She shouted at Zhu Xianglan, so loud that she could feel the tension at her vocal cord and the pain in her throat.
“What does it have to do with me?”
Zhu Xianglan lifted the cup at a leisurely pace before she sipped the cup of tea. Then, she threw a glance at Zhu Meina. “Did I strangle your son to death? Did I poison him? Did I stop you from giving birth to him?”
No. I didn’t. I’ve never done any of those. I merely stood by and watched as you suffered, for it was completely none of my business. Why did I have to save the boy? He’s not my son. If his mother failed to take care of him, why should I be bothered about the well-being of a b*stard? I’m not so stupid to waste my time on him.
Slap. Zhu Meina struck an open palm across Zhu Xianglan’s cheek. She was exasperated by the sneer on Zhu Xianglan’s face as Zhu Xianglan gloated over her son’s misfortune.
It’s her. She must be the culprit!
“How dare you hit me?” Zhu Xianglan pressed her hand against her cheek before she cracked Zhu Meina across her face in return. Zhu Meina was not in a good mood to begin with. Owing to the powerful blow, Zhu Meina was swept away by vertigo. It took her a long while to finally regain her composure.
Zhu Xianglan gently moved her wrist. Her fingers were numb by the powerful stroke.
Satisfied, Zhu Xianglan turned around and walked away. Zhu Xianglan’s words stung so badly and Zhu Meina could feel a sharp pain in her heart.
“If I were you, I would be rushing to the hospital now. You might be able to see him for one last time if you’re there now.”
Immediately, Zhu Meina experienced a loss of balance and almost fell onto the ground. She had no idea what had happened when she subsequently found herself at the hospital.
At that time, Su Mucheng was suffering from high fever. He was never a healthy boy. As a consequence of the fever, his heart and lungs were significantly affected, and had grown way weaker than before. Despite the relentless resuscitation, she lost her boy. A baby, who had yet to celebrate his first anniversary, was so sick that he did not have the strength to open his eyes, not to mention to cry or to drink his milk. After a prolonged fight against his illness, he eventually lost his life.
To him, the world was too cruel and merciless. No one anticipated his birth, nor did anyone welcome his arrival to this world. Therefore, he showed his resentment by leaving the world forever.
His departure eliminated the last heir of the Su family. Before long, Old Master Su fell ill too. On top of that, Su Qingdong seemed to have grown some 10 years older within a short period of time. His initially black hair had turned almost completely silvery.
Zhu Meina was losing her marbles. She had always had an awkward relationship with the family. As she lost her son, she lost her place in the Su family as well. There was no way Zhu Xianglan would allow her to stay with the Su family anymore.
Zhu Xianglan had the door of the Su residence slammed in Zhu Meina’s face. Zhu Meina was denied entry into the Su residence.
Following a loud screech, Lu Yi’s car came to an abrupt halt. A woman was standing in front of his car with her arms spread out.
He opened his car door and got out of the car. He lowered his gaze to look at the disheveled woman who also had a pair of sunken eyes carved on her face.
“What do you want?”
One hand in his pocket, he spoke with an indifferent tone. The night shadowed his face, lacing his side profile with a hint of coldness. At this instant, he wore no emotion on his face. He was on his way home to see his daughter. He had no time to spare for this woman, whom he considered as a stranger.
“Lu Yi…” Zhu Meina reached out to grab Lu Yi by his sleeve. “Please help me. You have to help me. I’ve no one else to go to.”
Lu Yi lowered his head before he mercilessly removed his arm from her hands and took a step back. He loathed being touched by women, and what was more, to Lu Yi, she was merely an acquaintance.
Clutching her head, Zhu Meina began to recount the incidents that happened to the Lu family. She told Lu Yi about her son before she went on to curse Su Muran and her daughter, hoping that Su Muran could die an early death and calling Zhu Xianglan a fiend. The Su family was now her enemy, whom she wanted to eliminate as soon as possible. Unfortunately, she was not capable of standing up against them. She could not do anything besides leaving the Su residence resentfully.
That was why she approached Lu Yi. Perhaps she thought that Lu Yi could lend her a hand and take revenge on her behalf.
However, she was wrong. Back then, Lu Yi only helped her because of the child. On top of that, Lu Yi also recalled how Yan Huan was stuck in a similar situation during her past life. Notwithstanding that, Lu Yi was not obliged to always aid her.
It was not because of his lack of compassion. Instead, he knew that he should not share his sympathy with undeserving people, especially someone like Zhu Meina. Children were gifts from God. Yet, she exploited the baby.
Eventually, he took out his wallet and passed all his banknotes to Zhu Meina. He felt sorry for her but that was all he could do for her.
Zhu Meina received the money as she stared at the black Hummer that was disappearing into the distance. At this moment, she despaired, feeling as though everyone had abandoned her. She was all by herself. They were conspiring against her, like how she was plotting against them. But, after all the schemes, she was left with nothing. The only thing she gained was anguish.
Slowly, she lowered herself until she cowered with her hands clutching her head. She was on the edge of breaking down in this cold dark night. As the autumn wind swept by, the dead leaves fluttered to the ground. She was overwhelmed by the lonely and gloomy atmosphere.
The wind got increasingly colder. It was as though the cold wind brought along innumerable thorns, her skin stung.
The autumn wind was mercilessly cold.
Lu Yi offered his finger as a toy for his daughter. The young girl grabbed her father’s finger and began to chew on it. After a short while, she removed the finger from her tiny mouth and pouted, sulking because she felt cheated. She had just realized that her father’s finger was not made of milk powder and she could not swallow it.
“Are you teething?” Lu Yi lifted his daughter up. “Baby, open your mouth and show daddy. Are your teeth growing?” He could feel the mild pain as the girl chewed on his finger just now.
However, the girl shut her mouth tight. It was as though she was fooling around with her daddy and was doing the exact opposite of what she was told.
“Open your mouth.”
Lu Yi straightened his face.
He was nonplussed as the girl was not scared by the angry scowl on his face. She escaped from her father’s embrace and tried to look for her mommy.
At this moment, Yan Huan arrived with a bottle in her hand. She had just fed two voracious young lads. Now, it was time to feed the girl. A daughter was certainly more finicky than the sons. The girl was very particular with her milk, wanting it to be neither too hot nor too cold. The milk had to be served at a perfect temperature. Otherwise, she refused to drink even a drop of the milk. Yan Huan did not know where the girl inherited her temper from. For all Yan Huan knew, she was a very obedient girl when she was young. Of course, the girl’s temperament was nothing like Lu Yi’s too. Perhaps, the little girl had been spoilt by Old Master Lu, causing her to be so fearless now.
Yan Huan grabbed the little girl who was lying on the floor with one hand. Unlike the boy who was learning how to crawl, the girl was rather tiny and delicate. She could roll over and sit up, but could not crawl yet.
