Volume One, Chapter 54: Ultrasound Report

Lu Wenzhou’s voice was icy cold.

The entire car seemed transformed into a frozen cellar. The back door stood open, but even the night breeze, laced with frost, seemed to suck the very air from the compartment.

He didn’t wait for Jiang Wan to reply.

Lu Wenzhou curled his lips into a cold smile. “Do you really think the Gu family can back you up enough to rival me?”

His eyes brimmed with contempt and disdain; his domineering gaze humiliated Jiang Wan in ways words could not, as though he meant to peel away her every pretense, to shatter her hollow core.

“I can bankrupt the Gu Corporation—and make the Jiang family vanish as well.”

He spoke each word with chilling deliberation, not a trace of jest in his demeanor.

Jiang Wan’s pupils widened in shock.

It was the first time she had ever heard him mention the Jiang family, and she hadn’t expected it to be in this way.

“You’re threatening me?”

Jiang Wan gazed at him with a half-smile, her eyes veiling a flicker of uncertainty and probing.

Lu Wenzhou’s jaw tightened.

Without changing expression, he announced in a low, commanding tone, “I’ll say this one last time: don’t think you can defy me, and don’t even consider targeting her again.”

With that, Lu Wenzhou slid smoothly into the back seat.

As the door shut, the car became an airtight chamber.

The air was suffocating.

“Drive,” Lu Wenzhou ordered, his tone brooking no argument. Qi Mo snapped to attention.

Before Jiang Wan could reach for the door handle, the lock clicked down.

The luxurious Rolls-Royce was like a rolling high-class prison, carrying Jiang Wan away, leaving her not an inch of escape.

All three were confined in the narrow space, and none spoke another word.

Jiang Wan turned her face to the window.

Frustration bit at her lips as the glass reflected the hatred in her eyes.

The scenery beyond blurred into a rush of passing lights.

The Rolls-Royce sped forward, leaving the city for the outskirts.

After more than half an hour, they pulled into the driveway of a secluded villa.

Only then did the rear doors unlock.

Lu Wenzhou emerged first, long legs unfolding as he stepped out, resting one hand casually on the doorframe.

“Get out.”

His voice was cold, brooking no dissent.

Though unwilling, Jiang Wan knew his temperament well.

When Lu Wenzhou was in this serious, unyielding mood, no one could stand against him. He would stop at nothing to achieve his aims.

Suppressing her anger, she opened the door on the other side and slammed it shut behind her.

Both wore grim expressions.

It was as if the very sky and earth split in their silent confrontation.

Then—

The villa’s owner, having heard the commotion, opened the door to greet them.

“You’ve arrived, Xiao Lu.”

The speaker was an elderly man, hair half-turned silver, in his sixties or seventies but full of vigor.

“Uncle Zhai,” Lu Wenzhou called him, restraining his earlier chill.

“Ah,” the old man replied, glancing at Jiang Wan and beckoning her inside. “Come in, come in. I just moved everything over yesterday. I didn’t expect it would be needed so soon.”

As she observed him, Jiang Wan finally recalled where she’d seen him before.

The old man’s name was Zhai Honghui, a leading figure in the country’s top medical ranks—featured on television and in the press, head of a professional team and an independent hospital, and originator of a surgical technique that bore his own name.

He was also one of the rare few with dual doctorates in both Chinese and Western medicine.

The team he led was renowned in the capital and throughout the nation, the designated medical consultants for the Lu family.

His presence here was no coincidence—Lu Wenzhou had orchestrated it, luring him to Rong City under the pretense of “cultivating health” to become his private physician.

He ushered the pair inside.

Within, Jiang Wan saw countless boxes large and small, filled with medical equipment, newly moved and not yet assembled.

“Come, sit for a bit, Miss Jiang,” Zhai Honghui invited, handing her a cup of steaming tea scented with dried orange peel and other unknown fruits—a sweet-sour aroma wafted reassuringly.

The old man’s kindness left Jiang Wan little choice but to conceal her emotions and accept the cup.

“Thank you, Dr. Zhai.”

“Just call me Uncle Zhai,” he replied, placing a soft cushion on the tea table between them and gesturing, “Let me check your pulse first. Then we’ll see if other examinations are needed.”

Lu Wenzhou watched intently from the side, as if supervising a prisoner.

Reluctantly, Jiang Wan extended her hand, palm up on the cushion, allowing Zhai Honghui to take her pulse.

Lu Wenzhou’s gaze shifted from her to the doctor.

The spacious villa was utterly silent.

One could hear a pin drop.

Only the different rhythms of their breathing remained.

“No serious problems,” Zhai Honghui finally concluded, adding, “You haven’t been eating properly lately, have you? Irregular meals and some unclean food have upset your stomach.”

As he finished, Jiang Wan shot a sidelong glance at Lu Wenzhou, her tone sharp: “Are you satisfied now?”

She moved to pull her hand away.

“Hold on, I’m not done yet…” Zhai Honghui continued, “Such impatience—no wonder your liver fire runs high.”

Jiang Wan had intended to retort but was momentarily silenced.

Once the examination was over, Zhai Honghui prepared to prescribe some herbal medicine, but she refused outright.

“No need, Uncle Zhai. I can’t take Chinese medicine. I’ll get some Western medicine at the hospital tomorrow,” she replied with a forced smile. “My mother-in-law has already arranged for a hospital check-up.”

“...Mother-in-law?” Zhai Honghui was taken aback, glancing at both Jiang Wan and Lu Wenzhou.

Standing in place, Lu Wenzhou’s face, which had just softened, turned sullen once more.

“Sorry for the trouble—make sure he gives you double your pay,” Jiang Wan said, rising and pulling out her phone to call a car.

As soon as her screen lit up, Lu Wenzhou spoke: “I’ll have Qi Mo drive you.”

“No need,” Jiang Wan replied without looking up, submitting her location and order. “Are you afraid others won’t notice, or do you simply fear Lin Zhi won’t find out? You keep telling me to stay away from her, but isn’t it all really because of you?”

She shot him a look of pure disdain before turning and leaving without a backward glance.

Jiang Wan strode out of the villa, her rejection of him plain for all to see.

She’d rather wait outside than remain in his company.

“Well…” Zhai Honghui watched her departing figure through the window.

“She’s the little girl you once yearned for night and day?”

He turned to Lu Wenzhou, finding the answer in the man’s silence.

“She’s a tough one—hard to win over…”

*

After hailing a ride, Jiang Wan returned to Yujing Bay.

Relieved to know it was only a stomach issue, all her lingering worries faded away.

The next morning, as instructed by Yan Yan, she went to Renxin Medical to receive her scheduled examination.

Urine test, blood draw, ultrasound.

There were none of the tests she dreaded; Jiang Wan was finally at ease.

While waiting outside the examination room, a nurse emerged, phone pressed to her ear.

“Miss Lin, I’ve compiled your test results and will have someone bring them to you right away.”

Before she could finish, she tripped, and the files in her hand scattered to the floor.

Jiang Wan reached out to help, but her hand froze as her gaze fell upon a half-visible ultrasound report…