"Sister, are you... going to divorce me?"
The voice sounded like that of someone who hadn't spoken in a long time; it was dry, hoarse, and made one's throat hurt just listening to it.
I haven't seen him for a few days, and I wonder what kind of state he's taken for himself...
Mu Yiran resisted the urge to turn around, "...So you want me to pretend nothing happened and continue to be your loving husband until we grow old together?"
"......."
The person behind her was panting heavily, remaining silent and unresponsive to her sarcastic remarks.
As expected...
Mu Yiran inwardly mocked herself, wondering what she was expecting.
Even though she clearly didn't know how to face him, she would still subconsciously feel at ease when she saw people related to him. She hated her habit of getting used to his presence, and she hated that even though she knew Shi Youxi was plotting step by step to get her, she still couldn't help but find reasons to waver for him.
"Take back everything you left with Grandpa. Even the parties involved don't know about the betrothal gifts." She was determined to make the person behind her let go, and she spoke harshly.
"But that's true, our marriage was just a transaction to begin with."
After saying that, she forcefully shook off his hand, opened the car door, and got in, without looking back at him once.
As soon as my foot touched the bottom of the car, a sudden thrust pressed down on my waist.
"ah!"
Ai Ni, who was trying to avoid suspicion a few meters away, suddenly turned around!
She watched as Shi Youxi got into the car in a few steps, and without her noticing where the key came from, he started the car and it sped off!
Ai Ni instinctively chased after her, and stared in horror at Mu Yiran, whose hands were bound by a seatbelt in the passenger seat.
"Madam...Sir!"
"Damn it..."
The season arrived, "Hey, they've made up... Holy crap!"
He jumped up and down, looking at Ai Ni with teary eyes, "Ai Ni, you stepped on me?"
"I even left the key on purpose to try and make them reconcile... Was I wrong?"
Ai Ni slapped the back of his head, "Go ahead and chase him!"
…
The car drove from the hospital all the way to the suburbs. There were few cars on the road, and Shi Youxi drove very fast, but he was also considerate of the people next to him. He didn't go so far as to run a red light.
The seatbelt had been unbuckled and fastened halfway through the journey. Mu Yiran gripped the handle and took a deep breath. "Where exactly are you taking me?"
"..."
The man next to me was wearing a mask that completely covered his face, and looking at the reckless speed of the car, you'd think he had just robbed a bank.
Mu Yiran was his hostage.
The man was a complete thug; he didn't answer her questions until he saw her reddened eyes in the rearview mirror, then he said in a muffled voice:
"Now, no matter what I say, my sister won't believe me, right? So there's no need to ask."
“…”
Just as Mu Yiran was about to open her mouth, the increased force pushing her back made her grit her teeth and shut up immediately.
We drove all the way to the newly developed area in the eastern suburbs, where there is a software park. In recent years, with the streaming media craze, new online entertainment companies are born in these office buildings almost every day.
Mu Yiran was pulled into the tallest building by Shi Youxi. There was no one there. Mu Yiran looked at the elevator going down to the ground and felt a headache coming on.
Who exactly are you?
"My sister said..." The man beside her looked straight ahead and spoke bluntly, "As long as I become like Helian Xin and receive the punishment I deserve, you will forgive me..."
"Right?"
Mu Yiran's brow twitched; she sensed something was off about the man. "...Shi Youxi—"
"My sister will forgive me, as long as I am punished... my sister will forgive me."
The man finally looked down at her, and only then did Mu Yiran see that his face was covered in sweat, and even his mask was damp with moisture.
His gaze was unfocused, his pupils dilated, as he subconsciously searched for his own focus.
"I will make my sister forgive me, she won't abandon me..."
His situation was too strange. Mu Yiran grabbed him, "Who exactly are you—"
A "ding!" sound.
The elevator doors opened.
Mu Yiran looked up instinctively, and the scene inside filled her with horror.
Shi Youxi then came to his senses and forcefully pulled her out of the elevator.
Mu Yiran looked at the young men and women in the corner dressed in tattered clothes, and then at the men, women and children slumped on the sofa at the other end. She suddenly realized what kind of place this was.
"This... Mr. Shi! I've done as you said!" A man in a suit, his face bruised and swollen, cried out, "I was just assigned to receive the goods! I know nothing! Please let me go!"
