Ming Lu came over lightly, carrying the oxygen machine.

Ming Weiting sat cross-legged where he was. He pulled Luo Chi into his arms, gently massaging Luo Chi’s chest, while his free hand softly ruffled Luo Chi’s hair.

His warm palm covered Luo Chi’s chest, gradually soothing the rampaging pain.

Luo Chi still couldn’t articulate his own feelings, but he could feel it, after all. As the pain slightly subsided, he raised his eyes with some surprise and looked at Mr. Shadow.

Ming Weiting nodded to Ming Lu, took the respiratory mask the other handed over, and met Luo Chi’s gaze again.

He found that Luo Chi was recovering very quickly.

In just this short while, Luo Chi was no longer trembling. His pale eyebrows and lashes, which had been furrowed and quivering in pain just moments ago, had now relaxed and unfurled.

Luo Chi looked at him with his eyes open, his expression serious and focused, as if he wanted to speak.

Ming Weiting tightened his arms, “What’s wrong?”

Luo Chi slowly blinked.

Ming Weiting thought he didn’t have the strength to speak and leaned his shoulder lower, wanting to get closer to listen. A cool touch suddenly brushed past the side of his ear.

Luo Chi had gathered his strength for a long time. With a successful strike, his raised hand swayed before falling back to his side. The corners of his pale lips lifted in satisfaction.

“He’s praising you for being amazing, sir.” Ming Lu looked at the stunned Ming Weiting, couldn’t help but smile, and helped explain, “This is how Madam Ren praised the young master.”

The video tapes left at the Seaview Villa, Ren Chenbai had just finished organizing them when they were taken away along with the master tapes, which happened to save a lot of effort.

Ming Weiting had to take care of Luo Chi and hadn’t had much time to carefully review those recordings, so he was not yet familiar with this gesture.

After hearing Ming Lu’s explanation, Ming Weiting asked softly, “Praising me?”

Luo Chi blinked again, this time a clear smile flowed out. He gave a definite nod before closing his eyes.

Ming Weiting stroked Luo Chi’s hair.

He found that every time he saw Luo Chi smile at him like this, he couldn’t help but want to feel relaxed and happy along with him. He thought that Luo Chi was actually the amazing one, who could easily make others happy at any time.

So he also raised his hand, imitated the gesture of stroking Luo Chi’s ear, and said softly, “Amazing Xiao Huo Miao.”

Luo Chi’s body and mind had completely relaxed, engulfed by a tide-like, gentle weariness. His breathing was light and steady as he fell fast asleep against his shoulder.

This time, finally, even the slightest tremor no longer appeared. Luo Chi’s breathing was very stable, and the oxygen machine was not needed for the time being.

Ming Weiting handed the respiratory mask back to Ming Lu, picked up Luo Chi, placed him back on the lounge chair, and covered him with a thin blanket. “Uncle Lu, what is it?”

Ming Lu had someone put away the oxygen machine, moved some distance away, and had the housekeeping staff lay down a rug. “It’s about that family.”

Luo Chi’s hearing had recovered somewhat, so his wording was more cautious: “They’ve run into a bit of trouble.”

…

It wasn’t just a “bit” of trouble.

Patriarch Luo was “invited for tea” for a whole night. It wasn’t until the next morning that the Ming family’s “sir” finally remembered him and temporarily let him go back.

When Luo Chengxiu was sent back to the Luo residence, he still didn’t see Luo Jun, who had gone somewhere unknown. Instead, he unexpectedly ran into Luo Cheng, who had returned from school.

Luo Cheng’s state was very strange, as if she had been badly frightened by something, hiding at home like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. She wouldn’t answer anyone’s questions, simply refusing to leave the house no matter what.

…However, it wasn’t long before even this home would no longer let her hide.

Ming Weiting was checking Luo Chi’s temperature. Hearing this, he raised a hand, gesturing to talk after moving further away.

The early morning sea breeze was fresh and comfortable, but the temperature was, after all, still on the low side. A single thin blanket might not be enough.

