CHAPTER 348: 333 LU CHI, YOU BEAST

"You won’t die, Yao’er." Tian Sangsang said tearfully. Why did things turn out this way? That car just fled like that. She felt as though she was enshrouded in a monstrous conspiracy, with Ji Yao’er as the sacrificial pawn of this plot.

She hadn’t even seen the driver’s face clearly.

"But I’m not willing. I’m really not willing—I don’t want to die..." Ji Yao’er coughed up a mouthful of blood, her chest convulsing violently several times. Gripping Tian Sangsang’s hand tightly, she gasped, "My baby... Sangsang, tell Zhao Chun I didn’t mean to hurt him. My baby is his. How I wish it were his. I... ugh!"

Her eyes suddenly widened, her voice abruptly cutting off as blood-foam trickled intermittently from her mouth.

"I’ll tell him! Yao’er! Yao’er, don’t scare me!" Tian Sangsang gripped her cold hand tightly, staring fixedly at the increasingly lifeless face before her.

But Ji Yao’er made no further sound, her eyes wide open, veins ruptured, staring into nothingness.

"Yao’er."

"Yao’er..."

"Yao..."

Her sobs were uncontrollable.

Tian Sangsang looked on in disbelief, releasing her hand, too afraid to close her eyes for her. Rising to her feet on unsteady legs, she stumbled aimlessly, her entire body icy cold.

Then, she saw Zhao Chun appear at some unknown point in time, standing rigidly not far away, as if his soul had escaped him. His state wasn’t much better than Tian Sangsang’s.

"Yao’er..." Zhao Chun knelt down beside her, slowly closing her eyes.

**

Guan Kunling stood at the entrance of a quiet, narrow alley.

The winding alley was perfect for concealing sin.

She spoke coldly, "Come out."

From the shadows at the back of the alley, someone stepped forward, emerging from the darkness.

As he approached, she could make out the sharp, clean features of a man’s face.

Guan Kunling said, "Lu Chi."

"You always manage to find me, Kunling. Why are you so fixated on me?" Lu Chi smiled softly, the glint of hope lingering in his eyes as he stared at her face. "Could it be you’ve fallen for me?"

Before the words had fully left his lips, a sharp gust of a palm strike whipped past, landing heavily upon Lu Chi. He stumbled a few steps backward, barely managing to steady himself. But Guan Kunling was intent on punishing him, her blows relentless and merciless, targeting his body while sparing his face.

Lu Chi had no way to counter her unusual, almost supernatural combat technique, his breathing visibly ragged. In the end, she kicked him in the shin, forcing him onto one knee as cold sweat poured down his face.

A heavy black handgun pressed against his forehead.

"Why did you kill her?"

After struggling for a few breaths, he finally spoke, "She was pregnant."

"And what does that have to do with you?"

Lu Chi shifted slightly, utterly unfazed by the gun pressed against his forehead. He raised his eyes to her, "I know. The child is mine. I couldn’t let anyone know—it would ruin my reputation."

"But she claimed the baby was Zhao Chun’s."

"Better to wrongly kill a hundred than let one slip through."

Guan Kunling slowly shook her head, her gaze steady yet icy, looking at him as though he were trash. "Lu Chi, you’re a beast!" That was a defenseless woman—pregnant, so young—and yet he didn’t hesitate to arrange for her to be run over.

Lu Chi panicked, suddenly slapping himself hard across the face—once, and then again.

"Yes, I’m a beast. Kunling, I’ve wronged you. I didn’t want things to turn out this way." Tears reddened his eyes as he spoke, "It only happened once—just once, with her. That night I was drunk. I mistook her for you. I didn’t want her child—I only wanted the child you’d give me."

"Despicable," Guan Kunling immediately delivered a kick to his stomach. Despite her delicate, graceful features, the faint trembling of her hands betrayed the fury within. "All you ever think about is filth." He didn’t want Ji Yao’er’s child—but she had never even considered carrying his. Not giving birth, not even entertaining the thought—it was revolting. The fact that he thought of her in such depraved ways was beyond redemption.

Lu Chi clung passionately to her waist, kneeling upright, "It’s not filth—I’ve only ever thought about you. Unconsciously, uncontrollably, I think about you every single day! Kunling! I’m going mad thinking about you!"

Guan Kunling remained unmoved, her hand on the trigger, her voice cold as ice. "An animal like you doesn’t deserve to live in this world."

Lu Chi’s reddened eyes locked onto her. "Are you going to kill me?"

Her response was an eloquent silence.

"Fine." Lu Chi lowered his head, adopting a posture of resolute surrender. "Kunling, it’d be better if you killed me. Saves me from dying at the hands of strangers and cruel enemies. To die by your gun—I’d willingly accept that. Go ahead! Do it!"

Guan Kunling stared coldly ahead, exerting all her strength but refraining from pulling the trigger.

Lu Chi’s eyes lit up with surprise as he grasped her icy hand, trembling violently, "Kunling, you really can’t bear to kill me, can you?"

Guan Kunling apathetically pulled her handgun away, wiping it clean before glancing down at him, her gaze unfathomable. "Dying like this is far too cheap for you. I’ll let you keep your worthless life a little longer."

"But if you don’t kill me today, I’ll never allow myself to die in the future."

"Whether you want to or not, you won’t have a choice."

"Kunling..." He smiled faintly, "You’re always so confident. You overestimate yourself and underestimate me." Underestimating the desire he had for her. She was so beautiful—so dazzlingly pure and flawless, almost celestial in her perfection. Jiang Jinghuai’s infatuation with a "little chili pepper" like Tian Sangsang seemed laughable. Chili peppers were spicy—why torment oneself? But for him, the allure of conquering someone like Kunling, who possessed elegance akin to Jiang Jiaqi yet radiated an unparalleled cold beauty, was irresistible.

Making her submit? Now that was entertaining.

**

Ji Yao’er is dead. Ji Yao’er is dead. Ji Yao’er is dead...

Tian Sangsang walked numbly.

The ambulance rushed over, sirens shrieking and endlessly grating.

She’d faced death before—it happened in just a moment. She’d faced despair, when Shui Lian pointed a gun at her son, when Jiang Jinghuai leapt off a cliff. She’d witnessed others die, such as Shui Lian’s execution. But none of those moments ever felt so bloody, so powerless, so utterly devoid of hope as this one. She had seen it with her own eyes—watched Ji Yao’er’s life drain away, her blood siphoned dry until she seemed like a corpse, saturated with death.

This wasn’t an accident.

This was violence; this was premeditated.

Why?

Ji Yao’er.

Why did she push her away?

Why, even in death, did she leave her feeling so guilty?

They were supposed to lead lives in completely separate worlds, fated to remain unconnected. Yet at the most crucial moment, their destinies collided fatally.

She was more than just a vibrant life. Inside her was another fragile life.

Sacrificed so cruelly and tragically.

She owed her.

How could she repay?

Tian Sangsang didn’t know how she returned to the army compound, how she climbed the stairs, how she found the key to unlock the door. She didn’t even see who else was in the room. She quietly opened the bathroom door, sat on the floor leaning against the wall, her eyes hollow.

Meanwhile, Meng Shuyan had wandered off somewhere again. Recently, he’d made some friends among other young children at the kindergarten, spending his days bouncing around, discovering secret corners full of childhood joy.