Chu Wang raised his hand, grabbed Chu Zhao by the collar, and shoved her hard against the wall.
"Chu Zhao, I've given you too much face, haven't I!"
"Let me tell you, before you were locked in here, Chu Zhang made it clear—he knew all those times you took the blame on my behalf!"
"He punished you anyway! And when he found out it was you, the punishment was even worse!"
"You're a complete fool, an idiot!"
"Are you done?" Chu Zhao's voice was very calm.
Beneath her thick bangs, fine beads of cold sweat constantly welled up from her forehead.
Chu Wang frowned: "Why are you..."
How could Chu Zhao's reaction be so bland?
Chu Zhao brushed Chu Wang's hand away, every breath carrying a searing pain.
Her back was already numb with pain, yet the expression on her face managed to remain calm.
Chu Zhao looked at Chu Wang as one would look at a giant baby who could never learn to grow up.
"Chu Wang," she said, her voice dripping with exhaustion, low but clear.
"What gave you the illusion that made you think—"
"I would still hold any expectations for any of you."
"I might not be clear on what I like, but as for what I don't like... I've always understood it very well."
Chu Wang looked at her, his expression gradually going blank.
What was he thinking at that moment? He didn't know.
Why was there a sudden sour pang in his heart? He didn't know.
Why did Chu Zhao's calm words sound like muffled thunder, a torrential downpour, a heavy hammer? He didn't know.
It felt like the precursor to something being completely and utterly lost—
Chu Wang reached out instinctively, but his hand touched only the cold wall.
Chu Zhao dodged him.
***
Chu Wang was forcibly escorted out by the captain of the bodyguards.
When the door of the confinement room closed completely, the captain finally loosened his grip on Chu Wang's arms.
"I'm sorry, Young Master, I was out of line just now."
Chu Wang ignored the offense, lowering his head to look at his own hands.
The confinement room was dim, but the hallway outside was bright.
Chu Wang spread his palms, clearly seeing the scarlet bloodstains on his fingertips and palms.
Those were the traces left when his hand hit the wall after Chu Zhao avoided him.
Chu Wang's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Xiaowang!" Chu Fu's voice rang out not far away.
Seeing that Chu Wang had come out, joy and worry intertwined on her face, and her steps quickened involuntarily as she walked toward him.
Almost instinctively, Chu Wang clenched his hand into a fist, hiding the hand stained with Chu Zhao's blood behind his back.
"Sister," he said.
*** One day later, the study ***
Chu Xu: "Xiaowang still refuses to go apologize to the Shang Family."
"Eldest Brother, actually Xiaowang didn't do anything wrong either. Shang Que really was her ex-boyfriend, and later he got together with Xiaofu..."
"It's understandable that Xiaowang couldn't take it and made a scene at the engagement banquet."
"When it comes down to it, Shang Que failed both Xiaowang and Xiaofu..."
Chu Zhang put down his documents: "Second Brother. You've been too well-protected by this family."
"In the business world, no one talks to you about right and wrong; power and profit always come first."
"The Chu family cannot afford to offend the Shang Family right now, and we still need the Shang Family to take the lead in securing a partnership with Z&S Group overseas."
"That's why this head must bow."
"Born into the Chu family, she has no right to be willful when it comes to the family's development."
"..." Chu Xu was left speechless. He lowered his head, an unspeakable bitterness welling up in his heart.
At a time like this, Eldest Brother was once again treating Chu Zhao as a member of the family?
He stood there in the spacious and bright study.
Yet for some reason, he suddenly felt the four walls closing in, pressing down on him until his vision went black and he couldn't breathe.
Perhaps he simply wasn't suited to staying with the family.
This time, if not for Xiaowang's accident—reaching the point of critical condition and emergency resuscitation—
Chu Xu would never have come back.
He would have stayed by his teacher's side, traveling abroad together, attending various art festivals, seeking inspiration and breakthroughs in his painting skills.
He would swim freely in the ocean of art, instead of being stuck here like a stone statue or a fish gasping for water.
...
