[May 19th, Overcast]
[I asked the divine, is it wrong to yearn for love?]
[Is it wrong to want a beautiful family?]
[The divine gave me no answer.]
[What answered me was the cruelest of realities.]
————
"Having a breakdown in public—you're truly disgusting."
"……"
The first time Chu Wang ever took the initiative to mention her condition, it was only to call her disgusting.
Chu Zhao raised her hand and pressed it firmly against her face.
As if by a miracle, her twitching stopped.
Chu Zhao gripped the keys tight, turned back, and headed toward the SA supercar once more.
Behind her, noisy discussions and mocking laughter erupted.
"Chu Zhao, what are you doing? Are you trying to run away?"
Run away?
Of course not.
She wasn't the one in the wrong; she wasn't the one who needed to run.
Chu Zhao sat back in the car, hands resting on the steering wheel, and stepped on the gas toward the gathered crowd, accelerating expressionlessly.
She wasn't wearing a helmet. Her long, jet-black hair danced wildly in the air, and those cat-like eyes, faintly tinged with red, were cold and silent to the extreme.
They were like a pool of stagnant water that would never ripple again.
As the crowd met her gaze, they felt a shiver run down their spines.
Especially since, only a short while ago, Chu Zhao had exposed the horrific state she was in during one of her mental breakdowns.
No one wanted to gamble their lives against a madwoman.
"Is she crazy? How dare she?!"
"Move! Damn it! She’s aiming straight for Chu Wang!"
The performance of the silver SA was excellent; the roar of the engine had barely reached them before the silver-white hood was already right before their eyes.
Chu Zhao had the headlights on full blast. The blinding white light swallowed everything, and the moment darkness vanished, human sight was forcibly seized.
The white light occupied everything.
"Fuck! My eyes are going to be ruined! This maniac is actually going to hit him!"
"Chu Wang! Chu Wang! Are you stupid? Move!"
Chu Zhao wanted to hit him.
Even though this realization was clear, indisputable, and unfolding right before his eyes—
Chu Wang still felt it was absurd.
Chu Zhao, driving a car to hit him?
How could those two things possibly be linked?
How could she ever do anything to hurt him?
Chu Zhao, who cared for him so much, who was so submissive, who was so shameless—she would even gamble her own life for his sake...
How could a Chu Zhao who cared so much about him—
The roaring sound was enough to shatter his eardrums. The blinding white light, all-encompassing like divine retribution, swallowed Chu Wang whole.
In Chu Wang’s trembling, terrified pupils, the last lingering image was Chu Zhao’s eyes, so calm they were indifferent.
Chu Wang collapsed to the ground, a burning, searing pain radiating from his right ankle.
He had been too slow to dodge, and Chu Zhao had been too fast.
The silver SA was like a sated lion, toying with a poor mouse that had wandered into its territory.
Chu Zhao controlled the SA, circling Chu Wang again and again, forcing him to scramble in a panic within the boundaries she had drawn.
She made him flee in a flurry, even crawling on the ground in a state of disarray.
Chu Wang braced his hands on the ground, his mind a blank. The white light made him dizzy, and his heart hammered so violently it felt as if it would leap from his throat.
Chu Zhao was not joking with him.
Once this realization struck, fear spread like weeds, growing wildly until it was beyond control.
One minute, three minutes—it felt like a century.
At a certain moment, Chu Wang clearly heard Chu Zhao’s voice.
"Chu Wang, you are the one who is disgusting."
"You will pay the price."
Every word was cold and calm, like a prophecy.
—————
Before Su Jingmo and the others could detour with their cars to force Chu Zhao to stop—
Chu Zhao had already gathered what she wanted, turned the car around, and drifted toward the foot of the mountain.
They did not follow.
After the silver SA had completely disappeared, only the pale, collapsed Chu Wang remained on the ground.
"Young Master Chu! Chu Wang! Are you alright? Can you stand?"
"How’s your leg? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Young Master Chu? Young Master Chu! This... we should call the Chu family."
"Right, I’ll call them..."
"No!"
Chu Wang, who had looked like he’d lost his soul and wouldn't respond to anyone a moment ago, suddenly spoke up, giving everyone a fright.
Chu Wang reached out and grabbed the wrist of the hand Chen Yao was using to reach for his phone.
