At this moment, he slowly poured himself a cup of tea, his warm, jade-like face carrying a knowing, meaningful smile.
“Auntie, you should believe me now, shouldn’t you? Being hit by an outdoor flowerpot in winter—doesn’t that reason sound absurd to you too? That day, my friend really did overhear at the hotpot restaurant that Xiaoyu was being imprisoned by Jiang Hezhou.”
Chu Fanyin’s expression still showed some hesitation. “I don’t think Hezhou seems like that kind of child. How about I find an opportunity later and call Xiaoyu separately to ask her.”
“Auntie, do you think Xiaoyu even has a chance to take a call alone in this situation? Anything you say will definitely be relayed word for word to Jiang Hezhou’s ears. And if he finds out, Xiaoyu might be in even more danger. However…” Chen Zhou paused, then changed his tone. “But from what I can tell, Xiaoyu seems willing enough… Maybe we shouldn’t interfere after all.”
“Being willing doesn’t make it okay!” Chen Mian, who had been listening the whole time, suddenly grew anxious. “What kind of normal person imprisons their partner for no reason? I think my future brother-in-law must have been too shaken by what happened to his family recently—he’s not quite right in the head! Mom, no way. If my sister stays alone with him in this state, she’s definitely in danger. We can’t just sit back and do nothing! Even if we’re not breaking them up, at least we can separate them for a while. Once my brother-in-law’s condition improves, it won’t be too late for my sister to go back to him!”
Chu Fanyin’s expression wavered. “But from what we heard on the phone just now, you heard your sister’s attitude too. If we confront her directly, she definitely won’t listen to us.”
Chen Zhou brought his teacup to his lips, took a casual sip of the hot tea, and then slowly spoke: “Auntie, if you trust me, I do have an idea…”
—
That night, just before bed, Chu Luyu suddenly received another call from Chu Fanyin.
But this time, it wasn’t Chu Fanyin on the line—it was Chen Mian.
“Sis, you need to come to the hospital right away! Mom suddenly got a bad stomach ache in the middle of the night, and I brought her to the ER!”
Chu Luyu was startled. An ER visit at this hour meant things were serious!
She hurriedly got up and changed. Jiang Hezhou insisted on going with her, and she didn’t stop him. The two rushed downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight to the hospital.
For some reason, the hospital they chose was a bit out of the way. As soon as they walked in, the lobby felt cold and empty—nothing like the crowded, noisy ER they’d experienced when Jiang Hezhou came in that other night.
Chu Fanyin was sitting on a chair clutching her stomach, while Chen Mian stood beside her holding a stack of paperwork, looking as though they’d already seen a doctor.
“What did the doctor say?” Chu Luyu hurried over, still catching her breath as she spoke.
Jiang Hezhou, limited by his foot injury, lagged a few steps behind but closed the distance within seconds.
Chu Fanyin looked up at the two of them, clutching her stomach. A flicker of barely noticeable guilt passed through her eyes, but only for a moment. Then, as if steeling herself, she averted her gaze.
Remembering what his brother had said earlier—that his future brother-in-law was a forensic doctor who, like a criminal investigator, had developed a sharp eye for reading people—Chen Mian knew he couldn’t panic or act nervous. He had to make it look convincing.
So he tried to sound as natural as usual as he replied: “The doctor took a look and said it’s most likely food poisoning. They prescribed two IV bags, and after those are done, we can go home.”
Chu Luyu let out a sigh of relief. But Jiang Hezhou, standing beside her, furrowed his brows and asked, “Didn’t they draw blood?”
Mother and son exchanged a glance at those words. After a moment, Chu Fanyin said, “I… I think it’s just a regular case of diarrhea. It shouldn’t be that serious. Drawing blood probably isn’t necessary.”
Jiang Hezhou’s tone remained concerned but firm: “It’d be best to get a blood test to confirm. Doctors make judgments based on experience, and they’re usually right, but drawing blood is the safest way to be sure.”
Chu Luyu nodded quickly as well. “Mom, just get the blood test done.”
Chu Fanyin looked visibly flustered. She turned to Chen Mian, her eyes asking for help.