Ming Weiting took off his coat and covered Luo Chi with it as well. He paused to think for a moment, then tucked the cuff into Luo Chi’s loosely curled fingers.

Ming Lu watched his actions, somewhat dumbfounded. “Sir.”

Luo Chi was sleeping soundly, his fingers loosely curled and unable to hold anything. It was impossible to place it properly.

Ming Weiting was pondering how to keep the sleeve from slipping. Hearing Ming Lu’s voice, he raised his gaze.

“Over here.” Ming Lu gestured. “You can see him, it’s just a few steps away.”

There were some things, some people, that they would not discuss in front of Luo Chi, and would never let Luo Chi hear.

…But in a place where Luo Chi couldn’t hear, they had to ensure they could still see him and could rush over at any time. The choice of location became somewhat demanding.

Ming Lu began to consider whether he should have someone add a coffee table here—perhaps also a parasol and two chairs.

When Luo Chi’s body recovered a bit more, he could also sit here to paint and enjoy the scenery.

Ming Weiting walked over. He looked up to confirm Luo Chi’s position and took the laptop. “Because of Ren Chenbai?”

Knowing he was asking about the reason for Luo Cheng’s sudden odd behavior, Ming Lu nodded. “That phone call Ren Chenbai made to her before seems to have hit her very hard.”

Luo Cheng cared most about face, about her image in the eyes of others. For this, she even forbade Luo Chi from ever appearing at school.

That phone call forced Luo Cheng to confess in front of her roommates, forcing her to say, sentence by sentence, what she had done. The shocked and uncomprehending gazes of her roommates crushed her at that moment.

Luo Cheng hung up the phone and fled.

Her mind was in chaos. She had no idea what to do, only that she had to flee far away from that dormitory and that school.

After that, she had been hiding at home, locking all the doors and windows, not listening to any news, not seeing anyone.

If nothing else had happened to the Luo family, it would have been fine for her to hide like this.

But Luo Chengxiu was sent back, drenched and disheveled, his spirit withered, almost not fully conscious.

Luo Jun was nowhere to be found. Jian Huaiyi was in the hospital, unable to get up. They couldn’t possibly go to Madam Luo. The butler really didn’t know what to do and had to brave it and knock on Luo Cheng’s door.

Luo Chengxiu forced himself to pull himself together. He had someone help him and barely managed to change his clothes.

His legs were weak, so he had to sit in a wheelchair and was pushed to the door of Luo Cheng’s room.

Luo Chengxiu knocked on the door himself, asking Luo Cheng to come out of her room.

His request to Luo Cheng was not harsh. He just wanted his personal secretary to take Luo Cheng to visit a few friends and ask if they could borrow some funds to turn things around.

The funding gap was too large. It was completely inappropriate for just the personal secretary to go. At least a member of the Luo family had to be present to show sincerity.

Luo Cheng didn’t have to do anything, just go with the personal secretary.

“Xiao Cheng,” Luo Chengxiu said in a low voice. “Help Dad out.”

Perhaps the fear of being submerged in the dark seawater was too strong. Even now, he still felt his chest and lungs were filled with salty, cold seawater. Just opening his mouth would bring on a fit of coughing. “Dad has no other way. Help Dad out.”

No matter how the people outside tried to persuade her, Luo Cheng still refused to make a sound or open the door.

“Without funds, our family will collapse.” Luo Chengxiu’s vocal cords were a bit hoarse. “You’re an adult now, you should also do something…”

Luo Cheng’s voice, trembling, came from inside the room. “I’m an adult now, so Dad, are you going to sell me?”

Luo Chengxiu’s arm froze in front of the door.

He really didn’t understand how Luo Cheng could think that way.

He hadn’t even imagined that Luo Cheng would have such a misunderstanding. “…What?”

“Second Brother told me. I know about this kind of thing,” Luo Cheng said with a tremor. “As long as I go with the personal secretary to borrow money, they’ll make me sign, and then I’ll be the one who borrowed the money.”