After a silence so long it was terrifying, Chu Xu looked at Chu Zhang, his voice strained to the absolute limit.
"The time set by the Shang Family is eight o'clock tonight."
"Since Xiaowang refuses to bow her head, what does Eldest Brother plan to do?"
Chu Zhang acted as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual about him.
Or rather, even if Chu Zhang had noticed his second brother's emotional instability, he wouldn't have cared about such a trivial matter in the first place.
So when Chu Zhang heard Chu Xu's question, his expression even softened slightly.
"Father using the ruler didn't work, and our persuasion and warnings didn't work either."
"Then we can only trouble the one person whom Xiaowang will never refuse once they speak."
"You mean..." Chu Xu's pupils dilated: "But..."
"It's settled." Chu Zhang commanded with an unquestionable attitude: "Second Brother, call the old mansion right now."
"Big Brother believes that you can handle such a small task."
Chu Zhang gazed into Chu Xu's eyes: "Right?"
His throat felt choked with grit. Chu Xu lowered his head: "Yes."
The hand hanging at his side tightened silently, Chu Xu's voice trembling as he spoke.
"Before Xiaowang admits her mistake, can we... send someone to treat her injuries first?"
"She is apologizing on behalf of the Chu family. If her physical condition isn't right, the Shang Family might be even more displeased, and by then..."
Chu Zhang: "The Shang Family will only be more satisfied."
Meeting Chu Xu's gaze of disbelief and pain, Chu Zhang refused his request without hesitation.
"Your heart is too soft," Chu Zhang sighed. "Xiaoxu, make the call, and once they agree over there, you should leave."
"Go back to your teacher's side."
"I've already booked your ticket."
Chu Zhang looked at Chu Xu, those cold and stern eyes holding, for just a moment, a genuine trace of care for his younger brother.
"You are not to go see Chu Zhao again, either."
"Xiaoxu, you haven't done anything to let her down."
"..." Chu Xu looked at Chu Zhang, and that suffocating pain washed over him again and again, swallowing him whole.
He felt only despair and powerlessness.
Had he done nothing to let her down?
Chu Xu still remembered the first time Xiaowang called him older brother, remembered the little paper butterfly she gave him, remembered the way she carefully tugged at the hem of his clothes and asked if she could learn to paint from him.
[It's been investigated, it was just an accident caused by the medical staff's negligence.]
[I hope the reason for Chu Zhao's air embolism this time remains solely due to our mutual oversight.]
[...]
He lowered his eyes, ashamed of his own pathetic and hypocritical pity.
*** The confinement room ***
Chu Zhao sat leaning against the wall, motionless, like a dried-up corpse.
She had slept for a long time. When she woke up, her head was still heavy, but the fever seemed to have subsided a bit.
As a result, Chu Zhao's spirits were much better.
She was somewhat grateful that before returning to the Chu family, she had remembered to schedule timed releases for her updates over the past two days.
So even now, trapped in the confinement room with her phone long confiscated by the housekeeper—
Her lovely readers could still see the little snails she drew.
Chu Zhao thought of school again. The leave she had requested previously had all been used up.
However, the Chu family maintained a respectable facade in public, and Chu Teng had a personal friendship with the principal. Chu Zhang should remember to ask for leave for her.
Otherwise, she would be marked absent, ruining the Chu family's reputation.
Chu Zhao silently calculated her credits. Her progress was good, and she was very close to meeting the requirements for early graduation.
She was one step closer to her wish.
"Endure," Chu Zhao silently warned herself in her heart.
Endure a little more, be a bit more unassertive.
When the time came, the sky would be high and the sea wide; she and Aunt Chun could live freely and would no longer be trapped in this narrow, confined space.
The small door of the confinement room suddenly opened, and the captain of the bodyguards reached in from outside and handed Chu Zhao's phone to her.
"Miss Zhao, Madam wants to see you."
Chu Zhao's pupils dilated, and the lingering trace of a smile at the corner of her lips shattered like a mask.
That voice, both familiar and unfamiliar, belonging to her biological mother, came through the other end of the line.
She said: "Xiaowang, go apologize to the Shang Family."