Lu Shiyan's slaps left Su Ning'an's cheeks swollen and red on both sides.
While everyone else felt sorry for Su Ning'an, I alone thought this was far from enough. A few slaps were nothing.
Given what Su Ning'an had done, even dying a hundred or a thousand times wouldn't be sufficient punishment.
I desperately wished I could have a physical form again, to return those slaps to her personally!
To strip her skin and break her bones, making her truly feel the pain I endured.
My father seized on his earlier words. "Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean the orchid was poisonous? Are you suggesting I would harm my own mother?"
"You certainly wouldn't, but that doesn't stop someone with ulterior motives from using you, Father-in-law. Think back to when Grandmother had the incident. Why was she alone with her at that time?"
Although my parents didn't fully understand, they felt there might be some truth in Lu Shiyan's words.
"Now that you mention it, there do seem to be quite a few coincidences…"
"Mom, Dad, I already explained Grandma's situation a long time ago. Regarding Sister, I showed you the evidence I gathered by kindly asking my friends. How did it all become my fault? Brother, you said the orchid was poisonous, what does that have to do with me? I'm also very sad about Sister's disappearance, but there's nothing I can do to change the current situation. If even my breathing is a mistake, then I'll use my death to atone for Sister!"
After saying this, Su Ning'an, looking utterly heartbroken, ran towards the kitchen. My mother quickly chased after her.
Lu Shiyan had long been fed up with Su Ning'an's tactics. "Mother-in-law, don't worry, she won't die!" he said angrily.
But alas, Lu Shiyan had underestimated Su Ning'an. When a truly ruthless person acts, they show no mercy, even to themselves.
I had already guessed it. With the current situation being highly unfavorable for Su Ning'an, she would definitely resort to this self-harm strategy.
It remained to be seen whether Lu Shiyan would be fooled by her again.
Exclamations came from the kitchen: "Fifth Young Lady, what are you doing? Put the knife down!"
Then followed chaos. By the time my mother arrived, she only saw blood gushing like a spring from Su Ning'an's wrist. A servant had wrestled the knife away.
"This is outrageous!" My father was furious, grumbling as he pressed a towel against her wound. "Quick, to the hospital!"
My mother glared viciously at Lu Shiyan. "Are you satisfied now? You drove Wan Wan away, and now you want to torment An'an to death too?"
Lu Shiyan stared blankly at the pool of bright red blood on the floor, lost in thought.
In the end, he followed them to the hospital, where he happened to run into Huang Yu and his team.
Seeing they had come from the direction of the ICU, Lu Shiyan hurried over to meet them. His attitude towards Huang Yu was no longer as rude as before; instead, it was filled with respect.
"Captain Huang, any new leads?"
Huang Yu shook his head. "Her condition isn't very good right now. It's not convenient to question her for the time being. Mr. Lu, did Huang Ying tell you specifically where she was, what time it was, what the man looked like, or what kind of vehicle it was?"
Lu Shiyan sighed. "I'm sorry, I was… too shocked at the time. I didn't ask for those details."
Huang Yu patted his shoulder. "Mr. Lu, we must rely on science. What you thought you saw was probably a hallucination. Don't worry, we will investigate from multiple angles, including the Lu family, the Su family, the crime scene, etc. Please wait for our call."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Lu Shiyan watched Huang Yu leave. He must have been filled with extreme regret. If he had cooperated with Huang Yu from the start, perhaps things wouldn't have gotten this bad.
But there are no 'ifs' in this world.
I was worried about Huang Ying's condition. After being hit by a car and thrown so far, that young girl was truly pitiful.
I suspected Huang Ying's accident was inextricably linked to Su Ning'an.
If anything happened to her, it would also be my fault.
As if sensing my thoughts, Lu Shiyan also went to the ICU.
Like Huang Yu, he couldn't enter.
However, he did see Auntie Liao weeping quietly in a corner. Her eyes red, Auntie Liao said, "Mr. Lu, the police were just here asking questions. It seems related to Miss Su Wan. Has something happened to Miss Su?"
