"When were you injured?"
"How did you manage to get hurt like this?"
"Ah Chen, come here, let me bandage it for you."
The bloodstains on the white shirt were shocking, and Lin Shiya was flustered and panicked.
Lin Zhiheng swallowed hard and began to back away.
"Hey, Su, I didn't touch you, don't try to pin this on me!"
Su Chen's heart sank lower and lower.
Wasn't it already too late now that Lin Shiya had finally noticed his injured arm?
This belated affection was a constant reminder of how absurd the events of the past two days had been.
Unseasonable concern was nothing more than a form of irony.
Just as even now, Lin Shiya hadn't once asked about the results of his hospital checkup.
If someone didn't hold you in their heart, they would forget many things.
"Ah Chen, come with me, I don't dare touch your arm."
Lin Shiya pleaded, her voice choked with tears.
"No need."
"How can you—"
Before Lin Shiya could finish, an abrupt phone ring cut her off.
Without time to check the screen, Lin Shiya frantically pressed the answer button.
"Sister Yaya, I'm so sorry to bother you so late, but I've run into some trouble here. Can you help me?"
"My mom wants to see you right now, and I can't talk her out of it at all. Sister Yaya, can you say a few words to her?"
"Sister Yaya, if you don't say anything, I bet my mom won't sleep a wink all night."
Xu Lang's voice was sweet and soft, calling her Sister Yaya over and over again.
His voice was overflowing with a sense of dependence.
Before Lin Shiya could recover her wits, a middle-aged woman's voice came through the phone.
"Yaya, are you asleep yet? Xiao Lang said you were away on a business trip, is that true or false? I miss you so much, Mommy's good daughter-in-law, when are you coming back? Mommy will make you something delicious."
Lin Shiya was seized by awkwardness, the arm holding the phone trembling for a long while.
Su Chen's expression remained completely unchanged.
Lin Zhiheng's jaw dropped in shock.
Good daughter-in-law? What is the meaning of that?
Whom is she calling!
Could it really be, just as Su Chen said, that Lin Shiya had already started thinking of herself as the daughter-in-law of the Su Family?
Lin Shiya coughed twice and hurriedly took two quick steps, turning toward the hallway.
"Mom, I really am away on a business trip and will be back in a couple of days. I'm doing great here, and I'll come see you as soon as I get back."
What else was said on the other end of the phone, neither Su Chen nor Lin Zhiheng could hear clearly.
However.
Lin Shiya's word "Mom" pierced Su Chen's nerves all over again.
Without waiting for Lin Shiya to walk back, Su Chen turned and walked straight away.
He could finally leave.
At least this could be considered a clean break.
Behind him, Lin Shiya's voice quickly rang out.
"Ah Chen, don't go, listen to my explanation—"
Explanation my ass!
Even if I, Su Chen, were willing to risk my life for you, I would never stick my neck out to let you make a cuckold of me!
Throwing his suitcase into the car, Su Chen started the engine with the utmost speed and slammed his foot down on the accelerator.
If he stayed here for even a single second longer, he would completely break down!
Years of relationship ending in this manner was truly unimaginable.
Yet Su Chen felt he had already given Lin Shiya all the decency she deserved.
...
In the living room.
Lin Shiya collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming down her face.
"Why won't you listen to my explanation? Why won't you give me a chance to explain?"
"I've already told you, that was fake, it was just comfort! Xiao Lang's mother only did that because of her condition. Why won't you believe me?"
"Xiao Heng, what should I do? Su Chen can't leave, help me."
With a pale face, Lin Shiya tightly grabbed Lin Zhiheng's clothes.
Yet it lasted for only a fleeting moment.
Then, her hands slipped away powerlessly.
Even her breathing grew unsteady.
"Sis, don't panic, get up and we can talk about whatever it is."
Lin Zhiheng helped Lin Shiya to the sofa, hastily poured a glass of water, and sat down beside her.
Lin Shiya's eyes were hollow, with only a single thought in her mind.
Su Chen had left.
He would never forgive her again.
"Sis, is this guy Su surnamed Su not going to come back? He really looked like he was fuming."
Seeing that Lin Shiya didn't pick up on his words, Lin Zhiheng scrutinized her face for a moment longer.
"What on earth is going on with that Xu Lang of yours? Both Su and I heard you calling her 'Mom' in the hallway just now. You didn't actually sleep with Xu Lang or anything, did you?"
Lin Shiya looked up, her eyes filled with anger.
"Lin Zhiheng, what nonsense are you spouting? In your eyes, am I that kind of person?"