His eyes were blood-red, sweat rolled down his forehead in large beads, and his teeth were clenched, his expression near-feral.
"Do not contact the Chu family."
"I am fine."
Chu Wang took a deep, ragged breath, speaking one word at a time, like a fish out of water.
"Today, nothing happened."
Everyone was stunned by his demeanor; for a moment, no one replied.
"Hiss—" Chen Yao’s wrist ached from the sudden, tightening grip of Chu Wang’s hand.
He gasped, struggling to pull his hand back, and agreed, "Got it, got it."
Chu Wang let go and looked at the others.
"Fine, Young Master Chu, whatever you say."
"Come on, let’s help you up, let’s go find a doctor."
Chu Wang’s cronies gathered around him, allowing Chen Yao to pull away.
He shook his throbbing red wrist, sneering internally.
And he called Chu Zhao the one with the mental illness? From where he stood, Chu Wang wasn't exactly normal either.
"The Chu family, tsk." It was probably a nest of lunatics.
——At the foot of Yunlan Mountain——
"He actually managed to steal it out."
Chu Zhao looked at "Huilan" in her hand, her expression somewhat dazed.
This gemstone, 175 carats in the rough, was the largest gem-quality diamond discovered by diamond miners worldwide in the last 300 years.
Only one in ten thousand diamonds is pink.
It was one in a million, incomparable.
Chu Teng had bought it thirty years ago as an anniversary gift for his wife, Wen Lan.
Combining the glorious prestige of the Chu family with the name of the patriarch’s wife, it was named "Huilan."
Chu Zhao lowered her eyes, looking at this rare, priceless gemstone—
Watching it under the light, glowing with a soft, vibrant pink hue, like spring cherry blossoms or fresh peaches.
Chu Zhao flicked the gemstone with her finger; as far as the eye could see, it was indeed radiant and breathtaking.
A grand promise of love should have bloomed into the sweetest flowers and borne the most bountiful fruit.
If not for her—for her mother, this should have been such a smooth path.
Chu Zhao took an unopened silk scarf and wrapped the gemstone bit by bit, leaving no gaps, until not a glimmer of light could be seen.
Her phone rang at that moment. Chu Zhao opened the car door and stepped out to meet the delivery courier who had just arrived.
"Hello, are you Miss Chu?"
Chu Zhao: "Yes, I am. Please help me send this document and this ring box back to G City via express courier..."
"Alright, let me confirm: who is the recipient?"
Chu Zhao paused: "Chu Zhang."
"Understood. I will ship it as soon as possible. Have a pleasant day."
"Thank you." Chu Zhao’s gaze fell on the spacious back seat of the courier’s motorcycle.
She requested, "Would it be possible to give me a ride? Just to the city center, I’ll pay you extra."
"This..." The courier hesitated: "Your car..."
Chu Zhao’s eyes were dark as she retorted, "That is not my car."
"Huh?" The courier blinked, but seeing Chu Zhao’s clearly distressed expression, he decided not to ask any further.
He replied, "Alright, hop on."
"Thank you."
Chu Zhao sat on the back seat and did not look back even once.
——Twenty minutes later, at the foot of Yunlan Mountain——
"Fuck! This crazy woman, she didn't even want the car! Just left it here!"
"Where did she go, then? Can you even get a cab in this dump?"
"Probably walked back, anyway, it’s not the first time."
"When she used to drive for Young Master Chu, nobody ever wanted to give her a ride back either."
"Look on the bright side, I thought she’d gone completely off the deep end, but she’s still pretty obedient—at least she knew to leave the car for Young Master Chu."
"Wait! Where are the car keys?!"
Chu Wang walked over, using his phone light to illuminate the interior of the car.
The keys to the SA supercar were left conspicuously on the driver's seat.
But he couldn't open the door, so he couldn't retrieve them.
Chu Zhao was provoking him.
Chu Wang’s expression darkened further. He gritted his teeth and said: "Get a towing company out here."
"Forget it!" Chu Wang changed his mind: "Wang He, lend me your car. I want to see just how fast she can walk!"
Wang He hesitated: "But your ankle..." Wasn't it sprained?
Chu Wang ground his teeth: "It doesn't matter!"
What else could Wang He do? He could only nod helplessly.
"Fine, fine, I’ll go with you!"