"Get lost."
The man fled in a panic, while Mu Yiran glanced at the group of people leaning against the wall beside her and saw children among them, their thin bodies trembling with fear.
Some of these faces are even those of minor internet celebrities and child model trainees commonly seen on certain entertainment companies and streaming platforms…
She didn't care what Shi Youxi was trying to do, and took out her phone to make a call, but the call was blocked.
I want to call the police!
"Do you know where this is?" Shi Youxi pulled her to the middle, and after pushing aside a group of pale, fleshy bodies, Mu Yiran saw Helian Xin with her mouth covered.
After a few days apart, the once radiant and beautiful female celebrity now looks as disheveled as a prisoner.
Mu Yiran recalled the videos of Helian Xin that Shi Youxi had given her, and realized that these must be the power-for-money deals between Li Zhenrong and HG in private.
What role Helian Xin played in all of this, whether she was forced or willing, is no longer important. From the moment she decided to fall into depravity, she should have known that there was no possibility of climbing out of the mire.
Shi Youxi ripped off the duct tape sealing her mouth. Helian Xin's eyes were bloodshot as she screamed, "Shi Youxi! Why did you do this! You've already killed me! The video has been released, and everyone is cursing me! I have nothing left! Isn't that enough?! How much more do you want to destroy me?!"
Shi Youxi watched her curse quietly, and then tore off the masks of some people next to her one after another.
Some of them were even investors who had met the production team before…
Because of Mo Mumu, she had heard of such things before, but witnessing them with her own eyes still made her feel that evil existed among humans, and that nothing but absurdity remained.
"With these people here, do you think calling the police will do any good?"
"so what?"
Mu Yiran had no idea what was wrong with this person. "You brought me here just to tell me that people like them, no matter how shameless or beastly they are, don't need to receive any punishment or retribution and can still live a carefree and happy life, right?!"
Her face was grim, and her words were extreme: "Are you trying to tell me that compared to them, you're a perfectly normal person, and that you only did it by accident? Do you think this comparison will lessen your guilt and allow you to keep me tied down?"
“Reduce?” Shi Youxi’s face was pale, his eyelashes trembling incessantly as if it were a physiological reaction, and even his voice was shaking. “In your eyes, I’m already utterly wicked. Do I need to compare myself to others? Do they even deserve to be noticed by you?”
Shi Youxi pulled her to Helian Xin's side, "Just like you said, even if these people are caught by the police, they have countless ways to get away. They are not nationals, they are not registered companies in the area... even the law can't do anything about them, so that's why I brought my sister here."
He dragged Helian Xin's chair over, and Helian Xin screamed and fell to the ground, kneeling in front of Mu Yiran.
“Sister, she’s right here now. You can have her atone for her sins however you want.”
Mu Yiran shook him off, utterly incredulous. "You brought me here... just so I could get revenge on her?"
Shi Youxi laughed: "You said that the memory of that day can never be erased, let alone the fact that she plans to let everyone know those painful memories. How can my sister's act of retaliating be enough to make up for it?"
"You said that seeing her reminds you of the pain you suffered, so let her pay a thousand times, a hundred times the price, until she's so miserable that even you pity her, right...?"
Shi Youxi seemed to have seen a glimmer of hope, constantly trying to convince herself, "Isn't the most direct way to forget the pain to become the perpetrator instead of the victim? As long as the person who hurt you suffered enough..."
Mu Yiran bit her lip, her eyes filled with indescribable pain and disappointment, "Shi Youxi..."
The man got excited and picked up a camera from the side. "I'm all ready, just like she did for you."
"Shi Youxi! You can't do this to me!" Helian Xin knew what Shi Youxi was going to do, but why should she have to go through this?
"You've already taken your revenge on me! I can't be a star anymore! I'm ruined! You can't do this to Mu Yiran! I was also instigated by Sageia! She's the mastermind, why are you blaming me for everything! If you want her dead, just let her die! Don't treat me like this!"
The man remained unmoved, and even took a bottle of clear liquid from the side. Helian Xin completely broke down and screamed wildly:
"You can't do this to me! I saved your life! You owe me your life, Shi Youxi! You can't do this to me!"