Luo Cheng was completely seized by fear, continuing to speak nonstop, “Then the family will have money and survive, and I will become the person subject to enforcement. I will owe people a lot of money…”

Luo Chengxiu leaned against the door, as if he had been pushed into the icy water again.

He almost suspected he hadn’t gotten off that cruise ship yet. Otherwise, why would the world be spinning so violently?

“Who told you that? Luo—no, he wouldn’t teach you this kind of disgusting thing.” Luo Chengxiu asked hoarsely, “Jian Huaiyi?”

“Jian Huaiyi taught you this? What did he teach you this for?”

Luo Chengxiu asked, “He told you we would sell you sooner or later?”

“Last year, the family business wasn’t doing well, and you started picking out marriage partners for me… I know! Now you’re coming to me again!”

Pressed by his questions with nowhere to go, Luo Cheng broke down and cried out, “I don’t like those people at all! I don’t want to marry them, I don’t want to be sold…”

The butler supported Luo Chengxiu, his heart pounding in fear. He wanted to speak up and persuade Luo Cheng to calm down first, but was silenced by Luo Chengxiu’s almost sinister, cold glare.

“Jian Huaiyi told you that because the business was bad, we would marry you off for money, and maybe in the future, we would even make you sign that kind of contract.”

Luo Chengxiu said slowly, “And you believed him.”

Perhaps his tone was too chilling. Luo Cheng was also frightened, sobbing and not daring to talk back anymore.

Luo Chengxiu looked at the tightly closed door. His chest, heart, and lungs all burned with pain. His throat was full of the taste of blood, but his mind became clearer. “Is this why you were in a hurry to run off and become some celebrity, wanting to be self-reliant?”

Luo Chengxiu asked, “So you really think we would do that? You believe him and not us, and even helped him snatch Huaisheng Entertainment from your brother’s hands?”

Luo Cheng only knew how to cry. She cried so much that his mind was in turmoil. He raised something in his hand and slammed it heavily on the door.

The world was briefly quiet. Luo Chengxiu pressed his forehead tightly, as if a drill bit radiating cold air was being nailed into his brain.

…In the past year or two, he had indeed picked out a few families of equal social status for Luo Cheng and had intentionally let Luo Cheng spend time with the younger generation of a few old family friends.

But this was only because Luo Cheng was an adult, had gone to university, and had reached an age where she could freely date.

He had never thought of forcing Luo Cheng into a family marriage. With Luo Jun in the family, if Luo Cheng felt the person was suitable, they could date. If not, then forget it.

Neither Luo Chengxiu nor Luo Jun had a very gentle or patient temper. They wouldn’t just explain these things to Luo Cheng for no reason, and he never felt there was a need to explain this kind of thing—why would Luo Cheng misunderstand them?

How could Luo Cheng misunderstand them over this kind of thing?

Was it just because the person he picked didn’t satisfy Luo Cheng, so Luo Cheng thought of him this way? Even believing such obvious provocations?

…Was this the daughter he had raised with his own hands?

Luo Chengxiu suddenly thought of Luo Zhi. He subconsciously turned to look, not sure what he was looking for himself. Perhaps he was looking for a shadow with its arms crossed, calmly watching this farce.

Luo Zhi had always been targeting Jian Huaiyi.

At least for a very long time… Luo Chengxiu had never doubted this belief.

There were too many reasons for Luo Zhi to not accept Jian Huaiyi, so many that he could grab a handful at will. So, in Luo Chengxiu’s view, there was no need for a detailed understanding or investigation of this targeting from the very beginning.

So Luo Chengxiu had also never carefully listened to a single word Luo Zhi had said to him.

“…Luo Zhi.” Luo Chengxiu supported himself with the doorframe. His hand trembled like a sieve. He gasped for breath. “Luo Zhi, did you guys remind me?”

The butler didn’t dare to say yes or no, lowering his head, as quiet as a cicada in winter. “Patriarch…”

“Speak!” Luo Chengxiu shouted sharply. “Say it right here!”

The butler was so scared he didn’t dare to delay any longer. He had to bite the bullet and repeat everything truthfully.

