Father Xin Zhong is in the hospital?
If it weren't for Liu Shuihan's solemn and serious expression, Xin Yu really wouldn't have believed it.
Following him all the way to the Central Hospital, she was still half-believing, half-doubting, wondering what her father was up to.
Seeing her father half-lying on the hospital bed, she completely...couldn't believe it.
Who told him to look so good!
"You still know to come?" Her father was still angry, his voice deep and resonant, "Do you secretly wish I were dead?!"
Before Xin Yu could speak, her stepmother rushed forward and patted her father's back, "Oh dear, Old Xin, what are you saying! Everyone else is begging for your help, we can't live without you!"
Ugh...ugh.
Xin Yu calmly watched this disgusting scene, too lazy to get involved. Her stepmother had already insulted her more than once.
And there was her stepsister, watching the show from the window.
"You..." Mr. Xin glared angrily, "What are you doing here if you're not going to speak!"
He never knew his eldest daughter had become so lacking in emotional intelligence and tact!
She was nowhere near as good as his youngest daughter!
"What am I saying? It's just that your health is quite good," Xin Yu retorted. She genuinely couldn't understand why her father had come to the hospital.
Was he masochistic?
Or was he seeking validation?
"I'm healthy, why would I be in the hospital?" Mr. Xin roared. If it weren't for Liu Shuihan's presence, he would have charged down like an athlete and given Xin Yu a good beating.
"I'm curious too."
Seemingly, Xin Yu had finally said something relevant, and Mr. Xin's expression softened slightly. "Then let me tell you, stay away from Mu Yichuan!"
"..." Xin Yu glared at her father, then turned to leave. Liu Shuihan quickly pulled her back, whispering, "Ayu, don't be like this. After all, Uncle Xin is ill."
"What? Did I hit a nerve?" Xin's father mocked. "Is it because you think you've finally climbed this big tree—"
"Yes! I finally climbed this big tree, Mr. Jiu, I won't give up so easily." Xin Yu interrupted, her heart already sinking.
This is how her father sees her!
Climbing…
"Won't give up easily?" Xin Yu scoffed. "Then let me ask you, Miss Xin, the Xin family suffered investment losses of hundreds of millions this time because of Mu Yichuan's schemes—"
"Are you sure it wasn't a decision-making error on your part or the shareholders' part?" Xin Yu interrupted, annoyed by his tendency to blame the problem.
Xin's father was stunned, his face turning ashen. "Your father has been investing for over ten years, how could I have made a mistake!"
Xin Yu turned her head away. She didn't want to discuss this unsolvable problem with him, but by sheer coincidence, she caught a glimpse of smugness in Xin Ran's eyes. With a jolt, Xin's father got out of bed, ripped off the IV drip, pulled out his phone, and tossed it to Xin Yu.
"Old Xin, what are you doing! Ranran, call the nurse!" Her stepmother hurriedly helped him up. "Oh dear, why are you arguing with this ignorant little girl!"
Xin Yu gave her stepmother a cold look, then looked down at her phone. "I don't understand."
She handed it to her father; it was a bunch of stock charts she'd never studied.
"Don't understand?!" Xin's father discovered another flaw in Xin Yu. "Look at how low the Xin family's stocks have fallen! Historical lows!"
"..."
"It's all because of Mu Yichuan! I order you to leave him!"
Back to the point; this was actually the main point of their meeting.
Xin's father clenched his fists, veins bulging on his hands. "Leave Mu Yichuan and marry Shui Han."
Xin Yu stared in shock at her father and the silent Liu Shui Han beside him. They...
"I refuse." Her groan was soft, her demeanor calm and fearless.
"Refuse?" Her stepmother rushed over. "Ayu, how can you be so insensible? Your father has told you so much, don't you understand?"
Hmph, a top student from the capital, no less.
People would laugh their heads off if they knew.
Xin Yu didn't even glance at her stepmother, only looking at her father, and said slowly and firmly, "I refuse. You don't need to say anything more."
Regardless of whether Mu Yichuan had done anything to wrong her, no one could order her to do anything!
Ring ring ring.
While the two were facing off, Xin Yu's phone rang.
Xin's father snatched it away, his lips curling into endless contempt as he looked at the name Mu Yichuan.
Smash.
He slammed Xin Yu's phone to the ground, cracking it.
"Engagement tomorrow!" Xin's father roared, trembling all over.
Xin Yu just stared down at the silent, shattered phone on the ground, her heart feeling like it had been stabbed. "Xin Yu!" her stepmother snapped. "Are you even listening?! Your father is so sick, are you going to be so unfilial? Even if you don't care about father-daughter relations, you're still someone who ate his food and drank his water, and grew up on his shoulders!"
"Sister," Xin Ran chimed in, seemingly trying to comfort Xin Yu by gripping her arm, but actually pulling hard, making Xin Yu's arm ache, "Sister, if you want to marry a rich man, you should at least know your place—"
"Get your filthy hands off me, or I won't be polite!" Xin Yu interrupted Xin Ran menacingly.
