Chapter 22: Had He Come to Settle the Score?

When she woke up again, the scent of disinfectant in the air made her want to retch.

She bolted upright on the hospital bed, eyes darting around in a panic. "Where is Yi? Where is my son? Yi, Fu..."

Before she could finish, the hospital room door was kicked open with a violent thud.

Fu Shiyong stood there, his wrist wrapped in thick layers of medical gauze. His eyes were bloodshot with rage as he hurled an iPad, which was playing surveillance footage, directly at her.

"Yu Zao, no matter how venomous or jealous you are, Yi is your own flesh and blood. How could you use him as a tool for revenge?"

Outside the door, Yu Yue pushed a visibly anxious Fu Yi into the room. She spoke in a soft, persuasive tone, "Shiyong, that’s enough. You and my sister did have a history, after all. She grew up on the streets and lacks proper upbringing; doing things like this is just her instinct. Could you please go a bit easier on her?"

"Instinct? Yu Zao, Yu Yue is your sister, sharing the same father. Why is she kind and righteous, while you are capable of abusing a child?"

Fu Shiyong, a man who was usually unflappable and cold as stone, would always fall apart the moment he faced Yu Zao.

On the iPad screen, in a dimly lit basement, the footage had been carefully edited—the beginning and end clipped away. At first glance, it looked as if she had charged into the villa like a madwoman, dragged an innocent Fu Yi to the basement, and then proceeded to beat the child while dancing about in a frenzy.

In her wheelchair, Yu Yue glanced at Fu Yi. The little boy immediately pointed a finger at Yu Zao and shrieked, "Dad, it was her! That bad woman hit me! She’s jealous that Mom lives a rich life, and since she doesn't dare offend Mom, she came to bully me instead!"

"Sister, three years ago, it was you who abandoned your husband and son because you thought Shiyong was poor," Yu Yue sneered. "Now that he has achieved success and become a billionaire, are you going to be so bitter that you won't even spare Yi?"

Standing on the moral high ground, she painted Yu Zao as a worthless, deranged monster.

Nurses and patients passing by in the hallway caught fragments of the scene. Filled with righteous indignation, they began to curse and throw rotten eggs they had been planning to discard at her.

"What kind of woman is this? Trading her soul for money? How can someone so morally bankrupt have the nerve to blame the world?"

"Disgusting! Abusing a child? Are you even human?"

"Look at the video, everyone! She was dancing while beating the kid! A piece of human trash like this should be thrown away!"

More and more passersby crowded in to "uphold justice."

Yu Yue feigned concern, "Shiyong, my sister is about to be beaten to death. Shouldn't we..."

"She brought this on herself. What does it have to do with me?"

With that, the man turned away, his broad palms protectively shielding his wife and son, his handsome face filled with disgust as he strode out of the room. Beneath the gauze on his wrist, a fresh stain of blood began to seep through.

In the Rolls-Royce, the assistant coaxed little Yi to sleep.

***

Yu Yue changed his dressing with a look of feigned guilt. "Shiyong, I'm so sorry about last night. I didn't realize someone had tampered with the incense, so..."

So, the attempt to drug him and get him into bed had failed. He had relied on sheer willpower to stay conscious, and to fight off the effects of the drug while waiting for the doctor, he had cut his own wrists several times.

After the dressing was changed, the car pulled out of the hospital gates. Dozens of media vehicles were parked along the road, all scrambling to interview the "crazy ex-wife who abused her child."

"Sigh, my sister really never learns," Yu Yue added fuel to the fire. "No wonder Dad kicked her out of the house years ago when he found out she was flirting with his friends for money."

Fu Shiyong’s tall, elegant frame was cast in a dark, heavy shadow by the setting sun. He rubbed his temples, his voice low but filled with authority. "Yu Yue, I want to be alone for a while. Take Yi back to the villa yourself."

"Shiyong!"

"That is all."

Without room for argument, he drove off alone.

Back in the hospital room, after Yang Chen had cleared the crowd, he looked at the woman on the bed. She was covered in filth, patches of her scalp had been ripped out, and her cheeks were swollen and bruised.

"Those patients and their families are just venting their own stress on you. Are you an idiot? Why didn't you fight back?"

In his forty-some years of life, the only person who could leave him speechless was Yu Zao.

She hung her head, wiping the sticky egg residue off her clothes as if speaking to herself. "Fu Shiyong and Yu Yue slept together."

"..."

"When they were doing it, I had an episode. I threw Yi aside and let him bleed in front of me."

"Xiao Yu!"

It was Yang Chen who had rescued her from the Fu villa using a tracking system. He knew the truth—he knew everything was a scheme orchestrated by Yu Yue.

"Yang, why is this happening? It was me who pushed Fu Shiyong away. It was me who abandoned my husband and son."

"But seeing them love another woman—seeing them love Yu Yue—it still hurts. My heart hurts so much!"

Her hands, also covered in scars, clutched at the collar of her shirt with surprising strength for such small hands.

Was she crying? It was laughable; she hadn't been able to shed a single tear for a long time.

***

Was she jealous? Yes, she was incredibly jealous. But as a dying woman who had already abandoned her husband and child, what right did she have to be jealous?

For the next three full days, miraculously, the viral online scandal about the child abuse was doused like a bucket of cold water. No one mentioned it again.

Yu Zao naturally assumed it was Yang Chen's doing. He didn't deny it, only smiled. "I’ve taken a week of leave for you from school. Let’s check out tomorrow and go to Singapore to clear your head?"

"Okay."

Leaving Jingbei for a while wasn't a bad idea.

At the airport the next morning, after clearing security and preparing to pass through immigration, Yu Yue arrived with a group of Fu family bodyguards, surrounding her completely.

"Yu Zao, Shiyong has gone missing!"

"Miss Yu, Xiao Yu divorced Fu Shiyong three years ago. Whether he is missing or not, shouldn't that be the responsibility of you, his fiancée?" Yang Chen stepped forward to shield her.

The intercom announced that boarding was beginning. He grabbed her wrist, ready to leave.

Yu Yue lunged forward to block them, her eyes red as she hissed, "Yu Zao, Fu Shiyong has attempted suicide over a dozen times in the last three years because of severe depression. Who is responsible for that? Who?"

"Yu Yue, you’d better watch yourself. In Jingbei, the Yang family also has..." Yang Chen’s patience had run out.

Yu Zao, however, said nothing and started walking toward the airport exit.

"Xiao Yu, where are you going?"

"Yang, you're right. Even if some things aren't said aloud, Fu Shiyong and I still need a proper conclusion."

Leaving the airport, she got into a taxi and, without hesitation, gave an address.

Behind her, Yu Yue stood in a blind spot where no one could see her. The seemingly worried, tightly pursed lips curled into a smug, triumphant smirk.

A second later, Yu Yue’s phone vibrated.

The caller ID read: [My Dearest Husband]

—[Yu Yue, I want to postpone the wedding date by a few months.]

—[There are some things I must settle properly before we get married.]