Luo Zhi had said that Luo Cheng’s personality was similar to her mother’s and that she needed to be guided well, otherwise there would be problems.

Luo Zhi had said that Jian Huaiyi would say some ambiguous things to his mother and Luo Cheng. These words might be dismissed by Luo Chengxiu and Luo Jun, but Luo Cheng would believe them.

Luo Zhi had said… if Luo Cheng had been given to him to teach, she would not have turned out like this.

“Patriarch, he didn’t say anything special to us, just what he always said to you.”

The butler carefully explained, “He has also said these things to you many times. You should also remember. As for anything more, there really isn’t anything…”

Luo Chengxiu said in a hoarse voice, “I don’t remember.”

The butler was stunned for a long while. Knowing he had said the wrong thing again, he shut his mouth and lowered his head, trembling.

Luo Chengxiu listened to these words and, on the contrary, slowly calmed down from that devouring rage. He looked at the door that could not be knocked open.

He didn’t remember Luo Zhi saying these things to him at all.

When Luo Zhi was a child, on a whim, he might have shown a little patience. As Luo Zhi grew up, he became more and more annoying to him.

He disliked this son for being mischievous, disliked this son for being incompetent, disliked Luo Zhi’s perverse and domineering nature, for not knowing the times and not knowing his place… In short, since the prejudice was already formed, there was no need to specifically assign responsibility.

—Was there anything else to discuss?

Sowing discord between the adopted son and the family, making the whole family restless, was that not mischievous and perverse, not loathsome?

Getting into fights everywhere and causing trouble, even having a reputation online for using power to oppress others, was that not domineering?

Over the years, Luo Chengxiu had always been facing the Luo Zhi in his own eyes.

He had never seriously looked at the real Luo Zhi. So he could only ask others, only when the Ming family placed those things in front of him… no, even placing them in front of him was useless.

Only by forcing him to memorize it, to experience it himself, could he see the very faint outline of that son.

“Break the lock,” Luo Chengxiu said. “Get her out.”

Their voices were not low. Luo Cheng heard it from inside the door. Perhaps she knocked something over when she got up in a panic and backed away. It made a muffled thud as it hit the ground.

“Luo Cheng, weigh it yourself. Our family might be about to collapse.”

Luo Chengxiu said, “You can keep hiding in there and crying, cry until this house is repossessed by the bank, and the company is all used to pay off debts.”

Luo Cheng seemed to have never thought of this consequence. Her crying stopped abruptly. The room was dead silent.

Luo Chengxiu let out a low, mocking laugh. He seemed to want to say something, but then remembered this was the daughter he had raised and shook his head. “Forget it.”

He felt he was simply absurd and ridiculous.

At a time like this, he was actually thinking about what Luo Cheng would have been like if he had really given her to Luo Zhi to raise back then.

Luo Zhi was the child raised by Ren Shuangmei… If there had really been that chance, Luo Zhi should have known very well how to teach his younger sister, how to guide Luo Cheng.

Luo Chengxiu leaned back in his wheelchair, extremely exhausted.

When he was dragged off the cruise ship, although he was in pain and fear, he was not this tired.

And this intense exhaustion, when he saw that Luo Cheng actually stopped crying endlessly because of those words, and even opened the door lock with a pale face, trembling, finally completely engulfed him.

Luo Cheng looked at her father in the wheelchair. Only then did she realize how weak Luo Chengxiu was. Her eyes widened in terror. “Dad—”

“Don’t come over,” Luo Chengxiu said. “Go wash your face, change your clothes, and go out with the personal secretary.”

Luo Cheng seemed to finally understand the severity of this crisis. She bit her lower lip tightly, not daring to talk back, her red and swollen eyes lowered deep.

Luo Chengxiu had someone push him away from the corridor.

“President Luo,” the personal secretary asked in a low voice. “How much do we need to borrow…”

“Whatever. Borrow as much as they’re willing to lend,” Luo Chengxiu said. “If no one lends, then forget it.”

The secretary was startled. He hadn’t expected Luo Chengxiu to say such a thing. He composed himself before persuading again, “President Luo, the situation isn’t that bad. It’s just that one hole has a deficit.”

