Chapter 10: Fu Tingzhou and Lu Yanzhi Clash

Her icy gaze landed on Lu Yanzhi’s face. “You heard it all, didn’t you?”

In her previous life, she had been lying weak and dying in a hospital bed when Lin Xuewei, triumphant and scornful, told her this same truth — laughing as she provoked her into coughing up blood from sheer anger.

Just moments ago, Lin Xuewei had nearly suffocated, gasping hard for breath while clutching her chest. Upon hearing those words, she looked up and locked eyes with the deep, dark gaze before her.

She shook her head anxiously and tried to explain. “Yanzhi, it’s not like that. Let me explain—Li Zhi deliberately misled Huanhuan. That’s why she said what she said. You know Huanhuan has always wanted a father. All her classmates have dads. She often cries to me, begging for one. I-I didn’t know what else to do… cough cough cough…”

Her breathless explanation triggered another fit of coughing, tears streaming down her face.

Lu Yanzhi stepped toward her.

“Yanzhi…” Lin Xuewei looked up at him, eyes glistening, tears on the verge of falling, looking ever so pitiful.

Lu Yanzhi placed one hand gently on her arm, the other on her back, giving her a few light pats.

“Don’t talk yet. Breathe slowly.”

After a few pats, once her breathing had steadied—

Lu Yanzhi turned to Li Zhi and said, “Li Zhi, Zhenxing died to save me. I can’t just ignore his daughter. It was my fault to leave the wedding halfway and embarrass you. If you’re upset, blame me.”

Li Zhi pressed him sharply, “Lu Yanzhi, you heard the truth yourself. And you still choose to protect her, believe her, and take her side?”

In her past life, she hadn’t lost to Lin Xuewei—she had lost to the blind love she had thrown at Lu Yanzhi, all or nothing.

Because he never once believed her.

He allowed his family and Lin Xuewei to bully her relentlessly.

The Lu family was hateful, but Lu Yanzhi was even worse.

Lu Yanzhi glanced at Lin Xuewei, huddled in a corner against the wall, pale-faced, hugging her daughter pitifully.

Li Zhi was sharp and aggressive. Lin Xuewei looked delicate and helpless. She needed him more.

So, he chose to side with Lin Xuewei. “Xuewei did it for Huanhuan. Huanhuan has always wanted a father. It hasn’t been easy for Xuewei to raise her alone all these years. I need to take care of them.”

“Fine, I see now.” Li Zhi nodded repeatedly, sneering coldly. “I must’ve been blind in the past to fall for you. I’d rather you never saved me, that we never even met. Since you believe her so much, and her daughter needs a father, then marry Lin Xuewei. That way you can ‘rightfully’ care for them. Just stay away from me—let’s call off the engagement.”

Lu Yanzhi frowned tightly, staring at her, trying to explain sincerely. “Li Zhi, I’ve said it so many times—I don’t have feelings for Xuewei. She’s my comrade’s widow. Her husband died saving me. Taking care of them is my duty. When you become my wife, we’ll look after them together. I won’t meet her privately again, alright?”

Li Zhi swung her hand and slapped him hard—smack!

In her past life, on her deathbed, he had personally admitted he only ever loved Lin Xuewei. Just to trick her into marrying into the Lu family as a free maid, he’d spun lie after lie.

Lu Yanzhi’s face turned from the slap. He rolled his tongue, pressing it against the aching molars, and turned back to face her. “Feel better? If not, keep hitting. Hit until you do.”

The words had just left his mouth when—

Smack!

She slapped his other cheek.

He didn’t resist.

Li Zhi had used all her strength—her palm stung from the force.

Lu Yanzhi asked again, “Feel better? If not, keep hitting.”

He naively thought once she was done, she’d calm down. That would be easier than begging.

Lin Xuewei released her daughter and came to his side. “Yanzhi, stop. Any more and your face will be ruined.”

She turned to Li Zhi and said, “Li Zhi, this is all my fault. I ruined your wedding. I’m truly sorry. If hitting me helps you feel better, then hit me.”

A face offered freely is one that shouldn’t go un-slapped.

Li Zhi raised her hand to slap her.

But just as she was about to bring it down, a hand caught her wrist—it was Lu Yanzhi.

He said, “Xuewei isn’t well. It’s not her fault—it’s mine. If you’re still angry, hit me.”

“What a lovely little romance,” Li Zhi sneered coldly, yanking her arm free. “Let go of me. Tomorrow, we go to the army and explain everything to the political commissar. I want a formal cancellation of the engagement.”

She didn’t want to wait another minute.

“I won’t cancel it. You said you’d only ever marry me, that you’d be my wife, have my children—have you forgotten your own words? I was wrong, but I did it to save someone. You can’t sentence me to death for that,” Lu Yanzhi argued, unable to understand why her personality had changed so drastically after just one ruined wedding.

She used to speak gently, never raised her voice at him—let alone hit him.

Memories from her past life surged again in Li Zhi’s mind. Her chest heaved, her nerves felt shredded, her gaze turned ruthless. Through gritted teeth, she spat, “I forgot all of it. I don’t remember anymore. I’d rather die than marry you, let alone bear your children. The Lu family is full of backstabbing wolves—any child born with your blood would be the same. Cancel the engagement. Let’s part on civil terms. Don’t make me hate you more.”

Lu Yanzhi’s tight frown eased, his tense face softened a little. “Li Zhi, what happened between us has nothing to do with my family. Don’t drag them into this. They’ve done nothing to wrong you. People say love turns to hate—if you hate me, doesn’t that just prove you still love me?”

As he spoke, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.

“Li Zhi, I shouldn’t have left you on our wedding day. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please forgive me, okay?”

