“No! No!”
The overwhelming relief of finding hope after despair brought Gu Yanze to tears, as if he’d just escaped from hell. The wild swings between agony and joy were too much—he collapsed, fainting dead away.
Gu Yanze dreamed he was drowning, darkness suffocating him, stealing his breath. He struggled upward, clutching for the surface, and in a haze, he thought he saw Lingyuan’s face.
“Lingyuan!”
He jolted awake, gasping for air, only to realize he was gripping a soft, delicate hand. As his vision cleared, he saw it was Su Wantang, smiling at him. His heart emptied once more.
Letting go, he sat up, but before he could move, Su Wantang hugged him from behind, her voice full of grievance. “Aze, why do you keep avoiding me? Is it because of Lingyuan? You’ve never forgotten how she hurt you…”
“Enough!” Gu Yanze snapped, startling Su Wantang into releasing him. He took the opportunity to step away—he couldn’t stay with her any longer. There was something wrong, something he couldn’t ignore.
He remembered how he’d fainted, and that no one had found Lingyuan. If she was truly missing, someone must have hidden her well.
After a moment’s hesitation, he dialed Grandpa’s number. It rang for a long time before disconnecting. Frustrated, he slammed his fist on the table and sighed.
If Grandpa knew what he’d done to Lingyuan, he’d never let him get close again. If he couldn’t reach her by phone, he’d go in person.
He drove through the night to the neighboring province, rain lashing the windshield, his heart a storm of anxiety and hope. Would he be able to see Lingyuan again? He was both excited and terrified. He knew he’d been cruel, but if he could just see her, maybe he could make things right.
Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the landslide until it was too late—a roar, a crash, and everything went black.
“Patient has lost a lot of blood! Get type A from the blood bank!”
“Vitals are weak—prepare the defibrillator!”
After a desperate rescue, Gu Yanze miraculously survived. When he woke again, his father and Su Wantang were at his bedside.
Su Wantang burst into tears, hugging him. “Aze, you scared me to death! I thought I’d lost you…”
He let her hug him, but felt nothing. It was as if all his longing had vanished, and she was just a stranger.
His father scolded him, “You need to rest and recover. Don’t think about anything else right now!”
After that, Gu Yanze grew silent. No matter how Su Wantang tried to please him, he remained unmoved, making her increasingly anxious.
What was going on? Wasn’t he supposed to be dependent on her? Why did the effect suddenly disappear?
Lingyuan… he never asked about her, but Su Wantang could sense his thoughts were elsewhere.
Gu Yanze finally asked about the baby, going with her to checkups, even holding her arm for show. But as soon as he could, he’d slip away, using the bathroom as an excuse. After each appointment, he was nowhere to be found.
Fear gnawed at Su Wantang. She searched the hospital, only to hear shouts from a crowd—Gu Yanze’s car was pulling away, leaving the hospital behind.
He’d run away! Why? Was it because of Lingyuan?
Su Wantang broke down, screaming Lingyuan’s name, terrifying everyone around her.
Lingyuan! What was so special about her? Why couldn’t even the so-called “dependency” keep Gu Yanze by her side?
Meanwhile, Gu Yanze had already flown back to the Gu estate. But when he arrived, he found the place empty—no sign of Lingyuan or her grandfather. Every room was vacant, as if they’d moved out overnight.
Had they left just to avoid him?
Desperate, he noticed a file on the coffee table, marked in bold: “For Gu Yanze’s Eyes Only.”
His breath caught. Instinct told him the truth was inside.
With trembling hands, he opened the file and read through the documents. The more he read, the colder he felt.
Inside were all the pieces of evidence proving Su Wantang had framed Lingyuan
Chapter 10
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