The secretary said in a low voice, “In the worst-case scenario, we can sell off some assets to pay off the debt, then bankrupt and liquidate those few companies, and cut our losses in time to survive…”

“And then?” Luo Chengxiu asked. “Give the mess we saved to the eldest young master, young master Jian, or Luo Cheng?”

The secretary was stuck, opened his mouth, but couldn’t answer.

Luo Chengxiu even had the mood to let out a mocking laugh.

Doing business all these years, he had encountered many hurdles, some even more critical and dangerous than this one. But this time, he suddenly felt discouraged.

It wasn’t just because of that Ming family. As long as that “sir” didn’t think the punishment was over, even if they really struggled through it with major setbacks, there would be another, more severe blow waiting for him.

This of course also made him feel deeply wary and particularly powerless, but it was by no means just because of this.

His eldest son was wandering around half-mad, looking everywhere for his lost younger brother. In his grown daughter’s eyes, her father was less important than the family going bankrupt and their home being repossessed… As for that adopted son, what on earth had he been up to? How many more things were there that he didn’t know?

He could indeed find a way to solve the dilemma before him. He just suddenly didn’t know what the point of this matter was anymore.

Luo Chengxiu stroked the tea pet on the table and was suddenly stunned by a flash of thought in his mind.

…When Luo Zhi handed over Huaisheng Entertainment, was this how he felt?

Because he really couldn’t think of any meaning, so he simply didn’t want it anymore.

And when Luo Zhi fell into the sea?

In that villa, when Luo Zhi stood at the window of that dilapidated little room, looking at the sea, what exactly was he thinking?

At that time, was there anything that still had meaning to him?

Luo Chengxiu broke out in a cold sweat from his own fleeting thought.

For the first time, he couldn’t control the urge to recall what he had said to Luo Zhi that day.

What did he say to Luo Zhi? That day, he sat at the dining table, still feeling that his tone today was good enough to give Luo Zhi plenty of face.

“What are you doing here?”

“What are your plans now, still want to cause a scene here?”

“Then don’t be an eyesore here.”

“Go where you should go. No one is controlling you.”

…

Why was Luo Zhi’s behavior so abnormal that day?

So abnormal that it seemed he had been engulfed by exhaustion, like a completely rusted machine on the verge of being scrapped, slowly repeating his words, slowly answering.

Luo Zhi told him he didn’t want to come here.

That was the Seaview Villa, the only place Luo Zhi had thought of going to in his car back then.

…Had that also completely lost its meaning?

Luo Chengxiu was forcefully pulled back to his senses by the sound of the doorbell.

The butler worriedly led the visitor in, walked to Luo Chengxiu’s side, and reported the purpose of the visit in a low voice.

As Luo Chengxiu listened, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter. “Let them take Madam for treatment, and the Ming family will release that batch of goods?”

The butler squeezed the sweat in his palm. “Yes.”

For them, this was a completely unexpected piece of good news—the visitors were from the Xun family. The Xun family had always been deeply involved in the medical field. Maybe they really had a way to treat Madam’s illness. If they could also get back that batch of goods, then all their problems would be solved.

“Is it because… because they know he values kinship, so the Ming family has softened?”

The butler said in a low voice, “If we agree, Madam might be able to remember…”

These words were heard by Luo Cheng, who had just returned after changing her clothes. She shuddered and blurted out, “No!”

Luo Chengxiu raised his head, his plain, gloomy gaze falling on Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng had never been looked at like this by her father. She suddenly felt a strong fear, as if something she couldn’t grasp was slipping away.

But even so, a more direct, more intense fear still prompted her to speak, “Dad, they will definitely torture Mom. No…”

“Luo Cheng,” Luo Chengxiu began slowly. “You seem to know something.”

Luo Cheng’s face suddenly turned deathly pale.

“I remember, your relationship with your mother doesn’t seem to be this good.”

Luo Chengxiu said, “You’ve always been not very close to her… which isn’t your fault. Your mother doesn’t care much about you either.”