Chen Mian was quicker on his feet. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Let’s wait until the IV is done first. Mom’s still in pain right now—she’d be even more uncomfortable getting blood drawn at this point.”
“Right, right, right. Let’s wait until the IV is finished.” Chu Fanyin went along with her son’s words. Then she looked over at him again. “Xiaomian, why don’t you go with your sister to the car and get Mom a blanket, and also bring my water bottle from my bag—I’d like some hot water.”
Before Chen Mian could respond, Jiang Hezhou spoke up first: “I’ll go with Xiaoyu.”
“No!” Chu Fanyin reacted strongly. She looked at Jiang Hezhou and said, “Your foot is still injured—how could I put you through that? Honestly, you shouldn’t have even come tonight…”
On this matter, Chu Luyu completely agreed with her mother.
“We left in such a hurry earlier that you didn’t even bring your crutches. Don’t push yourself like this. It’s just grabbing a few things.”
Jiang Hezhou looked at her without saying a word. Chu Luyu knew what he was thinking. She raised her hand and shook the bracelet on her wrist.
“I’ve got this on.”
Jiang Hezhou hadn’t reacted yet, but both Chu Fanyin and Chen Mian’s expressions shifted at the sight.
In the end, it was the siblings who went downstairs, leaving Jiang Hezhou behind to keep Chu Fanyin company.
Chen Mian had parked a bit far away, right by the hospital parking lot exit. As Chu Luyu walked through the cold night wind, she complained, “This is way too far from the ER entrance. Why did you park all the way out here? Mom was in so much pain—you made her walk all this way?”
Chen Mian felt a little guilty and replied, “I… I was just too flustered, okay? My mind wasn’t working fast enough. Come on, just get in the car and grab Mom’s stuff for her—her bag’s in the back.”
He paused, then added, “Mom’s bag is behind the seat back. You’ll have to climb in to reach it.”
Chu Luyu didn’t think much of it. Following his words, she tugged her down jacket tighter and stepped into the car—
…
Back in the hospital, a nurse wheeled over a treatment cart to start Chu Fanyin’s IV.
Two bags of fluid sat casually on the cart, covered in dense, tiny text that was hard to read at a glance.
Jiang Hezhou was standing not too far from Chu Fanyin. He had been keeping an eye on the time—about seven or eight minutes had passed now, and there was still no sign of Chu Luyu returning.
He was about to tell Chu Fanyin that he was going to make a call, but when he looked up, his brow furrowed.
“Just glucose and saline? No other antidiarrheal medication?”
The nurse looked at him strangely and said, “The patient said she didn’t need anything else. She said her symptoms were mild and she didn’t need any antidiarrheal drugs.”
In an instant, Chu Fanyin’s face went rigid. Jiang Hezhou shot a quick glance at her—he understood everything now.
He immediately pulled out his phone and checked Chu Luyu’s location. The familiar red marker on the app had already left the hospital and was heading west. He didn’t say a word, didn’t even spare another glance at Chu Fanyin. With a cold expression, he turned and headed downstairs.
Out on the road, Chen Mian was driving fast. No matter how much Chu Luyu shouted at him, he wouldn’t listen. After a moment, his phone rang. He answered on speaker, and the voice on the other end was Chu Fanyin’s.
“Your brother-in-law… he figured it out. He just went downstairs—he’s probably coming after you.”
Hearing this from the back seat, Chu Luyu’s brow tightened. Her face cold, she demanded, “What exactly is going on here? Was tonight all staged? Did Mom not actually get sick?”
Chu Fanyin could vaguely hear her daughter’s voice through the speaker, and her tone was full of apology: “Baby, Mom lied to you. But I’m really just worried about you. Hezhou’s in such a state right now, and you’re alone with him every day… Mom’s so afraid something might happen to you!”
Something happen? What could possibly happen?
Chu Luyu was utterly confused. Chen Mian, following his mother’s lead, chimed in: “Brother came home and told us everything. Aren’t you being imprisoned by your fiancé right now? He doesn’t give you any freedom at all! What kind of relationship is that?! So we talked it over and decided to get you out first, separate you two for a while, and see how things go once he’s in a better place. Don’t worry about him finding you—Brother has a house in the western suburbs. It’s really secluded. You can stay there for now, and come back when things settle down.”
