Chapter 17

Bang!

With a loud crash, Xu Wangzhi was kicked off the bed.

Wen Jianxin leaned over the edge, retching violently. Her flushed face drained of all color in an instant.

But no matter how hard she tried, nothing would come up.

Tears welled at the corners of her eyes as she glared fiercely at the man on the floor.

“Disgusting.”

Xu Wangzhi only felt she was being melodramatic, staring at her with an exasperated look.

“I don’t even despise you. What right do you have to despise me?”

Wen Jianxin nearly fainted from rage, stunned by the sheer thickness of his skin.

Then came words that made her want to cover her ears, words she wished she had never heard.

“Just now, who was it clinging so tightly to me? And now you turn your back and deny it? Wen Jianxin, that’s not how the game is played. I pleased you thoroughly—you should at least give me something in return, shouldn’t you?”

She snapped, unable to bear it any longer.

“Shut up!”

It was clearly him who had forced himself on her, yet now he twisted the truth to blame her. Shameless!

But unlike him, she didn’t have the face to spit such filthy words back. She could only swallow the bitterness down.

The taste of blood lingered in her mouth. Unable to endure it, she got up and rushed into the bathroom to rinse.

Xu Wangzhi followed.

“What are you doing? Is it really that unbearable?”

She shot him a glare.

“Don’t follow me!”

He halted, surprisingly not going in.

He simply hated seeing her treat him like some monster, recoiling as if he were filth.

So what if she swallowed a bit? It wasn’t such a big deal. Yet she carried on as though she’d eaten something rotten, gagging endlessly.

Hadn’t he taken her into his mouth countless times before? He had never once shown disgust.

The comparison burned his chest like fire, dyeing his eyes red with rage.

Love and indifference—how different they truly were.

He was willing to do everything for her, yet she wouldn’t endure even this one “trivial” thing for him.

Leaning against the door, he listened to the rush of water inside.

For a fleeting moment, he wanted to barge in, to demand—

Why do you hate me so much?

Say it, and I’ll change.

But the thought vanished almost as quickly as it came.

Because what she hated was not a habit, nor a flaw.

What she hated was him—his entire being. If she could, she would wish him dead on the spot.

How could he possibly change that?

His hand lifted lazily, knocking at the door.

“Are you done yet? I need to wash too.”

Wen Jianxin ignored him, unhurriedly cleansing away the filth.

Gradually, silence fell outside.

She sneered, dried herself off, dressed, and sat down quietly.

The water still ran, but no sound came from the hall.

Across the bathroom, Xu Wangzhi sat gloomily, face like a storm.

He wanted to see just how long she could hide inside.

Two hours passed.

At last, just as his patience wore thin and he moved to knock, the door opened.

The first thing Wen Jianxin saw was his sour expression. She averted her eyes and walked straight toward the door.

A mocking voice came from behind.

“Anyone would think you’d fallen into a pit. Bathing for two hours—did you scrub your skin off?”

Wen Jianxin turned, her gaze sharp.

“With your stench clinging to me, how else could I wash it off?”

Without waiting for his response, she hurried out.

The hall outside was silent, eerily so. Not a sound, not a soul.

She frowned in confusion. Where had everyone gone?

A soft, sweet voice came from behind.

“Auntie.”

Xu Zeling bounded up, grabbing her hand, looking up with a beaming smile.

“Auntie, Mommy told me not to disturb you and Uncle. Are you hungry? I’ll take you to eat.”

Wen Jianxin looked down at the little face radiating warmth and kindness. The ice in her eyes melted a little.

“Thank you.”

Xu Zeling’s eyes widened in delight.

“Wow, Auntie, you’re not scolding me anymore!”

Wen Jianxin gave a small smile.

Before, because of Xu Wangzhi, she had taken her anger out on the rest of the Xu family—especially this child.

A faint guilt stirred in her chest. But since apologies did not come easily, she simply reached out to pat the girl’s head.

“I won’t scold you again.”

She silently warned herself: Xu Wangzhi is Xu Wangzhi. The Xu family is the Xu family. As long as they don’t harm me, I cannot take my anger out on them.

Hand in hand with the child, she walked downstairs.

Xu Zeling was thrilled. Her cold little aunt was warm today—smiling, patting her head, holding her hand. She couldn’t wait to show off: she had a beautiful and gentle aunt.

Overjoyed, she grew careless, and as they reached another step, she misstepped and slipped, her body lurching forward.

“Careful!”

Wen Jianxin pulled her back just in time, but in doing so, her own ankle twisted and she tumbled down the stairs.

“Auntie!”

Xu Zeling shrieked, frozen in terror.

Upstairs, Xu Wangzhi had been pacing, debating whether to look for her, when the scream reached him. His heart leapt to his throat, and he bolted out of the room.

Fear gnawed at him—fear she was hurt.

But when he saw what had happened, that fear turned to cold despair.

His gaze snapped to Xu Zeling, his voice seething with fury.

“Did you push your aunt down the stairs?!”

He rushed down in a few strides, scooping Wen Jianxin into his arms and sprinting outside.

Midway, his palm grew wet. Shocked, he looked down.

Blood dripped from his hand, spattering the ground in a crimson trail.

Horrified, he turned—and saw the streak of blood staining each step behind them.

“Hurts…”

Wen Jianxin clutched her stomach, her body curling, her face as pale as death.

Xu Wangzhi’s face drained of all color.

“Don’t be afraid. We’ll be at the hospital soon. The pain will stop soon.”

He whispered comfort, though his hands shook uncontrollably as he ran.

The guards rushed to bring the car.

Behind, Huang Heli and Bai Chuyue hurried out, alarmed.

They didn’t yet know what had happened, but the blood trail and the sight before them told enough.

And Bai Chuyue’s face went ashen—because just moments ago, she had heard her daughter’s trembling confession:

“Mom, I killed Auntie.”

Huang Heli rushed forward.

“Wangzhi, how’s Jianxin?”

Xu Wangzhi’s jaw clenched tight, his face terrifyingly dark.

“I don’t know.”

The car screeched to a halt. They piled inside and sped toward the hospital.

Along the way, Xu Wangzhi held Wen Jianxin’s limp body, trembling, his whole being unraveling.

His cold, vicious gaze fixed on Bai Chuyue.

“If anything happens to her, Xu Zeling will pay with her life.”

Bai Chuyue’s face hardened.

“Uncle, Zeling is just a child. None of us wanted this. What matters now is saving Jianxin. We can settle everything else later.”

Xu Wangzhi sneered.

He didn’t care if it was a child. Whoever hurt his wife—he would destroy.

Huang Heli said nothing, but unease gnawed at him.

A heavy silence filled the car until at last, they arrived at the hospital.

Outside the emergency room, they waited in silence.

Such a calamity on their wedding day—ominous, inauspicious.

Every minute, every second dragged like an eternity for Xu Wangzhi.

He had never seen her so gravely wounded, had never heard her whisper the word “pain.”

Which only meant—her suffering must be unimaginable.