Chapter 24: The Stabbing

Ever since their family became one of the wealthiest households, life had been incredibly good—they dined on delicacies every day and lived in luxury. But now, all the fish were dead, the losses were catastrophic.

There was no need to even guess: their family had gone bankrupt, just like that, back to square one, as if overnight they had returned to the days before liberation.

It was all Lu Zhao’s fault—he was the root of it all!!!

If only he were dead. If he died, there would be no one to compete with him for Su Yunqi. No one would dare lay a hand on their fish pond. He could continue to live in luxury, do whatever he pleased, and act recklessly without consequence.

Zheng Ye was like someone possessed, chanting those words silently over and over in his mind. Then, he slipped his hand into his pocket and gloomily felt the handle of a knife. Without saying a word, he ran after them.

He ran right up behind Lu Zhao.

A comrade from the Public Security Bureau noticed his abnormal state immediately and shouted sternly: “Zheng Ye! What are you trying to do!”

“Lu Zhao, watch out!”

The Public Security comrade gave a timely warning and sprinted toward the two of them. At that moment, Lu Zhao had just reached the gate of the Public Security Bureau.

He had been secretly keeping an eye on what was happening behind him. The reason he kept provoking Zheng Ye just now was for this very moment. His finely tuned instincts from years of fighting told him danger was approaching from behind. But he clenched his fists and forcefully restrained his instinct to turn around.

It wasn’t until Zheng Ye pulled out the knife—its sharp, gleaming blade aiming for his back—that he suddenly spun around.

He shifted slightly to the side and raised his arm to block. What should have pierced his intestines instead stabbed into his arm.

With a ripping sound, the small knife slashed through his arm. Immediately, blood gushed out uncontrollably.

“Zheng Ye! How dare you!” Lu Zhao roared in disbelief, then clutched his bleeding arm and raised his leg, kicking Zheng Ye hard enough to send him flying.

With just one kick, Zheng Ye flew half a meter away.

If it hadn’t been a sneak attack, Zheng Ye wouldn’t have been able to hurt Lu Zhao in this lifetime.

It just so happened that they were still at the Public Security Bureau. It just so happened that Zheng Ye pulled a knife under the watchful eyes of so many Public Security officers. He had actively assaulted Lu Zhao and caused him injury—an irrefutable evidence!

The moment Zheng Ye was kicked down by Lu Zhao, the comrades from the Public Security Bureau immediately pounced on him, pinned him to the ground, and wrestled the blood-stained knife out of his hand.

“Pulling a knife and stabbing someone right at the Public Security Bureau! Arrest him!” One of the Public Security officers shouted angrily, immediately declaring Zheng Ye guilty.

This was exactly the result Lu Zhao had wanted. He crouched on the ground with a drained expression, his knees bracing against the pavement.

“Take him to the hospital first.”

No one doubted Lu Zhao. They hurriedly took him to the hospital, as he appeared to be suffering from blood loss.

Big Brother Lu had just finished asking around for information. Instead of rushing home, he first went to buy some food, planning to bring it to Lu Zhao.In case Lu Zhao had to stay at the Public Security Bureau for a while, he would at least have something to eat.

But to his shock, when he returned with a bag of steamed buns, he saw Lu Zhao injured.

His entire arm was covered in blood. He was terrified. “What happened?! Why are you bleeding all of a sudden?!”

“Zheng Ye stabbed me. Let’s talk later, big brother, take me to the hospital to get this bandaged. The Public Security comrades still have matters to handle.”

Seeing his older brother arrive, Lu Zhao asked him to take him to the hospital so as not to trouble the Public Security officers further.

The injury wasn’t actually that severe—it just looked alarming. Since Lu Zhao’s family had already shown up, the Public Security officers were relieved to hand him over to his older brother and let him take him to the hospital. They then turned their attention back to handling Zheng Ye and his family.

For that stab from Zheng Ye, he would be doing at least three years in prison. It was attempted murder—intentional, though it hadn’t succeeded.

When Su Yunqi woke up, she saw Chen Cuilan keeping watch in the courtyard. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, still groggy, her hair a bit messy.

“Mom, where’s Lu Zhao?”

“He had something to take care of. He’ll be back soon. It’s almost mealtime anyway—let me cook for you. What do you want to eat tonight?”

