The newcomer also saw him, curled his lips, and walked to the table with a stylish demeanor. Both Jia Mian and Lu Huai Zheng were about to stand up, but the man raised his hand, indicating they shouldn’t bother. He casually pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his legs. His pointed leather shoes gleamed so brightly that they reflected the corner of the small table.

He had an impressive appearance, somewhat resembling Lu Huai Zheng.

However, he was much older than Lu Huai Zheng. He first glanced at Lu Huai Zheng, and the next second, his gaze fell on the only woman in the private room. He nodded with a gentlemanly smile and finally looked at Jia Mian. Just as he was about to speak, another man entered behind him, carrying a briefcase.

He greeted Jia Mian with a smile, “Young man, you’re punctual.” His gaze then fell on Yu Hao beside him, and his smile froze.

Yu Hao was sitting next to Lu Huai Zheng. Her attention had been fixed on the man who had entered first, completely ignoring the fawning man who followed. Upon hearing his voice, she instinctively looked up and her expression changed drastically!

Lu Huai Zheng, with his hand on Jia Mian’s shoulder, slowly shifted his gaze from Huo Ting to the other man. He stared for a moment but didn’t recognize him, though he had seen his photo before—flowery shirt, black pants, the appearance almost identical.

Huo Ting looked suspicious and turned toward the man behind him. He subtly nodded toward Yu Hao, asking, “You know each other?”

The man pulled out a chair opposite Yu Hao and next to Huo Ting, put his briefcase on the table, and instinctively adjusted his tie. With an unchanged expression, he said, “She’s my niece.”

Yu Hao lowered her head, trembling uncontrollably. She bit her teeth so hard that even her cheeks twitched involuntarily.

Her mouth tasted bitter, and her eyes felt dry and empty, like dried moonlight on the ground at night, seeping with a chill.

Her thoughts became hazy, and she seemed to see the pool of blood that had once been in front of her…

Near the end of her first year of high school, the war between Feng Yan Zhi and the Yu family had fully erupted.

It began when Big Aunt’s younger son was applying for graduate school that year. He had originally attended a third-tier college with mediocre grades but insisted on getting into Yu Guo Yang’s school, wanting to obtain a degree. He asked Yu Guo Yang to pull some strings and help. This phone call first reached Feng Yan Zhi. Big Aunt was the type who would normally be sarcastic, but when asking for favors, she became fawning and flattering. Feng Yan Zhi detested this and refused outright, with somewhat harsh words.

Big Aunt immediately called Yu Guo Yang to complain, claiming that Feng Yan Zhi had insulted her and threatening to write a letter to the hospital revealing all the things Feng Yan Zhi had done in the past.

Yu Guo Yang was hotheaded. When he returned home that night, he immediately berated Feng Yan Zhi, saying she shouldn’t have spoken to his elder sister that way. Feng Yan Zhi didn’t understand—although her tone might have been a bit serious, she hadn’t insulted anyone. After hearing Yu Guo Yang’s account, she was completely bewildered and thoroughly angered! Her sister-in-law could turn black into white and white into black with her words.

At that time, Feng Yan Zhi was still not allowed to eat at the family’s old house. In the Yu family, she was considered an outsider with no status, a daughter-in-law with a different surname whom Grandmother Yu didn’t acknowledge.

That night, Big Aunt brought Grandmother Yu to their home.

That evening, Yu Hao hid in her room and witnessed how the conversation escalated into an argument. Yu Guo Yang tried to mediate but couldn’t stop them, caught between the two women. Finally, when Big Aunt reached out to grab Feng Yan Zhi’s hair, Feng Yan Zhi accidentally pushed the old lady while defending herself, resulting in a fracture of the old lady’s metatarsal bone.

The seventy-something-year-old woman, who had been in good health, was effectively ruined by that incident.

Everyone hurriedly called an ambulance. When the examination results came out, the doctor sighed and told them to buy a wheelchair—she would need it for the rest of her life.

Feng Yan Zhi felt guilty about this incident. From then on, even when the old lady humiliated her in front of others and embarrassed her, she always endured it silently.

When they returned home, it was already midnight. Yu Guo Yang, who had also lost his temper, started arguing with Feng Yan Zhi again after just a few words, blaming her for fighting with his elder sister and pushing the old lady.

Feng Yan Zhi was very calm at that moment. She felt that continuing like this was pointless. Her determination to marry him years ago—despite sacrificing everything and being criticized—seemed to have been erased by his words in that instant. So, she calmly proposed divorce.

Yu Guo Yang disagreed, but the next day, Feng Yan Zhi impetuously moved out of the house.

Before leaving, she went to the school to pick up Yu Hao and handed her over to her younger aunt, saying, “Stay with your younger aunt for now. I’ll be staying at a hotel recently. Don’t try to find me, and don’t go looking for your father either. Once the divorce proceedings begin, I’ll come back for you. I’ll arrange for your school transfer.”

