Chapter 12

The lights were dim, and Wen Jianxin couldn’t make out the expression on his face.

All she could see was him taking one step after another, closing in on her.

Until finally, he stopped right in front of her.

And along with him came the stench of blood.

She didn’t know when the servant had left, but now, only the two of them remained in the ward.

Xu Wangzhi looked at her with a complicated expression, his voice hoarse as he asked:

“Does it hurt?”

Wen Jianxin couldn’t be bothered to answer such an obvious question. She didn’t even have the strength to argue with him. Lying calmly back, she closed her eyes, ready to sleep.

But the man had no intention of letting her off. He asked again:

“Does it hurt?”

Wen Jianxin felt like he was having another episode. Slowly, she turned her back to him.

“Does it hurt?”

The voice came once more, refusing to give up until he got an answer.

She still said nothing, unwilling to speak to him at all.

Xu Wangzhi was not the kind of person to be considerate. When she didn’t reply, he simply changed the question.

“Will you still get rid of the child?”

Wen Jianxin’s eyes snapped open, her hand clenching into a tight fist. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and land a punch squarely on him.

But she knew her current body was too weak. She couldn’t fight him, so she swallowed the urge.

Xu Wangzhi sneered.

“Is it really that hard to answer? Or are you still clinging to hope?”

Suddenly, he leaned closer, forcing her to face him. His expression was twisted and sinister, the kind that could stir fear in anyone who looked at him.

He said—

“You drove me to this.”

To that, Wen Jianxin gave him only three words:

“Lunatic.”

Xu Wangzhi nodded carelessly.

“Yes, I am a lunatic. Which is why you’d better stop dreaming about leaving me. Remember, lunatics don’t play by rules. If you anger me, I’ll do things you’ll never be able to bear.”

He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek, his expression turning unnervingly gentle.

“Stay by my side. Pretend the past never happened. I’ll treat you well. You’ll live happily.”

It felt like being licked by a dog. Disgusted, Wen Jianxin scrubbed at the spot he’d kissed, her tone dripping with hatred.

“A dog can never stop eating filth. With someone like you, I will never be able to live in peace. You’re nothing but a criminal, a violent maniac, a filthy, shameless beast. I curse you—may you die without a grave.”

She had meant to endure, to avoid conflict with him. But his words pushed her too far.

She couldn’t understand how someone who had done such wrong could still demand her compromise so righteously.

He thought that after striking her, he could hand her a sweet date and she should be grateful?

No. She refused. That was why she chose to resist.

Even if resistance came with a price, she would accept it gladly.

Xu Wangzhi stared at her deeply.

“I want to live peacefully with you. You refuse. You force me to use my hands against you. What do you want me to do? Let you go? No—I can’t. Since that’s the case, then so be it.”

When he said so be it, it was clear he had made up his mind. He wasn’t going to change.

A life-and-death struggle had officially begun.

Who would fall first, who would yield first, was impossible to say.

But for now, Wen Jianxin was at a disadvantage.

Xu Wangzhi was truly ruthless. Even when facing the woman he had loved for years, he showed no mercy.

He pulled off his shirt, revealing a body covered in bloody scars. Looking down at her with cold arrogance, he asked:

“Courtesy of you. Satisfied?”

Wen Jianxin only glanced once before looking away, her tone flat.

“Nothing remarkable.”

Xu Wangzhi nodded, then tossed a tube of ointment at her.

“Apply it for me.”

The command in his voice allowed no room for refusal.

Wen Jianxin didn’t move. The ointment rolled off her and onto the bed. She had no intention of picking it up.

Xu Wangzhi leaned down, picked it up, and shoved it into her hand.

“Didn’t you hear me? Do you need me to repeat myself?”

Wen Jianxin shook off his hand, and the ointment flew across the room with the force.

His face darkened completely.

“You’re really something.”

He retrieved the ointment, shoved it back into her hand, and issued a heavy warning:

“Throw it again, and I’ll throw you out.”

He sat shirtless in front of her, tilting his chin up as if daring her to start.

Wen Jianxin lowered her head, silent for a long while.

The ointment deformed in her grip, squashed into a twisted shape.

Slowly, she unscrewed the cap. A dab of white ointment oozed out as she squeezed.

When she lifted her head again, the fury and violence were gone. The cold, dignified heiress of the Wen family reappeared.

Her slender fingers reached forward, approaching his scarred body.

Xu Wangzhi felt the cool ointment touch his wound. A smile was just about to form when—sudden, sharp pain stabbed him.

Looking down, he saw her long nails digging into his flesh, tearing out bits of it.

Yet as if unaware of pain, he didn’t stop her.

Instead, a stray thought came to him.

They really were well-matched.

Both cruel. Both proud and uncompromising. Neither willing to bow their head.

The flesh under her nails didn’t satisfy Wen Jianxin’s need for vengeance.

If she could, she would rather cut off his head.

She flung the ointment away once more and, along with it, kicked him off the bed.

The motion tugged at her own injuries, draining the color from her face.

Xu Wangzhi noticed this as he looked up and sneered.

“You reap what you sow.”

This time, he didn’t force her to tend his wounds. He simply took the ointment himself and smeared it haphazardly across the scars.

The gaping lashes on his back were clearly from a whip—whoever had wielded it had shown no mercy.

Wen Jianxin curved her lips in mockery.

“Compared to the pain you inflicted on me, what’s a little sting like that?”

Xu Wangzhi’s hand froze mid-motion. He lifted his gaze, eyes unreadable as he stared at her.

Wen Jianxin couldn’t read that look, nor did she care to. Lowering her head, she stared blankly at her exposed legs.

They were covered in bruises and all manner of ambiguous marks.

So this was what the doctors had seen earlier that day.

Suddenly, her strength drained away. Her whole body went limp, and she collapsed back onto the bed.

Xu Wangzhi frowned and rushed over.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

Wen Jianxin raised her hand and slapped him.

“Get out!”

His expression darkened. He grabbed the hand that had struck him, his voice tight with suppressed anger.

“Are you crazy again? I try to talk to you nicely and you won’t listen. You force me to raise my hand? Fine—I’ll oblige you.”

His hand lifted mid-air, but halfway down he pulled it back. His voice dropped to a chilling warning.

“Next time you dare hit my face, I won’t be so polite.”

Exactly how impolite, he didn’t say.

Instead, he scooped her into his arms, resting his head against her shoulder, eyes closing in a look of satisfaction.

His grip was iron-tight, and Wen Jianxin couldn’t break free. Her eyelids grew heavy, and to her own surprise, she drifted into sleep in his arms.

When she woke the next day, Xu Wangzhi was already gone.

The ward was quiet, empty save for her.

That afternoon, she requested to be discharged.

The doctor advised her to stay a few more days for observation, until her condition stabilized.

Wen Jianxin shook her head, insisting that her body was fine and she didn’t need to stay.

Helpless, the doctor signed off on her discharge.

By the time she had fully recovered, half a month had passed.

During that time, Xu Wangzhi had not disturbed her.

He had gone away on a mission and wouldn’t return for a few days.

And when he did, it would be just in time for their wedding.

The timing was calculated perfectly.