Fu Chen opened his mouth, wanting to refute or curse, but in the end he just stared at her, unable to utter a word.
The eyes that once fascinated her now only showed violence and embarrassment.
His silence is the loudest answer.
The smile on Xu Zhiru's face slowly froze and finally turned into ashes.
She looked down at the wound on the back of her hand that was still bleeding. She felt no pain, only a chill rising from the soles of her feet and spreading throughout her body.
"I see... I'm so ridiculous," she muttered to herself. "In your eyes, I'm not even a competent tool."
He was so stingy that he didn't even bother to tell her a perfunctory lie.
Fu Chen was staying in a villa in the suburbs with the curtains drawn tightly. The room was filled with the smell of smoke and mildew.
He was holding an encrypted phone and talking to his mother, Mrs. Fu, asking her to transfer all the money from those overseas accounts.
"Ah Chen! Mom is useless!" On the other end of the phone, Mrs. Fu's voice was trembling and she cried desperately, "It's over, it's all over! All those accounts are frozen! Our people went to ask, and they said it was... Ning Nanxue! And the Jiang family! They dug a trap a long time ago, waiting for us to jump in! Ah Chen, what should we do?"
The veins on the back of Fu Chen's hand that was holding the phone were bulging.
"Frozen? Impossible! Those accounts are so hidden! How could Ning Nanxue—" His voice was fierce, "How dare she!"
"It's true, Ah Chen! It's all on the news! The Fu family is finished..." Mrs. Fu burst into tears over there, "We can't beat them, we can't beat them..."
Fu Chen hung up the phone and turned on the old TV on the wall with trembling hands.
On the financial channel, the female anchor read in a clear voice: "Due to massive debts and numerous irregularities, the Fu Group has officially filed for bankruptcy protection from the court today..."
Every word made him feel heavy inside and his face flushed.
He picked up the ashtray on the table and smashed it against the screen.
The TV went black with a crackling sound, and the broken screen reflected his distorted face, which was pale and mad.
"Ning Nanxue..." Fu Chen gritted his teeth, his voice grinding out from his throat, "You forced me to do this! Just wait, I'll drag you to death with me!"
He staggered into the study and opened the bottom drawer. There was nothing valuable inside, only a black pistol, ice-cold.
Martin gave it to him as a gift, saying it was for self-defense.
The phone vibrated, and an encrypted message came in. It was sent by the person who had been planted before, with a photo and address attached - Ning Nanxue was at a charity dinner tonight, smiling triumphantly.
"Okay, very good." Fu Chen stared at Ning Nanxue's face on the screen, then looked at the name of the banquet hall, and his mind buzzed.
He snorted self-deprecatingly: "Charity dinner? Ning Nanxue, you really are an actor. I'm so down and out now, and you're so complacent!"
He extinguished that little light himself.
The charity dinner was brightly lit and bustling with people.
Ning Nanxue had just finished her speech and thanked everyone for their help to the children in the mountainous areas.
She was wearing a royal blue dress and stood on the stage, calm and composed. The audience applauded, and many people looked at her with admiration.
She nodded and prepared to leave the stage when the miniature intercom hidden in her sleeve rang. Jiang Tingchen's voice was urgent and low: "Nanxue, something happened! Fu Chen is coming to the banquet hall with a gun. Security said he rushed through the outer perimeter. You need to leave from the backstage quickly! Quick!"
Ning Nanxue's heart tightened, her face remained calm, but her feet quickened. She whispered "Excuse me" to the host next to her and headed towards the backstage entrance.
She was about to step into the backstage door—
"Bang!" With a loud noise, the two doors of the banquet hall were knocked open from the outside!
The door panel fell inward with a loud noise so frightening that everyone in the room turned their heads to look.
Before the dust settled, a figure rushed in.
His hair was messy, his suit was open, and he was holding a black gun in his hand.
It was Fu Chen. His eyes were frighteningly red, and his whole body exuded a desperate ferocity.
"Ah——!" Several women near the door screamed first.
The whole hall was in chaos. Guests were running around nervously. Tables and chairs were overturned and cups and plates were broken all over the floor.
"Ning Nanxue!" Fu Chen roared, the muzzle of his gun a little unstable due to his excitement, but he still pointed it directly at Ning Nanxue at the edge of the stage, "Stop right there! Why the hell are you doing this to me? Why are you taking everything from me? Fu Group is mine! Mine!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was filled with tears, sounding hateful and aggrieved. "Back then, if you had been willing to give Ning to me and be your Mrs. Fu, would we have come to this point today? You forced me to do this! You were the one who was unkind first!"
Ning Nanxue just stood there, looking at his hysteria with cold eyes.
She had actually loved this man before.
She didn't say anything, not even raising her eyebrows. This calmness actually stimulated Fu Chen even more.
"Speak up! Are you mute?" Fu Chen rushed forward two steps. "Do you think you've won? I'm telling you, Ning Nanxue, if I don't have a good life, you won't have an easy life either! We're all doomed today!"
Jiang Tingchen's voice came clearly through the bodyguards' earphones: "Go! Control him!" Several bodyguards in black suits quickly surrounded Fu Chen from both sides, trying to take him down when he wasn't paying attention.
The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense and everyone held their breath.
At this moment, no one expected that a figure suddenly jumped out from the side.
It’s Xu Zhiru.
How could it be her? This thought flashed through Ning Nanxue's mind.
Xu Zhiru was wearing a loose coat, her face was pale as a bloodless stone, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.
She rushed to Ning Nanxue and shouted with all her strength: "Fu Chen, stop!"
At the same time, he used his body to block Ning Nanxue.
"Xu Zhiru, get out of here!" Fu Chen roared, his finger already on the trigger.
But it was too late.
"Don't--" Ning Nanxue just shouted one word.
"Bang!"
The gunshots were sharp and loud, exploding in the messy banquet hall, making Ning Nanxue's ears numb.
Xu Zhiru was pushed forward by the force of the bullet. She hugged Ning Nanxue tightly, and the two fell to the ground together.
The carpet was quite thick, and Ning Nanxue didn't get hurt from the fall, but her ears were buzzing and her mind went blank for a moment.
Something warm and sticky suddenly soaked the clothes on her shoulders.
It was blood. Xu Zhiru's blood.
Xu Zhiru lay on top of her, her body trembling slightly, her breathing getting weaker and weaker.
Blood kept gushing out from the wound on her back, soon staining her light-colored coat and Ning Nanxue's shoulders red.
She turned her head with great effort and looked at Ning Nanxue who was protected under her. The corners of her mouth actually moved. It was hard to tell whether the expression was a smile or something else. There was relief, or even... a hint of relief?
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