Madam Luo only had eyes for Jian Huaiyi and mostly treated everyone else as air. As for Luo Cheng, she was mostly brought up by her father and brother and rarely spent time alone with her mother.

Luo Chengxiu asked, “Why are you suddenly so protective of your mother?”

“Do you know something?” Luo Chengxiu even smiled. “Tell Uncle Xun.”

Luo Cheng kept her mouth tightly shut, her body trembling uncontrollably.

…She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything.

She also didn’t know what she knew. It was just that Ren Chenbai refused to let her go and kept sending her clips of the documentary… Those ambiguous images had been making her dream these past few days.

She didn’t remember at all what happened in her dreams, only the almost suffocating fear and panic upon waking up was exceptionally clear.

And just now, when she heard the butler’s words, this fear and panic suddenly surged out, drowning her on the spot.

Luo Chengxiu had recovered a bit more than before. He supported himself on the wheelchair and stood up. “Mr. Xun, can you treat my wife at my home first?”

Xun Zhen had come according to Ming Weiting’s instructions. He hadn’t expected this kind of situation either and subconsciously looked back at Ming Lu.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of refusing, Xun Zhen nodded. “It’s not impossible… How is your wife’s condition now?”

“A few days ago, our adopted son was beaten and injured. She was frightened and had a severe episode. Since then, she has been in a daze, not very clear-headed.”

Luo Chengxiu’s tone was very polite, without any intention of resisting or making things difficult. “The person is upstairs.”

Never expecting the Luo family to have this attitude, Xun Zhen almost suspected if the tea the Ming family had invited people to drink had some special effect.

He looked at Luo Chengxiu’s expression and vaguely felt that this person also seemed a bit off. But he also knew his place and knew that it was not for him to ask too much about this kind of thing. He just said “excuse me” and was led upstairs by the butler.

…

Ming Lu and his men remained in the Luo family’s living room.

Seeing this chief steward of the Ming family again, the fear dormant in Luo Chengxiu’s body instantly revived. Although he forced himself not to lose his composure, his face was already exceptionally ugly.

“Patriarch Luo, would you like to have tea again tonight?” Ming Lu’s tone was very polite. “The reception was not good last time. Today we have a different flavor.”

Luo Chengxiu clenched his fists tightly but still couldn’t suppress the instinctive, fearful trembling of his body.

“I am willing to let you take my wife… for treatment.”

Luo Chengxiu forced a smile. “Mr. Ming’s word is his bond. You won’t be holding onto my family’s goods anymore, will you?”

“Patriarch Luo went for tea for the sake of that batch of goods.”

Ming Lu nodded. “We won’t. We didn’t know before that the founder of that multinational corporation also had a good relationship with the young master.”

“Your payment has been overdue for too long, which is also detrimental to that group’s cash flow,” Ming Lu said. “We will compensate that side.”

Luo Chengxiu’s pupils shrank when he heard his title.

…He had actually vaguely guessed that the Ming family would do this.

Now that he had a definite answer, he thought he would feel annoyed, or deeply regretful.

Luo Jun probably told him about the tie clip for this reason—it turned out he had had countless opportunities to not fall to this point. It turned out that just because of Luo Zhi’s tiny connection with that founder, the Ming family could have let this matter go lightly.

He was forced to realize this on the cruise ship, and after returning home, he was constantly forced by reality, forcefully proving this matter to him over and over again.

He finally had to admit that if Luo Zhi were here, everything would not have come to this point.

…See, there were so many opportunities.

He thought he would regret it, would be filled with remorse. Or perhaps he would simply fly into a rage out of humiliation and, without another word, blame everything on Luo Zhi—if Luo Zhi hadn’t had an accident, how could he have provoked the Ming family?

But by a strange twist of fate, the defense that had been shattered by Luo Cheng had, without warning, allowed a violent exhaustion to engulf him.

He was more disheveled than ever before, standing dejectedly in a mess of unknown meaning. He didn’t know what his reaction should be; he didn’t even know what he was thinking.