It wasn’t just that Feng Yan Zhi had conflicts with Big Aunt—the Yu family had many conflicts. Even among themselves, there were plenty of contradictions. Yet, they became particularly united against her. Only this younger aunt, who hadn’t grown up in the Yu family, was weak-natured and not good at scheming against others.

Yu Hao agreed.

Feng Yan Zhi, worried that the divorce would cause psychological pressure on her child, took her to see a psychologist, explaining that in this day and age, divorce was normal. When a marriage is no longer suitable, it should be ended promptly rather than continuing to make mistakes.

Yu Hao didn’t say anything at the time. She felt there was nothing to say. The concept of marriage was foreign to her.

Until, half a month later, at her younger aunt’s house, she saw that man. The man hadn’t changed at all—the lecherousness in his eyes was completely exposed. Yet he spoke to her younger aunt as if nothing had happened: “Why is this girl still with you? I see you’re practically becoming her real mother.”

Yu Hao was furious. All her rationality collapsed at that moment, like a breaking dam. She had thought she would never see this nightmarish man again in her lifetime!

She felt her blood rushing up as if someone was grabbing her hair and forcefully pushing her head into cold water until she couldn’t breathe, with water filling her nose and mouth! She grabbed the broom by the door and chased after him, hitting him like a madwoman!

Her younger aunt came to stop her, holding her.

But she was as fierce as a raging bull, her eyes bloodshot, hysterically telling him to get out!

Her younger aunt held her, telling her not to be agitated, saying she would make him leave. She gave the man a look, and he did leave.

But the next day.

The man came back. Yu Hao had finished school early that day. When she returned home, she overheard their conversation.

“When are you going to tell your niece about us?”

“Her parents are going through a divorce right now, and she’s already in a bad psychological state. I don’t want to put more pressure on her with our relationship!”

“Then let’s get our marriage certificate tomorrow.” The man said impatiently.

At that moment, Yu Hao’s mind was in complete chaos. Her head hurt as if it was about to explode, with only one thought remaining: she couldn’t let them remarry! She pushed the door open, rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and went straight for the man. He was caught off guard. As he looked up, Yu Hao’s first cut landed on his shoulder. The man clutched his shoulder, kneeling on the ground. Yu Hao struck his shoulder again, the blade cutting off a finger. She felt a rush of satisfaction at that moment. For her next strike, her target was his neck!

Her eyes were possessed, already bloodied from killing!

Her younger aunt held her tightly, refusing to let go, crying and begging: “Yu Hao, I’m pregnant. The doctor said I would never be able to give birth, but this was an accident. This is my only chance in this lifetime! Please! Spare him… He’s the father of my child… The child is innocent!”

Until the police came and took Yu Hao away.

On the way to the police station, Yu Hao’s expression was wooden. Her younger aunt hugged her, tearfully begging in her ear: “Yu Hao, please, just tell the police that you had an argument and acted on impulse when you cut him. He can’t die or go to jail. After we remarry, I’ll take him away from Beijing to live in another city. You won’t see him again, don’t worry. He won’t touch you again, I promise. He was just impulsive before. So many years have passed, can we let this go? When your mother comes, please don’t say anything, okay? Your aunt is begging you. I’m begging you. We won’t come back to Beijing. Yu Hao, can we just let this matter pass? I don’t want my child to be without a father. Please, your aunt is begging you, okay…?”

“If he dares to come back, I’ll kill him!”

That was the last thing Yu Hao said to her younger aunt.

During the mediation, the police wanted her to apologize and provide economic compensation. Yu Hao refused to apologize and wouldn’t let Feng Yan Zhi give any compensation either. The police were angry—if she wouldn’t compensate or apologize, she would be detained! Yu Hao remained calm, thinking, fine, detain me then.

She was then detained in a juvenile correctional facility for a month. It was originally three months, but due to repeated requests from the victim’s side and Feng Yan Zhi’s constant networking, along with Yu Hao’s good behavior, she was released after just one month.

After her release, Yu Hao learned that Feng Yan Zhi had completed all her school transfer procedures, and her younger aunt had already left Beijing with that man.

Feng Yan Zhi and Yu Guo Yang also stopped pursuing the divorce. Everything seemed to suddenly return to how it was before. The only difference was that Feng Yan Zhi took her to see a psychologist every week. Finding no effect, Yu Hao seemed like a different person after her release—previously, she just talked less, but now she spent all day and night in a daze, absentminded, and confused about everything.

