Returning - Chapter 133
Chapter 133: Hell
"Relax, having a hysterectomy isn't necessarily as serious as you think. There's no need to be this worried."
"You don't even know exactly what kind of surgery she had. Maybe her cervix is still intact, maybe her ovaries are still there?"
"Anyway, don't scare yourself for nothing. Don't go online and read all that garbage about aging super fast or having your lifespan shortened—you don't need to believe any of that. It all depends on the specific case and analysis. You know how alarmist some people online can be, turning a common cold into cancer."
"If you care about her this much, then just ask her directly. Better yet, bring her to the hospital for a thorough check-up. Regular physical exams are essential."
"If you think my medical skills aren't up to par, I can put you in touch with my mentor. His expertise is top-tier in the entire field."
"But when did you get a girlfriend? How come I didn't know? Don't tell me you finally agreed to let your family's old man arrange—"
His friend continued rambling endlessly on the other end of the line, but Xue Zhan didn't absorb a single word unrelated to her medical condition.
His gaze kept drifting toward the tightly shut hospital room door—Shang Lu was inside.
He had personally seen Shang Lu call Zhao Yu. She had not only answered, but also given Shang Lu the address of the hospital room.
Listening to Shang Lu's gentle, concerned tone during that phone call, watching Zhao Yu's equally familiar demeanor after he arrived at the room, Xue Zhan knew—Shang Lu was not the one who had harmed her.
He could also see that the relationship between these two people was far from a simple sugar daddy and mistress arrangement.
If it wasn't Shang Lu, then it was likely the other person he had suspected.
He hung up the phone just as an email notification popped up.
Xue Zhan opened it and froze completely.
It wasn't Ling Jianwei—it was Zhuang Ye.
He had assumed that the enormous favor Ling Jianwei had done for Zhao Yu might have stemmed from a sense of guilt, but he had never imagined that the boyfriend Zhao Yu dated in university was actually Zhuang Ye, the Zhuang Ye of Lanxi.
So, that child was Zhuang Ye's? The one who caused her miscarriage and the loss of her uterus—was that also Zhuang Ye? Or someone else from the Zhuang family?
She came to Huacan, she approached him—was her purpose to use him, a competitor, to take revenge against the Zhuang family?
No, maybe it was even more than that. Her mother, her best friend, that so-called accident four years ago, and Xu Chengyan...
Abruptly pushing open the hospital room door, ignoring Zhao Yu's earlier request to "speak with Shang Lu alone," Xue Zhan strode directly to her bedside.
"Was it Zhuang Yiqing? It wasn't that you accidentally pushed Yu Jin down the stairs, causing all three of you to fall—it was Zhuang Yiqing?"
Zhao Yu remained sitting blankly on the bed, not answering his question. But he could clearly see that Shang Lu, seated beside the bed, was tightly holding her hand.
Suppressing the overwhelming urge to rush forward and drive Shang Lu away, Xue Zhan gently closed his eyes, let out a low inward sigh, and continued asking, "Then what about you and Ling Jianwei?"
"What happened there? When the Zhuang and Ling families fell out four years ago—was it because of you?"
Zhao Yu lifted her gaze to look at Shang Lu. She knew he also wanted to know about those things. Among all her affairs, the only part Shang Lu knew nothing about was that period.
But that period—where should she even begin?
She smiled faintly at Shang Lu and asked, "Got a cigarette?"
Shang Lu nodded, pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. He unwrapped the packaging and handed it to her.
He had bought these at the convenience store next to the hospital, guessing she might need them.
She lit a cigarette, took two drags, then let out a low, bitter laugh. "Actually, it's quite simple. Zhuang Yiqing didn't dare let me die. She was afraid that if I died, she wouldn't be able to keep it from Zhuang Ye. So she had people take me to the hospital to save my life. And then, she used my godfather and godmother to threaten me."
"During my time in the hospital, I suppose I was... under house arrest. I kept texting Zhuang Ye, telling him I was fine. But I didn't know when this kind of existence would ever end."
"So, after I was discharged, when Ling Jianwei came looking for me, I lied to him. I said I had broken up with Zhuang Ye, and I seduced him into sleeping with me."
"After all, Zhuang Yiqing would never let such a perfect opportunity slip by. She would arrange for Zhuang Ye to come back and witness my betrayal with his own eyes. And so, Zhuang Ye was very coincidentally called back to the country by an urgent family matter, and very coincidentally caught us in bed together."
The hand holding the cigarette trembled uncontrollably. She took several deep drags, yet still couldn't suppress her body's instinctive reactions.
Zhao Yu kept shoving the cigarette into her mouth until it burned down to nothing, then lit another.
Her smoking habit had been formed during those days in the hospital.
The physical pain, the agony in her heart—nothing could relieve it.
She had begged the doctors over and over for anesthetics, for painkillers, but none of it worked.
She wanted to join her mother and Xiao Jin. Unfortunately, Zhuang Yiqing's people kept a tight watch on her. She had no way out. And she knew she couldn't just die like that—her mother and Xiao Jin would be disappointed; her godfather and godmother still needed her to take care of them; and Zhuang Yiqing was still living perfectly well. Someone like that shouldn't get to go on living as if nothing had happened.
She wanted to drink, to get so drunk she would pass out and know nothing, but her body wouldn't allow it.
She had even considered buying drugs. She knew that as soon as she asked, Zhuang Yiqing would be more than happy to provide them.
And that realization made her even more unwilling—she could not give that woman the satisfaction of self-destruction.
In the end, defying the doctors' advice, she could only endure it by clinging to one cigarette after another. In Zhuang Yiqing's eyes, she had become a broken waste of a person on the verge of being driven insane, someone without the courage to resist, let alone the ability.
The sudden appearance of Ling Jianwei became her lifeline.
She hadn't dared to hope that Ling Jianwei could rescue her from this cage or stand against the Zhuang family for her sake.
But she knew that once there was evidence of her transgression, the arrogant and conceited Zhuang Yiqing would no longer be so wary of her. As long as Zhuang Ye became disappointed in her, gave up on her completely, she might just regain her freedom.
Tightly gripping her other trembling hand, Shang Lu said, "It wasn't just about breaking free from Zhuang Yiqing's control. You also used this method to force yourself to sever everything with Zhuang Ye, to force him to hate you, so that your heart would only have room for revenge. Isn't that right?"
Zhao Yu exhaled a long plume of smoke, looked at him, and smiled. "You understand?"
Shang Lu nodded.
No one understood this feeling better than he did.
In the past, he had always believed that as long as he could endure, he should endure.
After all, he couldn't care less about those so-called fame, fortune, and wealth. All he wanted was to live a peaceful life with his mother.
And in the end? Deceived, betrayed, schemed against—he lost his mother and nearly lost his own life.
Only when you have nothing left does that hatred, that resolve for revenge, overpower everything else.
"So, the day we met—that was the day Zhuang Ye was arranged to catch you in the act?"
Zhao Yu nodded.
Shang Lu looked at her and smiled.
On the same day, together, we fell into hell.
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