He moved too fast. She didn’t dodge in time and started hitting his shoulder, scratching and kicking, shouting, “No! Get away from me! Don’t touch me—you disgust me!”

“Li Zhi, I’m sorry. Let’s start over. We’ll have another wedding. I swear I won’t leave you again.”

She couldn’t push him off, so she scratched his face. “Get lost! I’m not marrying you. I don’t even want that wedding!”

Lu Yanzhi flinched—three deep red scratches now ran from his jaw to his neck, burning with pain.

He wiped at them—his fingers stained red with blood. His gaze darkened, his tone sharp and devoid of patience. “Li Zhi, enough with the push-and-pull. Don’t take it too far. If you keep this up, I won’t bother trying to win you over anymore.”

“I don’t want you to! Let me go. If you don’t, I’ll scratch you to death.”

Fu Tingzhou had seen enough. He stepped forward, grabbed Lu Yanzhi by the shoulder, and with a forceful jerk, threw him out of the room.

Zhou Yufeng, who’d been watching from the doorway, quickly jumped aside but instinctively reached out to catch Lu Yanzhi.

Fu Tingzhou gently held Li Zhi’s arm and asked softly, “Li Zhi, are you okay? Do you want me to find a doctor for you?”

She wasn’t right—her breathing was labored, her gaze blank, hair disheveled, her beautiful face taut with anger, and her bloodshot eyes filled with both cold fury and vulnerability. A flicker of madness crossed her gaze—like she might lose control at any second.

Hearing his voice, Li Zhi snapped out of her thoughts from her past life, shook her head slightly, and turned away. “I’m fine. Can you please help me get them out of here? I don’t want to see them.”

Seeing them brought back too much of her past life. It made her want to kill.

Fu Tingzhou went to the door and blocked Lu Yanzhi from entering. “Please leave.”

Lu Yanzhi felt Fu Tingzhou’s concern went far beyond what was appropriate for a man who hit someone and his supposed victim.

It felt like he was wearing a green hat—being cuckolded. The thought made him sick. He couldn’t let them be alone.

He declared possessively, “Tingzhou, she’s my fiancée.”

Fu Tingzhou corrected him, “She’s your soon-to-be-ex fiancée. She doesn’t want to see you. Please leave.”

The two men stood face to face, tension crackling in the air.

Fu Tingzhou was tall and imposing, half a head taller than Lu Yanzhi, with sharp phoenix eyes and a powerful presence.

Lu Yanzhi refused to back down. He met Fu Tingzhou’s gaze, and sparks flew.

The room felt noticeably colder.

Watching from the side, Lin Xuewei felt a sudden pang of unease.

Was Yanzhi truly starting to care about Li Zhi?

Or was it just male possessiveness flaring up?

She figured it was probably the latter. After all, Li Zhi was still his fiancée—it made sense he’d feel upset about another man being close to her.

Lu Yanzhi pressed his lips into a thin line and suddenly said, “We’re not broken off yet. Li Zhi is still my fiancée. As her fiancé, I should be by her side. You can go.”

It was the first time he had ever called her by her nickname—Zhizhi—with such intimacy.

He was declaring his claim.

He didn’t think Fu Tingzhou would actually be interested in Li Zhi.

He’d heard the performing arts troupe was full of beautiful women vying for Fu Tingzhou’s attention—young, lively, graceful, elegant. Every type imaginable.

How could he possibly like a naive girl like Li Zhi?

Meanwhile, Zhou Yufeng was thoroughly confused.

What was going on?

He didn’t understand anymore.

Old Fu usually hated getting involved in other people’s business. But today, he was acting totally out of character.

Was this really the Fu Tingzhou he knew?

Could it be… he liked Lu Yanzhi’s fiancée?

He had never liked any of the women chasing him, but now he had his eyes on someone else’s fiancée?

Were other women not appealing enough, so he had to go after someone else’s?

Fu Tingzhou calmly responded, “I hit her with my car. I need to take responsibility.”

He was willing to take responsibility for a lifetime—if she’d let him.

Lu Yanzhi lowered his voice. “Tingzhou, what are you trying to do by staying? You should know—a comrade’s wife must not be taken lightly.”

Li Zhi looked at Lu Yanzhi and said coldly, “I don’t need your care. When your leave ends next week and you return to your unit, I’ll go see the political commissar and request a formal disengagement. Whatever your family took from me, I want it all back. If you don’t return it, I’ll report it to the military and disgrace you.”

Humiliated after being slapped and rejected, Lu Yanzhi growled, “Li Zhi, I’ve already backed down. You slapped me. What more do you want?”

Li Zhi sneered. “You know exactly why you want to marry me. I don’t like you anymore—don’t even think about manipulating me again.”

Lu Yanzhi’s brows furrowed sharply—how did she know?

At that moment, Lin Xuewei rushed over with the child in her arms, panic on her face. “Yanzhi, Huanhuan isn’t feeling well again. Let’s take her to a doctor quickly.”

Cheng Huan slumped weakly in her arms, forehead burning hot, face pale, eyes half-shut—her cold had worsened.

Lu Yanzhi took the child from her arms and ran downstairs to find a doctor.

Lin Xuewei hurried after him.

Li Zhi pointed at the corner of the room. “Wait—take your stuff with you.”

Lin Xuewei doubled back, grabbed the basket, and chased after them.

They looked just like a happy little family of three.

Li Zhi curled her lips into a bitter smile.

She smiled at how foolish she had been in her past life—believing that if she just tried hard enough, Lu Yanzhi would eventually come back to her.

Now, thinking about all the foolish things she’d done back then, she felt like slapping herself.