Feng Yan Zhi had always thought it was her divorce conflict with Yu Guo Yang that had caused Yu Hao to become so extreme. At first, when her younger sister explained, she didn’t believe it. Yu Hao had been more withdrawn than most children since she was young, but she didn’t believe she would stab someone. That was until one night when she found Yu Hao’s diary in her drawer.

It was filled with dense red crosses.

She didn’t record things; it was purely writing for emotional release.

Words like “die,” “get out,” “life,” “divorce,” and “kill you”… such extreme words frequently appeared in her notebook. Only then did Feng Yan Zhi suddenly realize that she might have been paying too little attention to her.

That night, the two of them sat in Yu Hao’s room for a long time. Feng Yan Zhi wiped her tears as she told Yu Guo Yang that they should stop fighting and spend more time caring for their child. She didn’t want to get involved in the family’s mess anymore. From now on, let the old lady do as she pleases, but at least in front of the child, they shouldn’t mention these things.

After her release, Yu Hao followed Professor Han. After countless failed treatments, even standing on the top floor wanting to end it all, she had never felt as desperate as she did now! This desperation was like being choked by fate. She couldn’t breathe or catch her breath, with the accumulated resentment in her chest almost suffocating her.

When she was in Yunnan, her symptoms had relapsed. Shen Xi Yuan’s casual remark before leaving had enlightened her: “I think you should face it instead of avoiding it. You can’t hide forever. Are you going to let this torture you repeatedly for the rest of your life?”

She thought about facing it.

Later, after returning to Beijing, she hired a private investigator and discovered that her younger aunt and that man had never left Beijing! They had been living in the city all these years.

She was furious at the time! Her brain uncontrollably burst with a certain idea, and she even bought a knife, hiding it in the toilet tank in the bathroom.

Lying in the hospital bed at night, she was torn between heaven and earth.

Two voices echoed in her mind, closing in step by step.

One urged her to put down the knife and become enlightened, while the other calmly analyzed burial sites.

Finally, ding-dong, a face appeared in her mind.

“What about Lu Huai Zheng? What about your Lu Huai Zheng?”

But the dark little person in her mind kept tempting her, the voice spiraling in her ear like a ghost: “He said to forget it! He told you to forget it! Don’t you remember?! Are you stupid?! He doesn’t want you anymore! He said he doesn’t want you anymore! Has he come to see you in all these days you’ve been in the hospital?!”

But that very night, Lu Huai Zheng did come.

She hadn’t noticed, but Professor Han told her when he came to visit. Yu Hao thought, let’s wait then, for a few more days.

Those days she was in a daze, sitting up until two in the morning, but she could never wait for him. He always appeared after she had fallen asleep.

Until that night, when she caught him in the act.

He held her all night, promising he would come to see her every day, hold her every day.

Yu Hao craved his spacious, warm embrace, so she kept delaying her plan again and again.

On the day of her discharge, she had made up her mind and handed over all her work.

But that day, Lu Huai Zheng came to the research institute to find her, saying he would protect her for life. She indulged in his tenderness, thinking, let me stay with him for a few more days.

One day turned into many, until today.

Hearing that she was his niece, Huo Ting’s expression became meaningful as he looked between Lu Huai Zheng and Yu Hao for a while. He smiled and said, “It seems our fate is quite deep?” Then, adjusting his suit collar, he introduced the people across from him: “This is my friend, Hu Jian Ming, CEO Hu.” Then, looking at Hu Jian Ming beside him, he pointed to Lu Huai Zheng sitting in the middle, “That’s my nephew.”

Both men were already halfway to the grave. With just a glance, they knew there was something between Lu Huai Zheng and Yu Hao—mainly because their auras matched so well. A talented man and a beautiful woman. Hu Jian Ming smiled at Huo Ting, not pointing it out. Looking at Lu Huai Zheng, Hu Jian Ming thought this young man had handsome features and a good appearance, probably like the guy next to him, another second-generation rich kid living off his parents’ blood without any real ability. He casually said to Huo Ting, “Your nephew is handsome, he looks a bit like you.”

Huo Ting leaned back in his chair, smiling and shaking his head: “He’s a soldier, how could he be like me? I’m just a money-grubbing businessman. He’s different, his spiritual character is much higher than mine.”

Hearing that he was a soldier, Hu Jian Ming looked down on him even more, but still flattered Huo Ting: “You’re being too modest. In terms of spiritual character, no one can compare to you!” Then, Hu Jian Ming looked at Lu Huai Zheng and asked, “Where do you serve?”

Lu Huai Zheng answered very calmly: “XX Special Operations Brigade.”

Hearing this, Hu Jian Ming raised an eyebrow while opening the document folder, asking, “Special forces? Wow, a life-risking job? Does your girlfriend approve?”

Hu Jian Ming’s left hand had only four fingers; the pinky was gone.