"No, but it doesn't matter if I believe you—you have to make Su Chen believe you!"
That single sentence hit the nail on the head.
Lin Shiya was instantly left speechless.
Just moments ago, Lin Zhiheng had personally felt the full force of Su Chen's fury, and after hearing Lin Shiya's phone call, Lin Zhiheng seemed to understand Su Chen a little better.
On the phone, Lin Shiya had called her "Mom" with such affection over and over again.
No matter who was in that position, nobody could possibly stomach it!
From a bystander's perspective, Lin Zhiheng felt that Su Chen hadn't done anything wrong.
Yet Lin Shiya was his own biological sister, and considering things from that angle, Lin Zhiheng couldn't help but lean toward her.
"Sis, is what Su Chen said about the marriage certificate true?"
Since he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes and had only heard rumors, Lin Zhiheng wanted to get to the bottom of it right to Lin Shiya's face.
A trace of hesitation flashed across Lin Shiya's face.
"Xiao Lang's mother isn't entirely mentally stable. Her condition has been fluctuating a lot lately, and she's always mistaken me for her family's daughter-in-law..."
"Stop talking about all that, just tell me the bottom line—did you get a marriage certificate or not?"
Lin Zhiheng's eyes went wide, his voice turning urgent.
Looking at Lin Shiya's current state, a bad premonition arose in Lin Zhiheng's heart.
And that premonition was growing stronger and stronger.
"Even if we got a marriage certificate, it's fake. We... we only did it to comfort Xiao Lang's mother."
Lin Shiya spoke in a very small voice, clearly betraying her guilty conscience.
Lin Zhiheng had a sudden realization.
So everything Su Chen said just now was true!
Lin Shiya had gotten a marriage certificate with Xu Lang, and she had even called Xu Lang's mother "Mom"!
Regardless of the reason, with the facts laid out right in front of them, this was cheating!
The certificate was already obtained, and "Mom" had already been called!
You expect anyone to believe you two haven't slept together?
Who would buy that?
"No, there are plenty of ways to comfort someone with mental illness—did you really have to go that far? Since you knew her mind wasn't right, why didn't you consider getting a fake certificate?"
"Sis, how could your thinking be so naive when it comes to men?"
"I'm even starting to suspect that this whole thing was a trap set by that punk Xu Lang!"
"Just because he looks a bit like Zhou Mubai, does that give you an excuse to lose your mind like this?"
"Our family did wrong by Zhou Mubai, but that matter is already in the past. You can't let him ruin your life right now!"
The more Lin Zhiheng talked, the angrier he became. A ball of fire was burning in his chest, ready to erupt at any moment!
He had met that punk Xu Lang before, and the very first time he saw him, Lin Zhiheng had noticed something.
That punk's brows and eyes looked exactly like Zhou Mubai's.
Mom and Dad couldn't possibly have missed it either.
Nobody had ever brought it up openly simply out of a sense of lingering guilt from back then.
But Xu Lang was Xu Lang; he had nothing whatsoever to do with Zhou Mubai.
If outsiders could see that clearly, why couldn't Lin Shiya?
"Fire Xu Lang. Give him some money and make him get lost as fast as possible!"
Lin Zhiheng stood up, a trace of sternness flashing in his voice.
Lin Shiya's face was full of astonishment.
"No, Xiao Heng, Xu Lang is innocent..."
"Then what about Su Chen? Is Su Chen supposed to be the unlucky sucker who deserves all this?"
...
Halfway through the drive.
Su Chen violently swerved the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes!
The damned dizziness struck him once again.
When he reached for his medicine, Su Chen realized he had left his jacket behind.
He hurriedly dialed Peng Jian's phone number.
Before the other end could even speak, Su Chen used his last remaining sliver of sobriety to describe his location.
"Peng Jian, I'm at... Chaoyang Road... traffic light, there's a gas station on the south side, come pick me up..."
"Alright, old Su, I'm on my way right now. Hey, can you hear me? Old Su!"
Peng Jian's voice was urgent as he sprang straight up from the bed like a carp. By then, the phone had already gone silent.
"Damn it! Something's wrong!"
Grabbing his jacket, Peng Jian bolted out of the bedroom in a single stride.
Most of the blanket was yanked away.
The woman on the bed reached out to cover her chest, her voice plaintive and weeping.
"Brother Jian, you can't leave, I'm still..."
"Your business will have to wait!"
Before the woman could say anything more, Peng Jian had already vanished without a trace.
"Peng Jian, you're running off even at a time like this—what else could possibly make you stay?"
"Damned Peng Jian, you're an absolute bastard!"