Chu Luyu’s face had gone completely cold, and her voice was icy.
“So you believed everything he said, and came to trick me?”
“No, Sis, what do you mean… we’re doing this for your own good! You’re being locked up! Your freedom is being restricted! That’s not normal—it’s wrong! Just because you like your fiancé doesn’t mean you should go along with everything he does. And in his state, if you keep giving in to him like this, who knows how far things will escalate!”
Chu Luyu felt like she couldn’t get through to them at all. She could understand their concern, but she couldn’t understand why they trusted Chen Zhou so blindly—believing whatever he said without question.
She was about to tell Chen Mian to pull over when her phone suddenly rang.
It was Jiang Hezhou.
She knew he must be frantic. She quickly answered: “Jiang Hezhou, listen to me—I’m not trying to run away. Mom and Xiaomian have some misunderstandings. I’ll tell him to turn around right now. Don’t panic.”
There was no response from Jiang Hezhou at first, but through the speaker came the furious roar of an engine—it sounded like the accelerator had been floored!
Chu Luyu frowned deeply. Before Jiang Hezhou could say anything, she added, “You’re driving? Your foot isn’t healed yet—how can you—”
Before she could finish, a deafening BANG came through the speaker! Chu Luyu froze for a second, then screamed into the phone: “Jiang Hezhou! Jiang Hezhou! What happened?! Are you okay?!”
After a few seconds, a faint, low voice finally came through: “I’m fine. Tell Chen Mian to stop the car.”
Hearing that, Chu Luyu immediately shouted at Chen Mian to pull over. Chen Mian didn’t know what was going on and got a little scared, but he didn’t insist. He eased off the accelerator, and the car gradually slowed down.
Chu Luyu could hear that the person on the other end still hadn’t stopped. She was frantic. After a moment’s thought, she called out to the system.
Chu Luyu: [Cuihua, can you check on Jiang Hezhou for me? I think he just crashed!]
The system was silent for a few seconds, then said in a surprised tone: [The male lead did crash. The front of his car is wrecked and showing signs of catching fire and exploding!]
Chu Luyu’s blood ran cold with fright, her heart pounding wildly. She screamed into the phone for Jiang Hezhou to stop, but he seemed not to hear her, still flooring the accelerator.
She was so panicked she could barely hold the phone. She knew that no matter what she said now, he wouldn’t listen. Trembling, she pressed the phone to her ear and begged the system: [Cuihua, is there any way to stop Jiang Hezhou’s car from exploding? Can I use my points to exchange for something? Even if it just buys a little time—he should be getting close now. As long as he sees me… sees me, everything will be okay…]
As she said this in her mind, her voice was full of tears. The system was silent for two seconds, then simply replied with a single word: Okay.
A moment later, it spoke again: [I’ve used the last of my remaining energy to delay the car’s self-ignition and explosion by two minutes. He’s very close to you now—once he turns into this intersection, he’ll be able to see your car…]
Chu Luyu was still submerged in panic. At first, hearing the system’s words brought her a wave of relief. But the next second, she realized what it had said.
Chu Luyu: [What do you mean, ‘the last of your remaining energy’? Cuihua?!]
Hearing her question, the system didn’t answer. Instead, it smiled at her and said: [My 337th host, it has been an honor to spend these wonderful hundreds of days with you in this world. My mission was to supervise and protect you, but unfortunately, I seem to have failed at both. You’ll have to solve the remaining problems on your own. I’m deeply sorry that I couldn’t accompany you to true freedom and fulfillment…]
The system’s voice grew fainter and fainter, until only static mixed with fragments of words remained. It seemed to be using its last strength to say goodbye: [Good… bye…]
Chu Luyu stood there completely frozen, as if unable to believe what had just happened. After a few seconds of silence in her mind, she tentatively called out: [Cuihua? Cuihua?]
But this time, there was no voice responding to her. It felt as though a massive boulder had crashed down onto her heart—heavy and agonizing, to the point where she could barely breathe!