Seeing Shi Youxi raise his hand to fall to the ground, Mu Yiran grabbed the bottle and smashed it away. She grabbed Shi Youxi by the collar, her face contorted with distress.
"Don't you really... understand? Even if she goes through the same thing as me, it won't make a difference! No matter how miserable she is, everything I went through that night can't be undone!"
"And the reason for this is you! Even if you didn't mean it, I can't help but be angry with you!"
"I don't care at all whether they can feel remorse or not. Their guilt and apologies to me are utterly meaningless!"
"What I care about... is clearly..."
…It's clearly only you.
Because I care, I don't know how to forgive; because I care, I can't bring myself to hurt you.
I can only endure this, avoiding him, yet I can't help but keep thinking about him.
“…”
Mu Yiran sobbed and released him, "...In my eyes, you are more hateful than them, and you deserve the most retribution."
"..." The man's face turned ashen.
Mu Yiran touched her face twice, not wanting to look at him anymore, and walked towards the door. As she passed the group of people standing facing the wall, she said indifferently:
"Those who want to leave can leave now."
"...What should we do?"
Ignoring the hesitation of the young men who looked at each other, Mu Yiran entered the elevator.
She stood inside, inevitably looking at Shi Youxi, watching him stand there like a lifeless wooden figure, surrounded by desolation, abandoned and lost in the midst of it all.
The moment the door closed, even from a distance of over ten meters, Mu Yiran heard the man speak almost to himself:
"To be more hateful than everyone else is to be more miserable than everyone else..."
"Only in this way can I have a chance to be forgiven by you..."
"....."
More miserable than everyone else...?
Mu Yiran felt a sudden, dull pain in her heart as she watched helplessly as the elevator doors closed.
At the same moment, Shi Youxi turned to look at Helian Xin, who was constantly hiding in the corner. He walked a few steps to the woman and took out a miniature pistol under Helian Xin's terrified gaze.
"You! Shi Youxi! This is in China! You'll die if you carry a gun!!!" Helian Xin crawled on all fours to hide.
Shi Youxi picked up the bottle of medicine that had been thrown away, and then shot himself in the chest without hesitation!
"Aaaaaah!"
"You're insane! You're insane!"
Over the years, Helian Xin had never clearly realized at this moment the extent of the "madness" in "Shi Youxi is a mentally ill madman".
The man swayed slightly, then pinched Helian Xin's mouth and forced the medicine down her throat.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
"Debts must be repaid. I will repay what I owe you, and what you owe her... not a single penny less."
Shi Youxi looked at the remaining half bottle of medicine, coughed up blood, stared blankly at the direction of the elevator door, and laughed foolishly.
"My sister is right, people like you and me..."
"They deserve to go to hell!"
"........"
In the elevator, Mu Yiran kept thinking about the last words the man had said. Something about them felt off, and she felt an inexplicable unease.
Did Shi Youxi call her here just to get a scolding?
He did owe money, but not to this extent…
What exactly is he trying to do...?
"bite!"
The elevator doors opened, and what came into Mu Yiran's view was a large group of reporters carrying long lenses and cameras.
"This is the one!"
"It didn't say which floor it was on!"
"Is the information accurate? Are you sure it's Helian Xin? Don't tell me it's another imposter—"
Hearing the elevator doors open, all the reporters turned to look at the stunned Mu Yiran, staring at her blankly for a few seconds...
"It's A, you know! She came with Helian Xin!"
"The clubhouse must be downstairs!"
Just then, several police cars stopped behind the reporter, many of them holding seals.
Seeing that the reporter not only didn't run away but became even more excited, he frantically ran in Mu Yiran's direction!
"Madam! Run!" a loud shout rang out from the crowd!
Mu Yiran was frantically pressing the elevator buttons, trying to close the door before people could squeeze in.
She stared at the floor number, still shaken.
Yes...yes!
Mu Yiran finally realized that something was wrong!
How could Shi Youxi have brought her here without a purpose?
The scene of the sex transaction, Helian Xin, and the things he said:
— "Non-national, overseas agency, even the law can't do anything about them."
These demons could escape with ease.
But if you add Shi Youxi, the chairman of the Shi Group, a listed conglomerate in the capital... then everything will be different!