When he came back to his senses, he found himself unconsciously thinking about Ming Lu’s words.

Ming Lu called Luo Zhi “Young Master.”

The Luo family’s butler didn’t even know what to call Luo Zhi—a long time ago, that child was the Luo family’s young master.

The Luo family’s young master, with a little tail he couldn’t shake off wherever he went, would lie on the doorframe to see if he had finished his work.

He certainly knew that thinking about these things now was so hypocritical it was nauseating.

He just didn’t have a heart, he wasn’t self-deceiving and shameless. He could still distinguish how despicable this kind of behavior was.

He just couldn’t help but have the ridiculous thought, if Luo Zhi hadn’t gotten lost with his sister back then, if none of it had happened—

“Patriarch Luo,” Ming Lu reminded him gently. “Aren’t you going up to have a look?”

Luo Chengxiu shuddered and came to his senses, staring at him.

…A kind of extremely bone-chilling coldness silently wrapped around him.

Colder than the previous fear, it made him dare not even take a slight step. He seemed to see countless dense blades there, sinisterly mocking him.

Did he really have no idea why the Ming family would specially send someone to make Madam Luo regain her senses?

Luo Chengxiu suddenly couldn’t stand anymore. He almost felt he was about to be strangled to death by that continuous coldness, but he still turned around.

Luo Chengxiu turned around, grabbed Luo Cheng’s wrist without another word, and took several steps up the stairs.

Luo Cheng was probably stunned by the devouring sinisterness on him. She was pulled stumbling up the stairs, pulled to a stop outside her mother’s room.

…

Xun Zhen was trying to calm Madam Luo down from her hysterical state.

He wasn’t really here to do psychological counseling. He was just using the fastest and most effective method to make the person sober up, so he didn’t have many more taboos. He spoke directly according to the plan, “Madam Luo, are you feeling better?”

“If you’re better, there’s Luo Zhi’s funeral in a few days. You might need to attend,” Xun Zhen said. “Please accept my condolences—”

Before he could finish, his wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly by Madam Luo.

Madam Luo stared at him. That state was of course completely abnormal, but in the chaos and trance-like confusion, there was also a clear, undisguised excitement. “He’s dead?”

Xun Zhen couldn’t help but frown. He almost felt the damp, cold touch was somewhat nauseating, but he still maintained his basic professional etiquette, only politely moving that hand away.

“Yes, Luo Zhi is no longer here,” Xun Zhen continued in a flat tone. “So what you’ve done, no one will ever know in the future.”

Xun Zhen turned a page. “No one will ever know that it was actually you who lost the two children. No one will ever know that the child was calling you at that time, but because you were sulking, you didn’t answer…”

“Please rest assured,” Xun Zhen said. “No one will know about these things.”

His tone was like that of the most ordinary consultant, first directly analyzing and pointing out the core of the problem, then saying what the patient in a hysterical state most wanted to hear, most hoped would happen.

Relying on these methods, he guided the other party to calm down.

Xun Zhen said, “From now on, no one will ever know about these things, so…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. The door behind him was suddenly pushed open.

Luo Cheng stood at the door.

There was not a single trace of blood on her face. No one knew what she was thinking, and perhaps no one cared at all.

No one cared about her. Luo Chengxiu walked into the room step by step. He stared at Madam Luo, his expression very strange. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but his body suddenly swayed, and he hastily clutched the clothes over his heart.

The butler was startled and hurried over to support him, but was pushed away forcefully by Luo Chengxiu.

Luo Chengxiu broke out in a cold sweat in an instant. He disheveledly pushed everyone away, clutching the clothes on his chest, panting heavily.

Luo Chengxiu stared at his wife, but it was as if he didn’t see her at all.

Before his eyes was the Luo Zhi of that day. Luo Zhi wasn’t looking at him, and seemed to not recognize him anymore.

Luo Zhi probably didn’t recognize him long ago.

On what grounds should Luo Zhi recognize him?

“Luo Zhi is dead.” Luo Chengxiu supported himself on the edge of the table, his voice very low. “Why are you laughing?”