Volume One, Chapter 81: Unbearable

With every desperate effort Jiang Wan made to climb, the pain in her right foot only intensified. The muddy slope was slick with fallen leaves, and each attempt to ascend ended with her sliding back down. Time slipped by, second by second. Not only did she make no progress, but she was soon covered in mud, her injury worsening.

Such repeated setbacks wore her down. The pain radiated from the very marrow of her bones, draining her of strength to resist any longer. As she struggled, dusk settled, the world growing ever darker.

Until, suddenly, her phone rang somewhere in the forest. The jarring ringtone ricocheted through the silence, magnified by the hush all around. Hearing it, Jiang Wan found her bearings; the phone was close by. Hope flickered anew.

She wiped her face with a trembling hand, forcing herself to focus. The numbness in her eyes gave way to clarity. It wasn’t time to give up. If she could find her phone, she could call for help. Since it was ringing, there had to be signal here.

After a minute, the ringtone died away. Jiang Wan broke a branch from a tree, using it as a makeshift walking stick, stabbing it into the earth to pull herself forward. Meanwhile, her phone rang again and again, relentless.

Minutes passed. At last, Jiang Wan found her phone. The screen flashed an unfamiliar number—one she hadn't saved, but she recognized it. Lu Wenzhou.

The call ended just as she picked it up. The display showed that over the past hour, Lu Wenzhou had called her thirty-nine times. No one else had tried to reach her. Even the call she’d thought was from Ji Jiali at the start had actually been from him.

Her hands stiff, Jiang Wan cradled the phone. At that moment, Lu Wenzhou called again. She answered.

On the other end, the man was silent for several seconds, as if he couldn’t believe she’d picked up at last. Jiang Wan was gasping for breath. Before she could speak, Lu Wenzhou’s voice came through, taut with restraint.

“Where are you?”

His voice trembled, unmistakable even through the cold wind—an anxiety and fear he could not suppress.

“Say something!” he demanded, his tone urgent, voice rising. “Which trail did you take down the mountain? Why haven’t I seen you?”

Jiang Wan’s heart lurched.

What did that mean? Was he on the mountain too, coming down right now? She swallowed hard, her silence driving the man on the other end to the brink of madness.

“Jiang Wan, answer me.” His tone shifted from command to entreaty, gentle and pleading. “Don’t do anything foolish. Tell me where you are.”

“I…” It felt like a stone in her throat as she told Lu Wenzhou how she’d fallen from the mountain. Upon hearing this, Lu Wenzhou, who was himself on the same descent, quickly asked her to describe her surroundings. He soon determined her location.

“Wait for me,” he said before hanging up, the words resolute and heavy, settling deep in Jiang Wan’s heart.

The darkness thickened around her, but this time, she was not swallowed by despair. Even in this gloom, she knew someone was searching for her, coming for her.

“Jiang Wan!”

Lu Wenzhou’s voice echoed from above. Jiang Wan looked up. A beam of light found her—the phone’s flashlight blazing. Behind it, the man’s silhouette loomed, broad and solid.

Before she could see him clearly, Lu Wenzhou slid down to her side.

“Where are you hurt?” he asked urgently, checking her over. His bespoke suit was now as filthy as hers, his usual pristine appearance reduced to a sorry state. Yet, up close, his profile was still chiseled as ever, his deep black eyes full of concern as he examined her injuries.

“The rescue team will be here soon,” he said, removing his coat and wrapping it around Jiang Wan. Seeing him left in only a thin suit jacket, Jiang Wan tried to refuse, but he was quicker.

His coat, warm as a blanket, enveloped her along with his strong arms. Her cold, stiff fingers brushed the soft lining, still holding his body heat. His familiar scent mingled with the air—uniquely his.

Jiang Wan’s nose prickled, her heart twisting with indescribable emotion. For a moment, it was as if she’d gone back two years, when he would drape a blanket over her shoulders and hold her by the fire. It had been winter then too, but they’d been inside, warm, happily watching the snow fall outside together.

Now, darkness pressed in from all sides, the chill seeping through her bones. Jiang Wan bit her lip unconsciously. The two sat in silence, both seemingly caught in the same memory. Their breath formed clouds in the cold air.

The silence was finally broken by Jiang Wan. “You knew all along,” she said—not a question, but a certainty.

Lu Wenzhou seemed unsurprised. He remained silent, his expression unreadable, but his silence was answer enough.

So it was true. Jiang Wan’s heart tightened. She gave a self-mocking smile. “But you all chose to keep it from me, so eager to help her have the child. How noble. I’m the only villain here.”

Lu Wenzhou’s face was dark. After a pause, he spoke in a low, unreadable tone. “This will probably be her last chance to have a child.”

Jiang Wan looked at him, puzzled. In the dim light, Lu Wenzhou did not meet her gaze, but explained. After Ji Jiali became pregnant, Zhai Honghui had examined her carefully. She was already over forty, and after her miscarriage two years ago, it was a miracle she’d conceived again. Another miscarriage would devastate her health; she would almost certainly never have another chance.

After he finished, Jiang Wan gave a cold, bitter smile. So because this was the last chance, they were willing to risk anything—even her own life?

She said nothing, merely sat as the warmth of the coat slowly seeped into her. Silence fell again.

Until Lu Wenzhou spoke. “I kept it from you—not to help them.”

Jiang Wan was about to retort, but his voice slipped into her ear first.

“I just didn’t want to see you like that again.”

As he spoke, a gust of cold wind swept past her ear, bringing her sharply back to two years ago—when she’d learned Ji Jiali was pregnant. She’d lost control, smashing everything in sight. When Lu Wenzhou returned, he found the house in shambles and her, shattered, sitting amid the wreckage.

It was the first time he’d seen her so distraught. He hadn’t said a word about the broken antiques, only worried over her, carefully checking her for injuries.

She didn’t speak; neither did he. He simply stayed by her side, silent and steadfast, until she finally buried herself in his arms, sobbing.

“Lu Wenzhou, I have no mother anymore.”