Chapter 6 Are You Asleep?

"Jinyan!" An Yu was startled to see who had arrived. Before he could react, Lu Jinyan landed a punch that sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Aah! Aah!" An Yu's nose was broken, blood gushing as he writhed on the floor in agony. Clutching his nose, he looked up in disbelief. "Jinyan, why did you hit me?"

First, that wretched Arli had kicked him where it hurt; now, Lu Jinyan had disfigured him with a punch. The grievances boiling inside An Yu were about to overflow.

"So what if I hit you?" Lu Jinyan's aura brimmed with menace, his voice as cold as ice.

For a fleeting moment, An Yu felt as if this man truly wanted to kill him.

But right now, Lu Jinyan was more concerned about Arli. He didn't waste words on An Yu and turned to the little figure with blood running down her forehead. He crouched down, gently wiping the blood from her face, his tone unreadable. "Why didn't you dodge? Did you want to get hit?"

Arli stared at Lu Jinyan in a daze. She thought she'd cried herself dry the previous night, but seeing this man again, a lump rose in her throat, and tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks as she explained in a small, aggrieved voice, "I wasn't just standing there. My head hurts so much, I have no strength left."

Lu Jinyan looked at Arli's pitiful state, and his gaze immediately softened. He coaxed her gently, "There, it's all right. I'll take you to the hospital."

Just as he reached out to pick her up, Arli blocked his hand.

Lu Jinyan looked at her.

"Uncle, did you sleep with Liu Mengwan?"

Lu Jinyan froze, silent.

At that moment, An Yu began to shout, "Jinyan, everyone saw you and Mengwan sleeping together! How could you leave her and come running after that wretch? Have you even considered how Mengwan feels?"

This was stepping right into a minefield.

Lu Jinyan suddenly stood and kicked An Yu hard in the stomach.

"Ah!" An Yu howled in pain, convulsing and rolling on the floor, his eyes wide as saucers. "Jinyan, what are you doing?"

Lu Jinyan looked down at him, his voice icy. "An Yu, I've already informed your brother. The An family will have to give an explanation for this."

An explanation? What explanation? An Yu panicked at these words. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! He thought Lu Jinyan had only been angry with Liu Mengwan, and that once they’d slept together, everything would resolve itself, and that cursed little orphan would be discarded just as planned.

But now, even after things had seemingly been patched up, not only did Jinyan not thank him, he wanted to settle scores?

"Jinyan, I did all this for you and Mengwan!" An Yu scrambled to explain.

"And did I ask you to?"

"Jinyan!" A gentle, frail voice called out.

Arli turned to see Liu Mengwan hurrying over, her clothes disheveled—a sight that seemed damning proof of what had transpired between her and Lu Jinyan the night before.

Although Arli had tried to prepare herself, seeing Liu Mengwan in this state filled her heart with more numbness and helplessness than pain.

It was truly ridiculous.

She was Lu Jinyan’s wife, yet she didn’t even know how she was supposed to react.

"Mengwan, save me, please!" An Yu cried out, seizing on Liu Mengwan as his savior.

Liu Mengwan glanced at Lu Jinyan, noting the darkness clouding his features. The words she meant to say stuck in her throat. Masking her true feelings with a look of pained concern, she turned to An Yu and said, "An Yu, how could you do such a thing? I told you things between me and Jinyan are over. He has Arli now. Why did you do this?"

Indignant, An Yu retorted, "That woman doesn't deserve to be Jinyan's wife! He loves you! She only got in because she took advantage!"

"An Yu, if you call Arli 'that woman' one more time, you'll never speak again," Lu Jinyan's voice was low, but the threat in it was chilling.

An Yu shuddered, his face pale, and dared not utter another word.

Seeing how fiercely Lu Jinyan defended Arli, Liu Mengwan’s eyes flickered. With a gentle, magnanimous tone, she said, "Jinyan, it's all my fault. An Yu is young and foolish; he only did this for my sake. Don't be angry with him. I don’t expect you to take responsibility for me."

With that, she turned to Arli. "Arli, this is all a misunderstanding. I never intended to take Jinyan from you. Let's just pretend last night never happened. You two should go on with your lives together."

Arli saw Liu Mengwan’s kindness and generosity, but wondered if perhaps her own heart was just too dark. Liu Mengwan seemed far too magnanimous—so much so, it felt false.

Suddenly, a stern voice rang out, "Absurd! After such a disgraceful act with Lu Jinyan, if he doesn’t take responsibility, what decent family in Yancheng would still marry you?"

"Father!" Liu Mengwan looked in shock at the newcomer.

One actor after another—this time it was Liu Mengwan’s father, Liu Heping.

Liu Heping strode over, face dark as thunder, and glared at Lu Jinyan. "Lu Jinyan, you slept with my daughter. Now you must marry her!"