Returning - Chapter 164
Chapter 164: A Deception
When Xu Chengyan rushed to the hospital, the light above the operating room was still on.
Xue Zhan and Xue Zi'ang were waiting anxiously outside.
Before he could even speak, a heavy fist slammed viciously into his face.
Staggering backward from the abrupt blow, he would have fallen in a pathetic heap if Lu Bin hadn't steadied him in time.
Seeing Xue Zi'ang's other fist already swinging forward, Lu Bin quickly stepped in front of Xu Chengyan. "President Xue!"
The bloodied fist stopped a mere two centimeters from Lu Bin's face. Xue Zi'ang's hands were trembling with rage, his eyes cold and ruthless. "Move!"
Lu Bin stood his ground, unmoving, projecting the image of a man willing to die to protect his superior.
But from behind him, Xu Chengyan's low voice also commanded, "Move aside."
The left side of his face, where Xue Zi'ang had struck him, was still numb. Xu Chengyan felt no pain; only the coppery, metallic taste of blood spread through his mouth, where his teeth had cut the inner wall of his cheek on impact.
Wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his lips with his hand, he stared directly at Xue Zi'ang, whose body was covered in blood. "How is she?"
Although Xue Zi'ang had visible injuries on his face and hands, his chest was clearly unharmed.
The bloodstains could only belong to Zhao Yu.
Before Xue Zi'ang could open his mouth, Xue Zhan beside him let out a cold laugh. "President Xu is the groom today. How does he have the leisure to come here?"
He then glanced mockingly at Lu Bin. "Didn't I tell you to inform me when your President Xu gets divorced, so I can celebrate properly?"
"What happened? Did the divorce happen on the spot?"
Lu Bin stared blankly at Xue Zhan, not daring to make a sound.
As Xu Chengyan's secretary, it was Lu Bin's duty to entertain guests when Xu Chengyan was too busy at the wedding. He had remained waiting outside even after the official ceremony began, prepared for any late arrivals.
He hadn't expected to see Xue Zhan striding out, talking urgently on the phone, repeatedly asking about Zhao Yu's condition and if her life was in danger.
Lu Bin already had a deep impression of Zhao Yu, and the contents of Xue Zhan's call alarmed him.
So he carefully watched Xue Zhan's retreating back and listened intently to his phone call.
But just a few steps past him, Xue Zhan suddenly turned back, looked at him, and asked, "You're Xu Chengyan's secretary?"
After getting confirmation, Xue Zhan let out another cold chuckle and cast a meaningful glance toward the banquet hall. "The wedding isn't even over, and she's already in a rush to flaunt the authority of Mrs. Xu. The eldest daughter of the Zhuang family truly lives up to her reputation. Congratulate President Xu for me on marrying such a worthy wife, one who can match him tit for tat."
Combining the content of Xue Zhan's phone call with the previous criminal record of that Miss Zhuang, Lu Bin understood instantly. "Is Miss Zhao… alright?"
Xue Zhan's eyes turned glacial. "You'd better pray for your precious Mrs. Xu that Zhao Yu is alright. Otherwise…"
He stared coldly at Lu Bin for a few seconds before smiling again.
"But on such a joyous day, I shouldn't spoil President Xu's mood. If they ever get divorced, do let me know, so I can celebrate."
Seeing the redness rimming Xue Zhan's eyes, Lu Bin was certain: what happened today was anything but a minor matter.
Even disregarding Xue Zhan's threat, his own gut feeling told him that his boss treated Zhao Yu differently from anyone else.
If something truly happened to Zhao Yu, and President Xu remained unaware, could he, Lu Bin, shoulder that responsibility?
Ignoring Xue Zhan's biting sarcasm, Xu Chengyan asked again, "How is she?"
"A knife stabbed into her chest. How do you think she is?" The wound on the back of Xue Zi'ang's hand had reopened, bleeding anew, yet he still clenched his fists with deadly force. "Xu Chengyan, a man about to get married, why did you have to provoke her? If I hadn't happened to go find her, do you have any idea what the consequences would have…"
How severe the consequences could have been—Xu Chengyan didn't dare let himself imagine.
He leaned weakly against the wall behind him, those few words echoing incessantly in his mind.
Knife… chest…
He didn't know how long they waited, but just as Xu Chengyan felt more and more chilled to the bone, his body starting to tremble uncontrollably, the light by the door finally went out.
Under the anxious gazes of the three men, a doctor pushed the door open and walked out. "Don't worry, it missed her vital organs. No life-threatening danger."
Almost simultaneously, both Xue Zi'ang and Xu Chengyan sagged against the wall, legs weak, exhaling long sighs of relief.
Xue Zhan closed his eyes, letting out a weary sigh.
The anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. Zhao Yu remained in a deep sleep, but was transferred to a regular ward.
This was a private hospital. Xue Zhan secured the best private room for her, even calling to arrange bodyguards to protect her around the clock in shifts.
Xu Chengyan knew perfectly well whom this was meant to guard against. After a pause, he asked, "How can you be certain it was Zhuang Yiqing?"
On his way here, he had been too focused on calling Xue Zhan to ask which hospital.
He hadn't had the energy to think about anything else. Only now, with his mind at ease, could he seriously consider the question.
Xue Zi'ang glared at him resentfully. "That scarface told Zhao Yu: the rightful wife was happily getting married, and she was just a woman who couldn't see the light of day. Who else could it have been but your precious Mrs. Xu? Xu Chengyan, messing with someone else's girlfriend when you have a wife—can a man be any more rotten than you?"