She just wanted to leave; she didn't want to see this family's ugly faces anymore.
She was too self-aware, which was why she moved out of the Xin family home before she was even an adult.
She stumbled out of the hospital room, Liu Shuihan protecting her the whole time.
For the first time, Xin Yu felt a surge of resentment towards him, her tone turning cold and hard. "I can manage on my own. I don't need help."
Liu Shuihan paused, not letting go, but straightening her, his eyes filled with sorrow and affection. "Ayu, are you blaming me?"
Xin Yu didn't speak, struggling a few times.
"I do want you to marry me." He watched her being surrounded by the Xin family in the hospital room, not indifferent, but his desire to marry her grew stronger.
"I won't marry her!" Xin Yu said decisively, raising the diamond ring on her hand. "I've already promised Mu Yichuan."
Liu Shuihan stumbled, crashing into the wall behind him, his eyes filled with piercing pain. "Ayu, am I too late?"
Why?
"I've waited for you for over ten years, and you're just giving up on me like this?" he questioned. "You don't even want to understand our past relationship, and you're just giving up on me like this?"
Xin Yu bit her lip tightly, her body trembling slightly. The past?
Could she still remember? Wasn't she given some kind of amnesia drug?
"Ayu, Mu Yichuan is a terrible person. What Uncle Xin said wasn't false. I checked, and the Xin family's investment failed because of him." Liu Shuihan grabbed Xin Yu's arm again. "Ayu, give me a chance, okay? I've always been here, always."
He only lost her for a few years, how could this be…
Xin Yu didn't say anything; she was already lost.
"Ayu…" Liu Shuihan reached out and hugged her. "Please, Ayu, we've been through so many youthful years together, made so many vows of eternal love, you can't just abandon me like this, you can't…"
Xin Yu stood there blankly, no longer struggling.
As if she had lost her soul.
Only when Cheng Yuan's voice came did she push Liu Shuihan away as if electrocuted and run away.
"Ayu!" He wanted to chase after her.
Cheng Yuan stopped Liu Shuihan, "Brother Shuihan, let Ayu have some peace and quiet."
Turning around, she applauded her own courage. She realized that one day she could face him so calmly, and speak such resolute words with such equanimity.
...
Xin Yu ran and ran, through streets and alleys, until she could run no more.
She realized she was standing in front of Mu Yichuan's villa.
Yes, she wanted to see him.
She wanted to get an explanation.
But without her phone, she didn't know how to contact him, so she could only stand outside and wait.
The sun had lost its last rays; dusk was approaching.
Xin Yu remained standing there, looking at the road that had once been filled with candlelight, the road that had once illuminated her heart.
But now, it seemed like an irony.
"Mu Yichuan, what do you take me for?!"
"You came all this way just to ask this question?"
Xin Yu whirled around, looking at the man beside her. Tall and independent, his resolute face was streaked with stubble, and his dark eyes, like hers, were bloodshot.
She instinctively took a step, wanting to throw herself into his arms.
But she stopped…
"Yes, I want to ask you this question. Answer me."
Mu Yichuan looked at her pale face. She was still wearing the same clothes she'd worn in Nan City. Where had she spent last night?
At Nan Yu's? She hadn't even changed her clothes?
"I consider you my wife." He answered, his brows furrowed, his voice completely at odds with his answer, icy cold as if he'd spat on ice.
Wife?
Ha.
Xin Yu sneered.
"So, it's true that you gave your wife amnesia medication?" Xin Yu looked up at Mu Yichuan, afraid to miss even the slightest change.
"Yes," he answered, firm and concise.
Xin Yu stared at him, her body involuntarily stiffening, completely unable to believe her ears.
"W-why?"
"Because I want you to be my wife."
"Why do you want me to be your wife? What do you want from Old Master Mu?!"
"A secret."
"..." Xin Yu looked at him painfully. How could he admit to such a despicable tactic so readily? "So the Xin family's investment failure really was your doing."
"Yes." His words were like an invisible whip lashing at Xin Yu's heart. "The Xin family has connections with the Grand Master, so a small punishment is necessary."
Before Xin Yu could react, Mu Yichuan added, "Doesn't A-Yu also hate the Xin family? I'll teach them a lesson for you too."
A bunch of ungrateful bastards, daring to bully his wife!
"Mu Yichuan, did I ever say—" Xin Yu took a step back, "You're like, no, you're a devil!"
Finally revealing his true colors, a devil from hell! "I am." He took a step forward, his dark eyes cold. "I'm a devil to others, always have been, but not to you."
She didn't believe him!
Xin Yu turned to leave.
She didn't want to talk to Mu Yichuan anymore, she didn't even want to see him!
But before she could take a step, she was pulled into his arms.
That embrace she craved, that she couldn't bear to leave, the one from which she could draw warmth and security.
The scent of mint seemed to already be a thing of the past.