Xu Ruowei was exceedingly pleased with herself. She watched An Nuan, who was repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy, and burst into a loud, chilling laugh that sent shivers down anyone's spine.
"An Nuan, you're begging me. Do you think it's useful? Your brother is in Xi Zhou's hands. If you want to beg, you should beg Xi Zhou." She seemed to recall something, a sinister smile spreading across her face. "Oh, right, I forgot. Xi Zhou doesn't want to see you at all. You don't even have a chance to beg Xi Zhou." She laughed triumphantly.
Her gaze fell on An Nuan. Holding a fruit knife, she pointed it at An Nuan's left side and sneered, "Last time, I thought stabbing your heart would surely kill you. I didn't expect your heart to be on the left."
"An Nuan, I have to say, you're really lucky."
"But this time, you probably won't be so lucky. After all, I'll aim much more accurately this time, plunging it deep into your heart. I don't believe your luck will hold out, and you'll survive." Xu Ruowei gritted her teeth as she spoke.
"Aren't you afraid Shen Xi Zhou will find out? Xu Ruowei, you've done so many wicked things. If Shen Xi Zhou knew, wouldn't all your images be destroyed?"
Xu Ruowei strode forward, yanking An Nuan's hair back, and said chillingly, "Do you think you'll have a chance to say anything?"
"At death's door, and you're still trying to drag me down. An Nuan, are you truly foolish or just pretending?"
An Nuan smiled, a wide, booming laugh erupting from her. "Then what do you think I should do? I'm groveling and begging you, pleading for my life. But I know very well you won't let me go. So, why should I beg you so desperately? To satisfy your vanity?"
"If I beg, will you let me go?" An Nuan said coldly.
She was exceptionally calm. But her calmness, in Xu Ruowei's eyes, was an insult. It made everything Xu Ruowei was doing feel like a joke, utterly ludicrous.
Xu Ruowei looked at An Nuan irritably, and the fruit knife fell to the ground in front of An Nuan. At this moment, she stopped. She picked up her phone and glanced at it. When she looked back at An Nuan, her eyes sparkled with brilliance.
"An Nuan, tell me, if Xi Zhou ge saw you stab me, what would he do?" Xu Ruowei said, like a demon.
An Nuan glared at the person before her, her eyes filled with disbelief. How could someone so wicked exist in this world?
"Impossible, I would never..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Ruowei coldly said, "Tell me, what if I broke your brother's leg and made him a cripple for life? Would that be good?"
With a 'whoosh,' all of An Nuan's composure and rage erupted. She glared at Xu Ruowei, her voice filled with fury, "Xu Ruowei, I told you, I've already given you Shen Xi Zhou. Now, only you are by his side, and you're the only one there. Please, let me go, and let my brother go. I no longer pose any threat to you."
"An Nuan, actually, you are the one who should die. You are the one who should pay the price. But heaven has always favored you. Your mother died for you, your brother suffered for you, and you remain unharmed. An Nuan, you are the instigator."
"An Nuan, you loved the wrong man. You yearned for a man who didn't belong to you, that's why this happened. If you had left Shen Xi Zhou earlier, your mother would still be alive, your brother wouldn't have disappeared, and your mother wouldn't have died with regrets."
Xu Ruowei said venomously, "Do you know why your brother disappeared? I arranged it all."
An Nuan could no longer remain calm. She reached out and grabbed Xu Ruowei's throat, wishing she could kill her.
"Xu Ruowei, why? Why do this? You want Shen Xi Zhou, and I've given him to you. My family is innocent. If you want to target someone, target me. If you want to take action, take it against me. My family has nothing to do with this. How could you bring yourself to do it?"
Her gaze fell on the fruit knife. She picked it up and looked at Xu Ruowei, saying, "I will absolutely not allow you to harm my brother."
Xu Ruowei trembled all over. She had never imagined that An Nuan would actually act. For years, she had been tormenting An Nuan, and An Nuan had never resisted.
"An Nuan, what do you think you're doing?" Xu Ruowei kept backing away. "You can't kill me. If you kill me, you'll go to jail too."
An Nuan let out a loud laugh, as if she had heard the most absurd joke. "I'm practically finished anyway. What's there to fear about jail? If I can kill you, then my brother will be safe."
"Using a life that's already condemned to death to take your life, I'm making a profit, aren't I?" An Nuan said with relief.
An Nuan's composure terrified Xu Ruowei. She kept retreating until she hit the wall behind her, with nowhere left to go.
Xu Ruowei trembled all over, but as she lowered her head, a triumphant smile curved her lips.
Just as An Nuan was about to stab Xu Ruowei, the knife was kicked away from her hand, and she was then grabbed by the throat by a man and pressed against the wall. The man said coldly, "An Nuan, who gave you the guts to treat Ruowei like this?"
"Xi Zhou," Xu Ruowei cried out, her voice breaking with fear.
She was genuinely terrified. Shen Xi Zhou hadn't appeared when An Nuan lunged with the knife. She feared that by the time the fruit knife landed on her, Shen Xi Zhou would still not have arrived.
Then An Nuan would truly kill her.
Shen Xi Zhou looked at An Nuan, merely holding her, but not striking.
Xu Ruowei, standing to the side, couldn't bear it. Was he hesitating? This wouldn't do.
Xu Ruowei wailed, "Xi Zhou ge, I... I don't know why An Nuan hates me so much. I just came to see her. I wanted to resolve our misunderstanding. That way, An Nuan and you would reconcile. I never expected she would try to kill me."
"She said I stole you away. She said if it weren't for me, you would still love her. She also said it was because I appeared that she became like this. She said I was the cause of it all. She said I don't deserve to live in this world."
"Xi Zhou ge, perhaps she's right. Perhaps I truly don't deserve to live. It was all because I appeared that you and An Nuan ended up like this."
As Xu Ruowei spoke, she abruptly stood up and threw herself against the wall.
Shen Xi Zhou immediately shoved An Nuan away and tightly embraced Xu Ruowei, saying tenderly, "Ruowei, don't believe the words of that wicked woman."
"I know what kind of person you are better than anyone else. And I'm very clear about how wicked An Nuan is."
"She wanted your life, didn't she? She wanted to disfigure your face, didn't she?" Shen Xi Zhou said icily. "Then these things should befall her."
"Someone who constantly poses a danger to you is absolutely not allowed to be near you."
After Shen Xi Zhou had comforted Xu Ruowei, he exuded a terrifying aura and slowly approached An Nuan.