed, her long eyelashes casting pitiful shadows on her swollen eyelids, her breathing so faint that the rise and fall of her chest was barely visible. There wasn't a single familiar, vibrant mark on her body.
Qiao Kexin's hand trembled, hovering in mid-air, wanting to touch her daughter's face, yet afraid of shattering this last, fragile piece of wholeness. She abruptly pulled her hand back, and the tears that had been accumulating for so long finally burst forth, silently surging forth. She lay by the bedside, her shoulders heaving violently, but she bit her lip tightly, afraid to cry out loud, lest she disturb her daughter's poor sleep.
Li Junsheng's eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched tightly. The injuries on his daughter's body clearly told him that this was not an accident, not a car crash, but rather, she had been beaten! The incredibly clear handprints. The marks left by the belt on her fair skin—these were irrefutable evidence! A destructive rage surged through his chest, burning his internal organs. He forced out a few words through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse: "Who...who did this?! Which beast...beat my daughter like this?!"
His voice echoed in the empty hospital room, carrying a desperate roar.
At this moment, Li Muxue woke up, her eyes devoid of any emotion, only filled with unfathomable sorrow.
She opened her mouth and uttered that name.
"Shen Haoyu".
Three words, seemingly light and airy, yet like three heavy bombs, exploded in the world of Li Junsheng and Qiao Kexin!
Qiao Kexin abruptly raised her head, tears still streaming down her face, her eyes filled with utter, incredulous horror. She seemed not to have heard clearly, or perhaps doubted her hearing, murmuring repeatedly, "Who... Shen Haoyu? Which Shen Haoyu?"
“Shen Haoyu from the auto repair shop.” Li Muxue’s voice was clear and cold, like a knife chilled to ice, confirming once again.
In an instant, the ward fell into dead silence.
Qiao Kexin's face was completely drained of color, paler than the hospital walls. She seemed to have all her bones removed, collapsing softly backward. Li Junsheng instinctively caught her, but his own body swayed as if the ground beneath his feet had suddenly collapsed.
Shen Haoyu...
This name was once a frequently mentioned phrase at their family dinner table. It was the epitome of "young and promising" and "from a good family" in Qiao Kexin's eyes, the "perfect son-in-law" she repeatedly expressed her hope that her daughter would get to know better. It was they who repeatedly praised the Shen family's wealth to Li Muxue, painting a picture of the easy life that awaited her after marrying into the Shen family; it was they who cast an unwavering vote against their daughter's childhood sweetheart relationship with Xu Chen; it was they who personally gilded the name "Shen Haoyu" with a layer of gold, eagerly pushing it before their daughter…
But now, this very name, the name on which they once placed such high hopes, has transformed into the most hideous demon, ravaging their precious daughter until she is neither human nor ghost!
Regret, like countless thorny vines, surged wildly from the deepest recesses of their hearts, instantly tightening around them, suffocating them, leaving them bleeding. Qiao Kexin recalled how she had smiled and said to Li Muxue, "That Haoyu kid, he seems reliable at first glance." Li Junsheng recalled the unconscious humility and fawning he had shown in front of Shen Haoyu's father, and the ugly vanity in his heart when his wife murmured, "If Xiaoxue could marry Haoyu, our family would finally be doing well."
This stark contrast, like a giant, distorted funhouse mirror, reveals their past absurdity and shortsightedness. The olive branch they offered, which they considered the safest, turned out to be a sharp blade piercing their daughter's heart!
Qiao Kexin could no longer hold on and collapsed into her husband's arms, letting out a suppressed sob that seemed to tear from the depths of her soul. It wasn't sadness, but a self-inflicted torment more cruel than sadness. Li Junsheng held his wife tightly. This usually resilient and composed man now had tears welling up in his eyes, streaming down his face with endless regret and humiliation. He looked up at his daughter, who was barely breathing on the hospital bed, each wound seeming to silently accuse them of their foolishness.
They couldn't face it, couldn't face their daughter's horrific injuries, and even less could they face the fact that they themselves had pushed their daughter into the abyss. The sunlight continued to fall silently, yet the hospital room seemed shrouded in an endless, cold darkness. That heavy regret, like the soil in a grave, buried them deep, even their breath carried the dust of despair…
"Why?! Has Shen Haoyu gone mad?!" Qiao Kexin's voice seemed to be asking Li Muxue, but it was actually more like an interrogation of herself.
“He just wanted to ruin my innocence and my life, just like you guys.”
Li Muxue answered expressionlessly...
(To be continued)
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