Chapter 11

Hearing her words, Wen Yuli felt both comforted and pained.

Comforted, because his little sister had grown up—she had her own thoughts and principles now.

Pained, because she had been forced to grow up, left to face the wolves and tigers around her all on her own.

But he couldn’t bear it, and he wasn’t willing to let her shoulder everything alone.

For now, he only nodded in agreement.

“You’re remarkable, sister. That makes your brother very happy.”

Wen Jianxin tilted her chin proudly.

“Of course.”

But when she lowered her head, her eyes were flat and dull, tinged with deep exhaustion.

She could feel pain in the most hidden parts of her body.

During her unconsciousness, she had vaguely heard the doctors speaking.

Now everyone knew what kind of inhuman torment she had endured.

It was as if she had been stripped bare, put on display like some clown for all to look at.

For this, she felt fury—burning, bitter hatred.

Xu Wangzhi had destroyed everything, leaving her with nothing but pain.

She longed to flay him alive, grind his bones to ash—only then would her anger be appeased.

Beneath the quilt, her hand clenched so tight it trembled, her whole body shuddering with suppressed rage.

Her mind was flooded with images of what had happened in that bathroom.

He had forced her to kneel, forced her to open her mouth.

Forced her to turn her back to him, forced her to swallow everything.

He had said she would get used to it.

That she would fall in love with it.

That this was only the beginning.

She had taken away the child he most longed for, so he would strip her of the pride she most cherished.

He had ground her into the dirt, leaving her with no dignity at all.

And now, even her last shred of modesty had been torn away.

Her second brother knew.

No doubt, many others knew too.

To end up in the hospital, needing surgery because of it—perhaps she was the first in history.

Her gaze grew colder, lifeless.

Wen Yuli’s heart clenched.

He could clearly feel the change in her.

He wanted to comfort her, to tell her none of it was her fault.

He wanted to take her away from here, to erase from this world the man who had hurt her.

But he thought of what Mother had said earlier, and the words caught in his throat.

She had said the Wen and Xu families were bound too deeply together—sharing glory, sharing ruin.

And in truth, his sister wasn’t entirely without fault.

There had been an engagement between the two families, yet she had secretly chosen to abort the child, never informing the Xus.

In both sentiment and propriety, her actions had been terribly wrong.

Xu Wangzhi’s fury, once he learned of it, was—though not excusable—at least understandable.

He had gone too far, yes, but it was still a mistake that could be forgiven.

The Xu family had promised the Wen family an explanation. To press the issue further would seem relentless and unreasonable.

Though Wen Yuli disagreed with his mother, he also knew pressing it further would lead nowhere.

As she had said, the Wens and Xus were inseparable.

Whatever happened, the two families would stand together.

So, unless things between the younger generation reached an irreparable breaking point, both sides would choose to turn a blind eye.

And most importantly—

The Xu family had lost an unborn child, yet they chose not to pursue accountability, chose forgiveness instead. The Wen family ought to leave it at that.

His hand fell limp, and Wen Yuli sank back into his seat, his expression dark and uncertain.

That night, Wen family servants came to keep watch. Along with them came Bai Chuqing.

When she saw her sister-in-law again, she was startled.

If the girl had once only seemed a little cold, now she could only be described as ice and snow.

Her eyes held no warmth at all. Her delicate features were etched with frosty indifference. Sitting quietly, she radiated a chill that pushed all others far away.

It was unnerving to look at her.

Such a presence didn’t belong to an eighteen-year-old girl.

Didn’t even belong to the living.

A strange thought flitted across Bai Chuqing’s mind.

Her sister-in-law had always had a ruthless streak—after this, she would only grow harsher.

As for Xu Wangzhi, who had treated her like this—his days ahead would not be easy.

Burying her thoughts, she took the insulated container from a servant and walked forward with a smile.

“I had the servants make fresh millet porridge. Drink it while it’s hot.”

Wen Jianxin gave her a glance, then withdrew her eyes.

“Leave it there.”

She had no intention of eating.

Bai Chuqing understood immediately and didn’t insist. She set the container on the cabinet by the bed.

Then she pulled over a chair and sat, her tone gentle.

“Lingchu and Chen Jing wanted to come see you too, but I thought their playful natures would only disturb your rest, so I didn’t let them come.”

At the mention of her nephew and niece, Wen Jianxin’s face remained cold.

“No need to let them come.”

Bai Chuqing nodded with a sigh.

“I knew you’d say that. When I told them no, those two little rascals even blamed me.”

But was that really the truth?

It wasn’t.

The truth was, Bai Chuqing thought Wen Jianxin was too aloof and prideful. If her children spent too much time with her, they might pick up her bad temper.

And once spoiled, it would be hard to set them straight again.

So she preferred to keep them away.

Wen Jianxin turned her head, studying her with a wavering gaze.

This sister-in-law had been married into the family for ten years, yet in total they’d spent less than a month together.

On ordinary days, their meetings went no further than a greeting or a nod before parting.

They had never exchanged more than three sentences at once.

Her intent was clear enough—she disliked her, and didn’t want her children to grow close to her.

But outwardly she was always so soft-spoken and gentle, so no one would think more of it.

And how did Wen Jianxin know?

Simply intuition.

She turned her eyes away, uninterested in engaging further.

The quiet of the room at least brought a fleeting peace to her heart.

Bai Chuqing’s face remained composed. She wasn’t surprised by the girl’s indifference.

On the contrary—this coldness was what reassured her.

So long as her sister-in-law stayed aloof and uninvolved, she was content to sit in silence.

She didn’t stay long before taking her leave.

The ward fell silent, with only Wen Jianxin and the mute servant remaining.

Neither spoke a word.

Her injuries were too severe for bathing, so the servant brought hot water to wipe her down before settling her back into bed.

The night was thick and black as ink.

The hospital was even quieter than by day, almost without a sound.

An hour passed, and still Wen Jianxin hadn’t slept.

Unusual insomnia left her restless and irritable.

She wanted to get up and walk, but her body ached too badly.

Beside her, the servant slept like a log, oblivious, even snoring from time to time, grating on her nerves.

Just then, steady footsteps sounded outside the door. In the silence of night, they rang out sharply.

Wen Jianxin’s expression turned harsh.

Her gaze snapped to the sleeping servant, and she barked:

“Get out!”

She couldn’t help her anger—she knew those footsteps too well.

The servant, startled awake by her shout, stared at her in confusion.

Wen Jianxin drew a deep breath, her tone hard.

“Go find somewhere else to stay. I’ll cover the cost.”

The words had barely left her lips when the door opened, and a tall, imposing man stepped inside.