Returning - Chapter 183
Chapter 183: A Double Loss
When Zhao Yu arrived at the hospital, Ji Sui was still in emergency surgery.
Besides Zhuang Ye, Zhuang Yiqing and Zhuang Zhen were also there, and even Weng Ruohua was anxiously waiting outside.
Usually, they didn't consider Ji Sui, an outsider, worth their attention. But now that he was truly in danger, they could still care and worry?
A sarcastic smile touched Zhao Yu's lips, yet she didn't know if she was mocking them or really mocking herself.
For her own selfish desires, she had dragged the most innocent person into the abyss, deceiving and exploiting his sincerity time and again, coldly treating him as nothing more than a tool for revenge. After doing everything to hurt him, she was now here, hypocritically showing concern?
In the past, she only carried a heavy burden of debt. Now, at any moment, she might add a human life to it.
She had always used the excuse of three lost lives to selfishly harm others again and again. And now, how would she account for someone else's life?
"You're Tang Xi?" The distraught Weng Ruohua suddenly rushed at her, but before she could get close, Zhuang Ye blocked her.
Zhao Yu had Shang Lu beside her, along with the bodyguards Shang Lu had specifically brought. The Zhuang family couldn't touch her at all. She didn't want to engage with Weng Ruohua either. She simply looked at Zhuang Ye and asked softly, "How is he?"
Zhuang Ye replied, "The doctor came out earlier and said they've performed a lung repair. They still need to continue with the liver repair surgery… He should… be able to be saved."
Zhao Yu's body went weak again and again. Shang Lu quickly tightened his arm around her. "Don't worry, this is the best hospital in the city. He'll be fine."
Weng Ruohua glared at her, face full of fury. "Our Zhuang family has already been ruined by you. What more do you want? My son even had a vasectomy. He won't have children anymore. You've hurt Zhuang Ye, hurt Ji Sui, how many more people do you plan to harm?"
Zhao Yu froze, looking at Zhuang Ye in disbelief. But Zhuang Ye slowly turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
The hand resting on Zhao Yu's waist tightened. Shang Lu said coldly, "How things reached this point, your Zhuang family knows better than anyone. Don't try to turn the tables and blame others."
Weng Ruohua wanted to say more, but Zhuang Ye had already pulled her back onto a chair.
Zhuang Yiqing lifted her eyes, looking at Zhao Yu with a trace of despondency, and smiled. "Is this all the skill you have? What other tricks do you have? By all means, bring them on."
Zhao Yu examined her carefully. Compared to the woman who, even at rock bottom, had maintained an imposing air during the day, she now seemed more like a trapped beast, its might completely gone. Even the hatred in her eyes had scattered considerably, replaced by clear worry and despair.
Subconsciously, Zhao Yu glanced back towards the operating room. This woman does care about Ji Sui, after all, she thought. Too bad she only learns to cherish something when she's about to lose it.
Wasn't she the same herself?
Hurried footsteps sounded. Xue Zhan and Xue Zi'ang rushed over anxiously. Seeing the woman safe and unharmed in Shang Lu's arms, Xue Zhan breathed a small sigh of relief, then couldn't help but exchange a look with Shang Lu, seeking some kind of answer in his eyes.
They had already guessed that after her revenge was complete, Zhao Yu would not choose to go on living.
That worry had not yet faded, and now Ji Sui was suddenly in danger. If he could be saved, it would be fine. If he couldn't, Zhao Yu would certainly pay with her own life.
"Ha!" Watching one man after another rally around Zhao Yu, Zhuang Yiqing suddenly laughed again. "How could he fall in love with a woman like you?"
"Indeed, how could he have fallen for a woman like you back then?" Zhao Yu retorted just as sharply. "He silently guarded you for so many years, but you treated him like dirt, calling him at your whim and sending him away at your leisure. Now that you've lost him, you regret it? Pity. He loves me now. His body, his heart—they're all mine. He was even willing to give me the equity you care about most. And you? What did you get?"
She spoke with conviction, but didn't know if she was questioning Zhuang Yiqing or herself.
Zhuang Yiqing clenched her fists, staring at her intently, her eyes even more bloodshot with rage.
Zhao Yu smiled. "Remember what you told me back then? You said that this face and this figure were the only things I had of any value. Thanks for the advice. Otherwise, I never would have thought to steal your fiancé, or the man you care about most now."
"Know this? Ji Sui was already preparing to propose to me. He said he only wanted to be with me for the rest of his life, that he only loved me. You… will never have a chance. He also said he wanted me to give him a child. But I can't have children now. His hope was destroyed by you. He will hate you forever…"
Zhuang Yiqing abruptly stood and strode towards Zhao Yu, but before the bodyguards could even react, Xue Zi'ang gave her a shove. "I don't hit women. Do you want to test being an exception?"
Staggering back a few steps, Zhuang Yiqing still stared hard at Zhao Yu. Her ragged breathing and heaving chest fully displayed her provoked, disheveled fury.
Zhuang Ye looked at the operating room, then at Zhao Yu, who wore a constant cold smile, and closed his eyes in pain.
Xue Zhan and Shang Lu exchanged a glance, reached a silent understanding, and quietly stepped aside to make a phone call.
The way Zhao Yu was acting… it was less about deliberately provoking Zhuang Yiqing and slowly tormenting her, and more about tormenting herself.
She didn't want to let Zhuang Yiqing off easy, didn't want to give that woman a swift conclusion. But during this long process, did she actually gain the satisfaction of revenge, or even more painful self-inflicted wounds?
Ever since she lost everything four years ago, this war was destined to have no winners.
The long wait felt like an entire century. By the time the doors to the operating room finally opened, Zhao Yu's legs were completely numb, her entire body no longer obeying her commands.
She seemed to hear the doctor say the surgery was successful, but he was only temporarily out of danger; the next twenty-four hours remained a critical period.
She seemed to see the unconscious Ji Sui being wheeled out, on oxygen, his face pale. The hospital bed was right before her eyes, yet he felt so far away.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her limp body. Weak, she leaned into Shang Lu's embrace as tears gradually welled up in her eyes.
Zhuang Zhen and Weng Ruohua both let out sighs of relief, sitting dazedly in the corridor. Zhuang Ye glanced at Zhao Yu, then silently followed the doctors and nurses as they wheeled Ji Sui away.
Zhuang Yiqing reached up to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye and also stood to follow. However, just as she reached the corner, two young police officers in uniform approached her. "Are you Ms. Zhuang Yiqing?"
Zhuang Ye stopped. Zhuang Zhen and Weng Ruohua were equally startled, quickly rising from their chairs and walking over.
Staring at the hospital bed disappearing down the corridor, Zhuang Yiqing was silent for a moment before saying, "I am. What is this regarding?"
"Online reports allege that six months ago, you hired individuals to commit an assault, resulting in the death of a Chinese national named Cui Lan. We need you to cooperate with an investigation."
Weng Ruohua's expression froze, but she still rushed forward immediately. "Online rumors are to be believed? You people…"
"We have screenshots as evidence." One of the female officers displayed documents and identification in her hand. "Please come with us to the station."
Zhuang Yiqing turned back, her gaze directly meeting Zhao Yu's.
Zhao Yu, in turn, looked at the man beside her. Shang Lu tightened his arm around her shoulder. Xue Zhan said, "Leave the rest to us."
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