Chapter 71: No Regrets

He finished speaking, then suddenly seized the chopsticks in pain, as if his bones were about to snap.

Having watched him grow up, Xu Yaochuan felt a pang of sympathy at this sight.

“Give him a painkiller injection.”

The doctor opened his kit, put on gloves, and slowly pressed a syringe into his shoulder.

“Xu Yaochuan, don’t leave yet. She seems to have something to say!”

Zhong Huayan’s voice was loud.

She nonchalantly took a cigarette from the sofa, smoking as she spoke.

She had somewhat figured out Xuchuyin’s place in Xu Yaochuan’s heart, so at the very least, she could stay safe until Fu Yanyan came to rescue her.

He glanced at her, so carefree, then crouched down and took the phone away from the blood-stained woman’s mouth.

The woman’s throat was parched, her breath barely a wisp.

“I... I’ll give you the password, just let me go abroad.”

“No problem.”

Xu Yaochuan, surprisingly strong, hoisted the woman with one hand. He then fetched several computers from a room, and a few tech staff stepped forward, apparently installing some special signal devices.

“Alright, you’ve got a few minutes. If you lie to me, I’ll throw you out to feed the sharks.”

From the conversation, Zhong Huayan had roughly figured out their current location: still within the country, near the sea, with no cell signal.

After she finished her cigarette, she turned on the TV.

“Xuchuyin, get me an ice cream from the fridge.”

Xuchuyin, sitting at the dining table, was fair and slender, dressed in cashmere, his neck wrapped up. Yet he personally fetched her an ice cream and tossed it over.

“Tsk, you sure know how to order people around.” Xu Yaochuan propped one foot on a stool, exuding a rakish charm as he teased.

“Fine, next time I’ll order you around. You’re not really a person anyway.”

He had pressing matters to attend to and didn’t bother arguing with a woman.

Nearby, a technician in white gloves pointed to the left side of the computer screen—the password seemed to have been unlocked.

Zhong Huayan rubbed her head. Ever since she’d woken up, she’d had lingering pain at the back of her skull. She’d been struck by a dog yesterday, and now the ache was only getting worse.

Night fell.

The surroundings grew unprecedentedly quiet.

She had napped the afternoon away in her room.

Now, her headache worsened, as if afflicted by neurasthenia; she woke up exhausted and aching.

Why was this body growing weaker? It wasn’t just a delicate constitution—it was an inexplicable limpness.

She opened the door softly, unsteady, tiptoed out without a sound, and made her way to the lit dining table.

Suddenly, the lights went out!

“Aaaah!”

The blackout scared her into a frenzy. More than anything, she feared sudden darkness.

As a child, her parents had sent her abroad for seven days. In a pitch-black room, without a trace of light, she’d endured the darkest week of her life.

As she grew, every time she misbehaved, she’d be locked in a dark room after a beating.

Even as an adult, on the day of the fire, the lights had gone out abruptly—then the inferno had erupted.

“Aaah!” She screamed reflexively, then stood frozen, eyes squeezed shut, tense from head to toe, her hearing painfully acute.

Only when she sensed the lights flickering back on did she open her eyes.

Standing in the corridor, Xu Yaochuan was grinning wickedly. He’d just showered, droplets still in his hair. Unlike his usual slicked-back style, the relaxed look made him seem more roguish, his tattoos exposed.

“What are you sneaking around the living room for?”

“Are you insane? Why did you turn off the lights?”

Zhong Huayan exhaled in relief, clutching her stomach as she opened the fridge.

“I haven’t had dinner yet—I overslept.”

Xu Yaochuan had suspected she was plotting an escape. Instead, he found her in a white nightgown, delicate ankles bare on the empty living room floor. The usual sharpness in her vanished, her unadorned features gentler, more comforting. Sometimes, these casual moments made her seem even more at peace. His anger dissipated.

“You’re afraid of the dark?”

Xuchuyin emerged from the back. He hadn’t eaten either, and habitually called the housekeeper to cook.

“Bro, who’s afraid of the dark? I was sleeping just fine! Suddenly I heard screams in my dream and woke up terrified.”

He ran a hand through his hair, walked to the fridge, and put his favorite dishes in the kitchen.

Then he lit a cigarette, settled on the sofa, and turned on the TV.

“Who else could it be? There’s only the few of us here.”

“You’re afraid of the dark? I never knew that,” Xuchuyin said, eating fruit. Then he joked, “Didn’t seem like it before.”

Humiliated and annoyed, Zhong Huayan glared at them, grabbed a bottle of imported milk, and staggered back to her room, shutting the door.

“When the food’s ready, call me.”

And she locked the door behind her.

Xu Yaochuan leaned in the corridor, exasperated by this woman. As a hostage, she not only lived in his house but ordered around his servants and brother, ignored him as she pleased, insisted on locking her door, refused to be touched, made endless demands, threatened death one day and survival the next, meddled in his dealings with traitors, and sometimes even mocked him.

Xuchuyin, seeing his brother’s darkened face, hurried to smooth things over. “Bro, no need to argue with a woman. As long as she doesn’t run, she’s extra insurance. Besides, at school, she spared me once. We’ve done enough bad things—think of it as earning some good karma for the family.”

“I brought her here to make her useful—to stall Fu Yanyan, buy us time to get abroad. What, she didn’t stall Fu Yanyan but managed to stall you instead?”

At that, Xu Yaochuan flicked his cigarette into the ashtray, barely restraining himself from smacking his brother.

Fuming, he went to his room to deal with documents.

About half an hour later—

“Li Yanyan, Auntie’s finished cooking. Come out and eat.”

“Brother, are you having a midnight snack?”

At the same time, they all opened their doors and came out, exchanging glances.

Zhong Huayan tossed her empty milk bottle into the trash, then gazed contentedly at the table laden with food.

It was a rare scene.

A few enemies, sitting together in the dead of night, sharing a meal—a surprisingly warm picture. No resentment, just eating quietly.

“You two brothers really aren’t human,” she remarked after eating, quite inopportunely.

Xu Yaochuan immediately bristled. “What? We’re not human? If we weren’t, you’d have been dead by now—instead, you’re here living well, eating and mocking us with your nonsense.”

“It’s not the same. You really aren’t human. How many people have you hurt? Don’t blame me for telling the truth—you’re beasts. People like you, sooner or later, will face retribution. Take my advice: the world always evens the score. You’ll regret it someday.”

“Is that possible? I, Xu Yaochuan, will never regret anything in this life. If I die, I die without regrets. For nearly thirty years I’ve lived freely—it’s worth it! Regret is for those with feelings—I have none.”