Chen Cuilan deliberately avoided the question and shifted the conversation to cooking. Su Yunqi felt like something was a little off, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it, so she followed her mother’s lead.

“Can we have pickled cucumbers? Do you know how to make them? We have cucumbers at home. I want to learn how to make them from you.”

“Of course! That’s one of my specialties—it’s really easy!”

“Mom also knows how to pickle cabbage and string beans. Whichever one you like, I’ll make that for you!”

Chen Cuilan said calmly, as if nothing had happened with Lu Zhao being taken away. She truly was a composed old lady who could keep her cool.

The two of them went into the kitchen and talked about cooking.

They prepared a full table of side dishes and even stir-fried a plate of peanuts.

As the day grew darker, Lu Zhao still hadn’t returned.

Su Yunqi couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked again. “Mom, where did Lu Zhao go? Isn’t he coming back for dinner?”

Seeing that it was getting dark and clearly time for dinner, Chen Cuilan was trying to decide whether to tell the truth or come up with another excuse to fool Su Yunqi when Lu Zhao finally returned—his arm wrapped in gauze, strikingly noticeable.

Su Yunqi saw it right away! She immediately tensed her little face and sternly questioned him. “Lu Zhao! Where did you go just now!”

She suddenly had a bad feeling.

“No big deal. I just went to the Public Security Bureau. Everything’s really settled now, no need to worry. Zheng Ye tried to stab me there. I turned the situation to my advantage and let him get my arm. With that, he’s not getting out of prison for a few years. Later on, I’ll figure out a way to make sure he gets an even heavier sentence. If he can’t get out, he won’t be able to stir up trouble for us anymore.” Lu Zhao explained nonchalantly, as if being stabbed in the arm was no more serious than a tickle.

Chen Cuilan, thinking her son had thick skin and strong bones, figured that trading a stab in the arm for a few years of jail time for Zheng Ye was actually a pretty good deal.

But Su Yunqi continued to hold her stern expression and said nothing. Since Lu Zhao was back safe and dinner was ready, Chen Cuilan decided to return to her own home. Lu Zhao’s father was still waiting for her to come back and eat too.

Su Yunqi, unusually, didn’t ask Chen Cuilan to stay. Once she left, Su Yunqi shut the front gate, huffed angrily, and stormed back into her room—not even bothering to eat dinner.

“Su Yunqi, I’m already like this, and you still don’t care? You’re mad at me?”

“Su Yunqi? Wife?”

Lu Zhao shamelessly followed her into the room, calling her name like a ghost summoning a spirit.

But Su Yunqi pretended not to hear him. She stayed silent, lay back on the bed, and pulled the blanket over her head, refusing to communicate.

It was obvious she was sulking.

Lu Zhao rubbed the tip of his nose, realizing he might have gone too far this time. He quickly pulled the blanket away and dragged Su Yunqi out. “Say something, don’t be mad, okay? Su Yunqi? Wife?”

“I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have kept it from you, and I shouldn’t have poisoned the fish at his house either. I made you worry. But listen, as the saying goes: it’s better to deal with the King of Hell than his little devils. Zheng Ye’s just a clueless little bully. Unless you beat him to death, he’s not going to stop. He’ll just keep coming around to disgust and harass you. Isn’t that annoying?”

“You saw it yourself—he’ll pull a knife. So I turned the situation around. I didn’t fight back. I let him stab me. Now he’s going to jail. It’s just a minor injury. Totally worth it. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you—look, the wound’s not even that deep, it’ll heal in no time.”

Lu Zhao gently shook Su Yunqi’s soft body while explaining, trying to unwrap the gauze.

Upon hearing that, Su Yunqi furiously opened her eyes and shouted in her delicate voice: “Don’t unwrap it! I don’t want to see! I hate you! You never take what I say seriously! You always make decisions without talking to me! I’m never going to be with you again!!!”

Su Yunqi was beyond furious.

Did he really not understand how serious this was?

He dared to provoke Zheng Ye into stabbing him and didn’t even fight back. What if the knife hadn’t gone into his arm but his stomach instead?

Then what? He wouldn’t be going to prison—he’d be going straight to the afterlife!

And she wouldn’t even mourn him!

She’d immediately find another man to marry! He could just watch from underground!