Lu Huai Zheng’s gaze was like looking at a dead pig, showing no fluctuation. Suddenly, he lowered his head and smiled, but didn’t respond. Even Huo Ting found today’s Lu Huai Zheng a bit strange. He was usually polite and proper with strangers. Who was he contemptuous of with that disdainful smile?

Lu Huai Zheng continued to laugh unhurriedly, his shoulders shaking, until even Jia Mian couldn’t help but nudge Lu Huai Zheng’s shoulder with his elbow, asking quietly, “Have you gone crazy—”

When Lu Huai Zheng finally finished laughing, he raised his hand, looked at it, stared at Hu Jian Ming, and resumed his calm expression.

“I’ve saved many people and killed many people. It is indeed a life-risking job. My girlfriend doesn’t like it.”

For some reason, looking at that cold gaze, Hu Jian Ming couldn’t help but feel his hair stand on end. His hand, opening the document folder, froze.

Huo Ting kicked Lu Huai Zheng under the table.

“Who are you trying to scare?”

Hu Jian Ming also chuckled, “The military district? I know your Colonel Li, we have a good relationship. Do you want me to introduce you? Let him look after you?”

It seemed that if men didn’t boast a bit, they weren’t men. This man embodied almost all the flaws found in men. Even Jia Mian couldn’t help but be disgusted by the petty look on his face.

Apart from this piece of dogshit fly.

The conversation with Huo Ting was quite pleasant.

Yu Hao sat beside them without saying a word. Huo Ting shifted his gaze to her several times, lingering for a moment, and noticed that she kept her head down the entire time, lost in thought. Huo Ting asked Jia Mian, “Is this girl always so quiet?”

Jia Mian shook his head, “She has a peculiar temperament.”

Huo Ting glanced at Lu Huai Zheng, whose eyes never left Yu Hao. Sometimes he would brush her hair, his gaze particularly tender. Huo Ting found it quite strange and kicked him under the table again, “Pay attention!” It had no effect; Lu Huai Zheng remained distracted.

Yu Hao’s disgust and fear of Hu Jian Ming had reached a trembling level.

She should have stood up and left immediately, but she hadn’t expected to stay in this room for a whole hour. She endured again and again, telling herself not to leave, not to leave.

Jia Mian already disliked her a lot.

If she ruined this business deal because of her, Jia Mian would probably never want to see her again.

She didn’t want to see Lu Huai Zheng caught between her and his relationship with Jia Mian again.

She held back her tears, her teeth grinding audibly.

Just endure a little more, just a little more.

Time passed aimlessly, tick-tock, like an old woman, extremely slow.

Yu Hao couldn’t stop the trembling in her throat, her heart feeling like it had plunged into an endless hell with no bottom.

Her hand, tightly clenched on her leg, was suddenly covered by someone else’s—a pair of warm, large hands with prominent knuckles, graceful yet powerful, tightly wrapping around hers, seemingly recognizing her fear and trembling.

Finally unable to endure, she tightly closed her eyes, and tears fell like broken strings of pearls, instantly pouring down like rain.

“Plop, plop,” falling on the back of the man’s hand.

Then Yu Hao heard Lu Huai Zheng say softly in her ear: “Don’t cry, I’m here.”

Yu Hao was thinking at that moment, how could Lu Huai Zheng be so good? Why did he always indulge her unconditionally? It seemed that in his eyes, all her emotions deserved to be understood. For an instant, blood rushed to her head, and she felt that even if he asked her to die for him, she would be willing.

The contract was half-signed.

Huo Ting held the pen, looked up at the people opposite him, and said, “Let’s have lunch together. It’s rare to meet like this. My treat.”

Lu Huai Zheng directly refused.

Huo Ting let out a “hey,” feeling that this ungrateful kid: “I haven’t even questioned you yet. It’s one thing not to come home for so long, but why are you unwilling to even have a meal with your uncle?”

Lu Huai Zheng was about to refuse again.

Yu Hao suddenly stood up, “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”

Huo Ting watched as the girl hurriedly left. Not long after, Lu Huai Zheng also got up and followed her out. Huo Ting shook his head and said to Jia Mian across from him: “This girl is clearly from the hutongs.” He looked back at Hu Jian Ming: “Your niece seems very afraid of you.”

But Hu Jian Ming looked grimly at the door and said: “You should advise your nephew. This girl is fierce. Don’t let him be deceived by her. She’s not a good girl.”

Huo Ting became interested and said, “Tell me more.”

Even Jia Mian couldn’t help but perk up his ears.

“This hand of mine, see? She cut it.” Hu Jian Ming placed his four-fingered hand on the table. The stub where his pinky had been cut off was particularly conspicuous. He said harshly, “She’s been in a juvenile correctional facility. Mr. Huo, with your wide connections, you can have someone check. Don’t let your fine nephew be ruined by her.”