An Nuan returned.
She didn't see her brother, but instead saw Shen Xizhou sitting on the sofa. The man was backlit, and she couldn't see his expression, but the terrifying aura emanating from him made her tremble.
An Nuan's appearance made Shen Xizhou turn to look at her, his eyes filled with bloodlust and rage.
She wanted to ask Shen Xizhou where her brother was. Her brother had nowhere else to go but here, yet she hadn't seen him upon her return. Shen Xizhou was here, so he must have locked her brother up.
She was afraid of where Shen Xizhou had taken her brother.
Her brother's health was not good.
Before she could speak, Shen Xizhou stood up, grabbed her by the neck, and said coldly, "An Nuan, who told you to go see Ruo Wei."
"What did you do to Ruo Wei?"
His well-defined fingers tightened their grip, veins bulging on his arms. "Ruo Wei was fine, but after you went to see her, her condition worsened. What exactly did you do?"
"An Nuan, how could your heart be so wicked?"
"Ruo Wei did nothing, why do you keep attacking her?"
"Shen Xizhou, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
An Nuan looked at Shen Xizhou, hoping he would let her go so she could explain. But Shen Xizhou didn't loosen his grip. His hand tightened, seemingly determined to take her life.
Suddenly, she stopped struggling. She felt that the more she struggled, the harder Shen Xizhou would be. If she stopped struggling, perhaps he would let her go.
"I didn't do anything, I haven't done anything."
Shen Xizhou laughed, a cold, mocking laugh. "Ruo Wei told me herself. Do you think I miss you? Or do I believe Ruo Wei?"
An Nuan looked at the man before her, a self-deprecating smile curling her lips.
Yes, no need to ask, no need to even think, she knew who he would believe. Her current explanation was a joke.
"Ruo Wei says something, and you believe it. Then what about me? I say I didn't do it, do you believe my words?"
An Nuan tried desperately to explain, "There are surveillance cameras in the hospital. If you just look at them, you'll understand everything and know I'm not lying."
"Heh..." Shen Xizhou let out a thin, mocking laugh. His gaze fell on An Nuan, clearly indicating his disbelief, even suspicion, towards her words.
Shen Xizhou placed his phone in front of An Nuan, his voice filled with coldness. "Here are the hospital surveillance videos you wanted to see. You say you didn't go to the hospital to see Ruo Wei, so who is that person in the video? Can you explain?"
At this moment, An Nuan's entire attention was focused on the surveillance footage. Seeing herself in the hospital, her face was filled with shock and disbelief.
In the video, it was true, she was there. But she was certain she hadn't gone to see Xu Ruo Wei.
But who was the person in the video? Why was she in the video?
"An Nuan, the evidence you want is right in front of you. What do you have to say?"
Shen Xizhou thrust the phone directly in front of An Nuan's face, seemingly determined to make her see clearly and leave her speechless.
A self-mocking smile touched her lips.
The man's eyes were filled with deep distrust.
"And then what? Even if I'm in the video, whatever happened to Xu Ruo Wei has nothing to do with me. I didn't lay a hand on her."
"The video you're showing me, your so-called evidence, only proves I was at the hospital. It doesn't prove I attacked Xu Ruo Wei. Mr. Shen, don't you think so?"
"If Mr. Shen suspects me and believes I'm the one who did it, then present evidence that directly implicates me, not some ambiguous proof."
"I know Mr. Shen wants to curry favor with Miss Xu and quickly find the person who hurt her. If you suspect me, then just provide the evidence."
"An Nuan, you're ruthless."
Shen Xizhou's bloodthirsty gaze fell upon An Nuan.
"An Nuan, if I say it's you, it's you. For a cunning person like you, evidence is useless. Don't you know yourself how vicious you are?"
"Can Ruo Wei's words not be trusted? Can the surveillance not be trusted? What about Aunt Hui? Can Aunt Hui's words also not be trusted? And what about Ji Wen Yun? Can his words also not be trusted?"
An Nuan looked at the man before her, listening to his words, and just watched silently. She seemed to have fallen into a dead end, unable to escape. No matter what she did or said, it was wrong.
"Shen Xizhou, since you know everything and are already convinced it was me, then why are you asking me? You've already pinned all the blame on me. What else can I say?"
"Did you ever give me a chance to explain? Or did you ever try to believe my explanations?"
An Nuan said calmly, her voice filled with deep disappointment. This wasn't the first time she had said these words. But even knowing the outcome, she still said them.
Even if it was useless, wasn't this what Shen Xizhou wanted to hear?
Afterward, there was still mockery and disbelief.
Shen Xizhou looked at her with bloodshot eyes, filled with rage. He said coldly, "An Nuan, you're truly despicable." With that, he turned and left.
An Nuan, pushed to the ground, watched the direction the man disappeared, her eyes bloodshot and tearful. But in the end, she clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip hard to suppress any sound.
She was afraid. Afraid that Yun Xiu would find out.
She reached out, trying hard to grab a chair to get up. But she hadn't recuperated after her surgery, and coupled with malnutrition, her entire head felt heavy, and every breath was painful.
She could only curl her body up; only then would she feel a little better.
She had no painkillers because she had no money.
An Nuan struggled miserably on the ground, biting her lip to make no sound. She wasn't sure if Yun Xiu was home, but she didn't want him to know. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she finally endured it all in silence.
...
The next day.
An Nuan woke up on the cold floor. She went to An Yun Xiu's room but didn't see him. Her mind instantly went blank, and her whole body trembled. She was terrified. Where was her brother?
Was her brother not here yesterday? Where had he gone?
That's right, Shen Xizhou had been here. Could Shen Xizhou have taken her brother away?
Why did he take her brother away again? Didn't he say he would return her brother to her? He had said that the grudges between him and her would not be forcefully imposed on Yun Xiu.
Suddenly, An Nuan let out a cold laugh, a self-deprecating smile on her lips. Ha, how naive and foolish she was.
Shen Xizhou had promised her, but that was before. Then the subsequent events happened.
Xu Ruo Wei must have done something, and he wanted to kill her. How could he possibly keep his promise now?