Chapter 129: Homecoming
“Ning Ning, come and simply tell me what happened.” Father Jiang sat in front of Jiang Yan’s hospital bed, beckoning to Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning didn’t talk to Jiang Li anymore, but simply explained Jiang Yan’s situation, including that he went up the mountain to rescue Gu Lanli and Su Wanyuan. She didn’t hide any of these, but Jiang Ning wasn’t clear on the other more detailed matters; only Jiang Yan could explain those.
Jiang Li stood stiffly by the door, her rounded nails anxiously digging into her palm again and again. She kept her head down, frozen in place.
Her mobile phone vibrated again, startling Jiang Li so much that her body trembled.
Huo Yu: [Don’t make me come find you in person.]
Jiang Li’s lips lost all color. Thinking of Huo Yu’s methods, she couldn’t stop shaking.
Her unusual behavior quickly caught Jiang Ning’s attention.
Jiang Ning frowned: “Older Sister, what’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Li forced a strained smile: “It’s nothing, just a bit of belly pain. I’m going to the bathroom.”
Jiang Ning nodded, and only then did Jiang Li leave.
Once out of the room, she closed her eyes somewhat helplessly.
The Huo Family in the Capital City was an existence she couldn’t confront, nor could the Jiang Family stand against.
Was coming back really the right decision?
But Jiang Ning had pulled her out of trouble, making her yearn for family ties.
Jiang Li felt she was truly a selfish person.
She slowly headed toward the place Huo Yu had mentioned.
For someone of noble identity, anywhere they went was VIP-level treatment.
But Huo Yu was just standing in the most conspicuous spot outside, leaning against a black Maybach, dressed in a custom suit that made him look extraordinarily noble.
Seeing Jiang Li, Huo Yu gave her a faint smile: “You’re here.”
Jiang Li moved to his side, her voice tight: “Mm.”
He chuckled: “I thought you were going to hide forever, little Li.”
Jiang Li remained silent.
Huo Yu frowned, his stern and sharp brows intense: “Heh, you’ve only been away from the Capital City for half a month, and you can’t even call out to people anymore?”
Jiang Li took a deep breath and slowly looked up: “Brother Huo Yu.”
Huo Yu looked at Jiang Li indifferently. He had picked her up by the riverbank and kept her by his side for eight years.
Perhaps he once had other thoughts about this girl, so he treated her exceptionally well, giving her unique favoritism, but that wasn’t enough to shake his relationship with Bai Chuchu.
He clearly knew that Bai Chuchu was his ultimate destination; all others were just passing clouds.
He and Jiang Li were completely innocent, but Bai Chuchu loved him too much and was prone to jealousy, committing many wrongdoings. These were harmless, and though Huo Yu was annoyed, he forgave her for the sake of their childhood sweetheart bond.
Huo Yu was never short of women around him, but Bai Chuchu particularly disliked Jiang Li.
To the point that, because of an accident, she nearly blinded her own eyes.
And was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure.
The doctor said this illness was a death sentence without treatment.
Only at this moment did Huo Yu see his own heart clearly: Jiang Li was just a little pet he had picked up out of kindness back then.
No one could compare to his Chuchu.
So no matter what, he had to cure Bai Chuchu.
Coincidentally, the hospital found that Jiang Li’s kidney matched Bai Chuchu’s.
And if it weren’t for Jiang Li’s existence, Bai Chuchu wouldn’t have done these foolish things at all. So for Bai Chuchu to recover faster, he needed Jiang Li to donate her cornea and kidney.
Huo Yu took out a cigarette from his pocket, bit it between his lips, cupped the flame, and the nicotine’s aroma dispersed in the air. It was clearly the sweet scent of chocolate, but to Jiang Li, it smelled bitter.
He inhaled, exhaled a smoke ring, his voice cold: “I originally wanted to give you a month, but Chuchu’s condition is bad. Her eyes are getting blurrier; she’s very afraid every night and needs me to coax her to sleep.”
Jiang Li hung her head, her originally bright and beautiful face now pallid like a flower about to wither, lusterless and unappealingly dull.
The man who had cared for her meticulously for eight years could, in the final moment, deliver the cruelest blow.
She had no delusions about Huo Yu. Her liking for him was only from her girlhood days. Once she knew he had a beloved childhood sweetheart, she extinguished that fancy and saw him only as a brother.
But Bai Chuchu just didn’t like her.
She found ways to make things difficult for her.
Splashing boiling water to scald her face, getting people to cut her hair, or making her go into the water in winter to retrieve a necklace she deliberately threw away—because it was a token of commitment from Huo Yu.
Humiliating her in various ways.
The Huo Family people didn’t like her.
When Huo Yu later learned of what Bai Chuchu had done to her, he just told her to endure it, because Bai Chuchu was a pampered Young Lady, inevitably childish and just fooling around.
As compensation, he transferred a property to her.
Letting her live alone outside.
Jiang Li thought she could escape the nightmare, but Huo Yu’s actions were misunderstood by Bai Chuchu as keeping a mistress.
There was never any peace; Bai Chuchu just restrained her malice, shifting from overt to covert.
Later, when she turned eighteen, Huo Yu married Bai Chuchu.
Jiang Li decided to go abroad for further studies, to get away from this land of trouble.
But Huo Yu missed her a lot and personally flew abroad to spend Christmas with her.
That was the first year of Huo Yu and Bai Chuchu’s marriage.
Learning of this, she threw a tantrum at Huo Yu.
Unaware she was pregnant, she was pushed down by Huo Yu and lost their first child.
Later, Huo Yu avoided her, even less willing to see Bai Chuchu.
Bai Chuchu personally went abroad, forcibly brought her back, and slapped her hard three times in front of the entire Huo Family.
In the end, Huo Yu took her away.
He told her not to be angry; Bai Chuchu didn’t mean it—she was just a bit deranged from losing the child and to please understand. Then, as compensation, he sent her abroad to debut and poured resources into her.
Jiang Li didn’t want these compensations; she just wanted to quietly finish her studies abroad, but was scolded for being willful—he was very tired and couldn’t manage two people.
He had always been domineering and autocratic.
Whatever he gave, you had to accept whether you wanted it or not.
She hadn’t even debuted for three years before Bai Chuchu ruined her career.
She had clearly tried hard to minimize her presence, but Bai Chuchu just wouldn’t let her go.
The money Huo Yu gave her, she never touched a cent of it, keeping it all in a bank account.
Because Huo Yu had given her a place to shelter from the storm, she was already very grateful and didn’t dare hope for anything else.
Her lips trembled lightly: “Her eyes weren’t injured by me. I didn’t touch her; she did it herself…”
Huo Yu frowned and interrupted: “Enough. What meaning is there in saying this now? My goal is for Chuchu to recover her health. I don’t care about the rest. Little Li, I told you, I’ll compensate you. Even if you go blind, I’ll arrange everything properly for you. You won’t suffer for the rest of your life.”
Won’t suffer for the rest of her life…
But she was also afraid of the dark, afraid of losing her sight. She had never harmed Bai Chuchu—why did she have to bear these consequences?
Transition the plot a bit~