Xu Chengyan didn't answer. He gazed quietly at the pale-faced person on the hospital bed for a moment, then suddenly stood up and walked outside.
At the foot of Yangming Mountain was a yet-to-be-demolished scrap yard.
When Xu Chengyan drove in, someone was already waiting in the courtyard.
He followed the man inside. "Has he talked?"
"Not yet, this guy's tight-lipped. He just won't speak, no matter how much we beat him."
Xu Chengyan gave him a displeased look. "You've followed me for years, and you still don't know how to interrogate someone?"
There were no lights inside the room, only bright moonlight pouring through the window, illuminating large patches of bloodstains on the floor.
Surrounded by five burly men, a lone man was curled up on the ground, panting desperately. In the moonlight, a long, prominent scar was faintly visible on the left side of his face.
Rolling up his sleeves, Xu Chengyan approached unhurriedly, stopping before the man. He looked down at his wretched state. "Miao San, do you still remember how you got that scar on your face?"
The man on the floor stirred slightly but made no sound.
Xu Chengyan chuckled softly, then clicked his tongue at the surrounding bruisers. "Only using such crude methods—aren't you all stupid?"
"Miao's got a name in the underworld. He's not afraid to die. So what exactly is all this getting you?"
At this, he couldn't help but sigh. "Relying only on brute force is so uncivilized. Dealing with people like him requires finesse, understand? For example, that woman who just got pregnant… Ah, what was her name again? Oh, I remember now. Zeng Hong, right?"
Hearing that name, the man on the floor finally struggled to prop himself up, gasping as he raised his head to look at Xu Chengyan. "What do you want?"
"I don't want to do anything. I just think… someone in your line of work really isn't suited to having a child. Just imagine: if your kid is born right when you're sent to prison, or maybe killed by an enemy—how pitiful that child would be."
"So for the child's sake, maybe I should make that decision for you and spare it a life of suffering. Losing a child would be devastating for the mother too. In that case... why don't we put an end to her suffering as well?"
"You…" The man on the ground glared at him venomously. "The unwritten rule: trouble shouldn't extend to wives and children…"
"Sorry." Xu Chengyan smiled innocently. "I'm not from your world. I don't know the rules."
His back was always facing the light, so the man on the ground couldn't see his face or expression clearly.
Yet this casual, indifferent tone sent chills deeper into his heart than any threat.
After a long stalemate, one in darkness, one in light, the man finally gave in. "It was Zhuang Yiqing."
Xu Chengyan wasn't surprised, but still asked, "Which Zhuang Yiqing?"
"The eldest daughter of the Lanxi Group, the jewelry company."
Xu Chengyan scoffed. "Who are you trying to fool? For a person like you taking a job, would anyone actually tell you who the paymaster is?"
"I didn't know who it was at first. But the last time I did a job for her, things went south, and it blew up online. I saw her."
"She was afraid I'd drag her down if I got caught, so she had to get someone to save me. I'm certain the paymaster is her."
Xu Chengyan naturally knew all this. That was precisely why he had found this man so effortlessly.
The man on the floor could never have imagined that the man standing before him was from the very Xu family that helped him out of that trouble last time.
"Did Zhuang Yiqing personally tell you to go after that woman today?"
"It was her personal assistant, Yao Qian. Last time, Yao Qian was also the one who contacted me. I didn't see his face clearly, but I remember his voice."
"You can be certain just by a voice? If you've got the wrong person…"
"I secretly recorded it. It's definitely him." The man struggled to pull a phone from his pocket.
"I encrypted and saved it to my cloud storage. If you don't believe me, you can verify it yourself."
After entering the password, the recording began to play softly in the quiet night. Hearing that familiar voice, Xu Chengyan knew—there was no need for verification.
Once he calmed down, he had harbored a sliver of doubt. He had thought it might be unwise for Zhuang Yiqing to reach out so far just after marrying him.
Now, it seemed that woman truly was too self-righteous, actually considering herself Mrs. Xu.
Never mind that the certificate hadn't even been obtained, and the wedding wasn't even complete. Even if they were truly husband and wife, what right did that woman have to meddle in his affairs?
She kept a boy toy and caused a disaster, one that still required the Xu family to clean up.
Now, before she's even gotten both feet through the Xu family's door, she's already acting like the lady of the house?
The hospital was silent. The light in the ward was dim. After Xue Zi'ang had sat quietly by the bedside for a long time, he suddenly asked, "That voice actor we found… no problems, right?"
Xue Zhan pondered for a moment and glanced at the still-unconscious Zhao Yu on the bed.
"She's injured this badly. Considering how worried Xu Chengyan looked just now, it should be fine."
Xue Zi'ang let out a contemptuous snort, looking at the figure in the bed. "She's really something, able to deceive anyone into unwavering devotion."
Seeing the bandaged wound on Xue Zi'ang's hand, Xue Zhan said, "Go back and rest. I'll keep watch here."
"No!" Xue Zi'ang continued staring at the bed. "I want to wait until she wakes up to ask her: why did she have to deceive people again?"
"She said she'd only get a superficial flesh wound, but she deliberately…"
Xue Zhan didn't say anything more, just redirected his gaze to the hospital bed.
He, too, very much wanted to ask her personally: just how ruthless could this woman be to herself?
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