He brought her here not so that Mu Yiran could see how miserable Helian Xin was, or how those people went to hell!
But it was for…
He would let himself be dragged down to hell to atone for his sins against her!
That madman!
She gritted her teeth, and as soon as the elevator stopped, she stumbled and ran into the lobby. In that one glance, she saw a scene she could never have imagined, a scene that caused her immense pain and despair.
The man, who was fully covered up just minutes ago, was now disheveled and slumped on the sofa, allowing the people around him, who were not in a conscious state, to grope him.
That proud and aloof man despised anyone who was touched by others.
This man, who was always so pampered around her, was now in a sorry state, being humiliated at her mercy.
"Shi Youxi...Shi Youxi!" Mu Yiran rushed over, shoving away the people around her like a madwoman. She grabbed the limp man on top of her. He was unconscious and had no strength at all. His pale face was burning red.
"What's wrong with you? Look at me, Shi Youxi!" After being called several times, the man finally opened his eyes, pursed his lips but didn't speak.
Before Mu Yiran could listen, she heard the elevator stop notification sound.
...They're coming!
Her heart skipped a beat, and she forcefully pulled Shi Youxi towards the nearest room behind her.
The moment the elevator arrived, she slammed the door shut.
The person next to her lost their support and pressed down, and in that moment, she touched the man's wet chest.
Bright red, warm and moist.
"...Blood?" Mu Yiran panicked completely. Her eyes widened in shock, her hands hesitant to touch him, and she gently patted his face. "What happened to you? Where are you hurt! Shi Youxi! Don't scare me! Where are you hurt?!"
"I'll call someone... nothing will happen... huh?! I'll call someone!"
She reached for her phone to call Ai Ni over, but the man beside her suddenly gripped the doorknob and opened the door. Mu Yiran's eyelids twitched, she pushed him away, and pressed her body against the door!
Shi Youxi was jolted by the bump and leaned against her back, exhausted.
The noise outside grew louder and louder, and soon there was a knock on the door.
"The door is locked! Let's leave it here!"
"Helian Xin is there!"
"Who's inside! Come out!"
"...Why won't you open the door?" the man behind him said hoarsely.
"..." Mu Yiran felt her heart pounding and remained silent.
"I beg you to atone for my sins... but even my sister won't accept it?"
"You won't even give me a chance like this?"
Mu Yiran bit her lip, her hand gripping the doorknob trembling.
"...How could there be such a madman as you..."
Mu Yiran is now truly certain that this man's insane act of drugging himself and inexplicably self-harming was all an attempt to force her to forgive him.
He wanted to destroy himself, in the same way he had hurt Mu Yiran, even dragging the entire Shiye down with him, all to forcefully remove the thorn in Mu Yiran's heart through self-destruction.
But he knew perfectly well that she would never stand by and watch him harm himself!
"I've hurt you, so you have to pay the price...anything...being drugged, gang-raped, even crippled and locked up like an animal, it's all acceptable..."
Shi Youxi grasped her hand and rubbed it helplessly, "As long as... as long as sister can forgive me, as long as sister... doesn't abandon me..."
“............”
Shi Youxi held her head down, and the overflowing blood slid down Mu Yiran's cheek.
"No matter how many times I've thought about it these past few days, even if I had another chance, if I could go back to that time and be Shi Youxi again, I would still do the same thing. I don't think I did anything wrong... My only regret is that you got hurt..."
"If you hadn't done that, you wouldn't have relied on me...you would have left me."
"Sister, I am just that despicable and selfish. Even if I know what normal love is, I don't know how to do it..."
He was despicable by nature and always disregarded his feelings, yet he was addicted to loving her.
"So don't get a divorce, don't abandon my sister... Please save me, save me, teach me how to love you... I'll change, I'll change...."
The man behind her was filthy and disheveled, humbly apologizing and begging for mercy.
But why did Mu Yiran feel even more pain in her heart...?
Is this what she wanted to see?
Is she unwilling to forgive Shi Youxi so that she can see him suffer the same pain and despair as she did back then?
No, not at all...
But what to do... Mu Yiran had no idea.
Mu Yiran grabbed his hand, which had fallen completely from exhaustion, and burst into tears.
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