She didn’t even care anymore whether Chen Mian was beside her. She spoke out loud, replacing the inner voice with her actual voice: “Cuihua! Cuihua!!”
Chen Mian was startled from the front seat. He turned around to see what was wrong with his sister when, not far from them, the screech of sudden braking cut through the night!
His heart leaped. He looked through the rear window and saw a car front billowing thick black smoke.
“Sis… Sis… take a look—is that brother-in-law’s car?”
The relentless cascade of emergencies had already drained Chu Luyu. She barely turned her head for a glance before pushing open the car door.
Her limbs had gone completely weak, her mind blank, her chest clogged with a massive surge of emotion. The only thing keeping her upright was a single thread of breath.
About six or seven meters away, a car with its front end wrecked sat motionless. The dim yellow streetlights cast a faint glow over part of the darkness, and Chu Luyu watched helplessly as thick smoke billowed wildly into the night sky.
Jiang Hezhou then pushed open the driver’s door and stepped out. Blood was seeping from his temple, and half of his handsome face was stained red.
Chu Luyu instinctively wanted to step forward and meet him.
But at that moment, a cold, mechanical notification sounded in her mind: [System 1670, code name Cuihua, has been permanently deactivated by headquarters for disobeying orders—failing to timely correct the deviation of this world’s plotline, subsequently attempting to assist the host in concealing the matter, and using the Plot Modification Manual to help the host evade punishment. Its program code has been destroyed and will never be reactivated.]
Those words froze Chu Luyu’s steps in place.
So everything over this past period—all of it—was bought by the system for her?
Its sudden unusual behavior, its sudden silences—it had already been counting down its farewell to her in its heart.
It knew the consequences of helping her in secret. It knew what it would face later. But it still did it anyway…
Chu Luyu’s eyes welled up in an instant. The suffocating mass in her chest found a tiny crack to leak through. But before the tears could even fall, the car not far away suddenly erupted with a deafening BOOM!!
In that moment, the darkness was lit up by the explosion’s flames. The car burst into flames in an instant, becoming a massive fireball right where it stood!
Jiang Hezhou was only two or three meters away from the car. He was clearly thrown by the blast wave, his body lurching forward uncontrollably before he crashed to the ground.
Chu Luyu ran toward him like a madwoman. Her body was so weak that after just a few steps, her ankle gave out and she nearly fell herself.
She pulled him into her arms, crying. Jiang Hezhou—whether in pain or not—had half his face buried in blood, the other half completely drained of color.
Sweat beaded on his brow, yet he seemed unaware. His eyes behind his glasses locked onto her, and one bloodied hand weakly clutched at her collar—
“Don’t go.”
His voice was full of pleading. His grip on her tightened, staining a small patch of her clothing red. “Please… don’t go.”
After those final two words, Jiang Hezhou’s head lolled to the side, and he lost consciousness in her arms.
At that moment, the sadness and pain that had been pent up in her chest seemed to break open completely. The car still burned in the distance, and Chu Luyu, surrounded by darkness lit by flames, held the man in her arms tightly.
Why? Why did things suddenly turn out like this?
Ever since she came to this world, she had done everything according to the rules—she had followed the order so carefully! Even when things went wrong, she had prepared herself to face death!
But… but why did it all end up like this again!!
It hurt too much. It hurt so terribly. She could barely breathe. Sitting there, she gasped for air, her chest heaving violently, but it still wasn’t enough…
It hurts, it hurts… it still hurts… it hurts so much!!! IT HURTS SO MUCH!!!!
“AH!!!!!”
In the darkness, the girl’s agonized wail rang out, raw and piercing with endless pain.
The fire raged on in the distance, thick smoke choking the air. The sound of patrol sirens approached from afar. Chen Mian seemed to be shouting her name beside her…
But Chu Luyu didn’t want to care. She didn’t want to care about any of it.
Her consciousness began to fade, the sounds around her growing more distant. Only her arms, wrapped around the lover in her embrace, tightened more and more.
She thought, maybe it would be okay to just fall down with him like this.
If she fell, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much anymore.
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