"...She's missing." After a moment of silence, Lu Shiyan found a suitable response.
Auntie Liao said worriedly, "My daughter mentioned something before about death, a lot of blood… Could she have seen something? Oh heavens, Miss Su Wan is such a good person. She doesn't deserve this outcome."
"There's no evidence yet to prove she is dead. She is just missing," Lu Shiyan emphasized.
"Yes, yes, I shouldn't talk nonsense."
Lu Shiyan looked towards the hospital room. "How is Huang Ying?"
Auntie Liao sighed. "Not well. After you fainted, my daughter's condition worsened. The doctors are keeping her going with medication now… It's up to her own fate now."
I felt a deep pang of sorrow. Huang Ying's seemingly normal reaction when she saw Lu Shiyan earlier strongly resembled a final rally before death. It was as if she clung to a thread of life just to tell him the message about me.
Lu Shiyan comforted Auntie Liao for a few moments before leaving. After he left, he went to the office to speak with the attending physician, insisting that they must save Huang Ying, no matter the medication or methods required.
The daily cost of the ICU was very high, a burden their family couldn't bear for long. Lu Shiyan finally did a good deed by depositing five hundred thousand yuan into Huang Ying's medical account.
He didn't tell Auntie Liao about this, because he was also waiting for Huang Ying to recover and reveal the truth.
After he finished these tasks, Su Ning'an, having received treatment, was moved to a VIP room. The entire Su family had gathered there.
The moment Lu Shiyan stepped through the door, everyone glared at him with anger.
My mother was particularly furious. "What? Seeing that An'an is okay, have you come to finish the job?"
"Mom, don't talk to Brother like that. This matter has nothing to do with him."
"Little Sister, how can you still speak up for him?"
Everyone began hurling insults at Lu Shiyan, one after another.
Watching Su Ning'an being carefully protected by her family, I felt the stark contrast in our fates. Both were daughters of the Su family, yet our lives were completely different.
When I was seriously ill in the hospital, not a single person cared. Even if they came, they would scold me for wasting their time. Unlike now, whenever Su Ning'an had a problem, the whole family inevitably showed up.
I was curious. If one day you all discovered that this protected youngest daughter was the chief culprit who killed me, what expressions would you have on your faces?
Just then, a doctor appeared at the door. "What's all this noise?"
The doctor frowned, his expression cold. "Don't you know a pregnant woman needs proper rest?"
Pregnant? Su Ning'an was pregnant?
This wasn't hard to imagine, given how often Su Ning'an and Lu Shiyan had been intimate these past days.
But why did it have to be her?
I clenched my fists tightly. Closing my eyes, I thought of my own child, who never had a chance to form completely.
Why should my child never see a single day of sunlight, while this murderer gets to carry a child?
A powerful sense of injustice and rage surged within me.
The doctor's words were like dropping a pot of boiling water, stunning the Su family into silence.
My brother, who had been peeling grapes for Su Ning'an, lost his grip in shock, and a grape went flying.
My mother's face stiffened. "Pregnant? There must be a mistake. Who here is pregnant?"
A young nurse came over with the test report. "This is Miss Su's examination report."
My father snatched it over. My brother quickly leaned in to look as well. Moving aside the blood analysis report, at the very bottom was clearly a sonogram image.
The doctor circled the test results with his pen. "She's almost six weeks pregnant. What? You didn't know?"
In an instant, the expressions on the faces of the entire family turned extremely ugly.
My mother forced a smile. "Yes, thank you for reminding us, Doctor. This girl kept her lips sealed and hid it from us."
"A pregnant woman needs proper prenatal care, especially in the first trimester. From now on, she must not act impulsively. Even if you don't want to live, there's another life in your belly."
Su Ning'an touched her lower abdomen, a gentle smile curling her lips. "I understand, Doctor. I won't do anything foolish again."
The family saw the doctor out. The moment the door closed, my father slammed the report onto the table, his voice as he demanded, "Speak! Whose bastard is in your belly?"