Chapter 99: The Past

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: The Past

"He’s fine. I controlled my strength. He won’t die."

Jiang Fan glanced at Zhong Long, who was lying there like a dead dog. "Still playing dead? Want another kick?"

Just then, Zhong Long scrambled up from the ground, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Jiang Fan.

Even if he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, he knew this young man was not someone he could afford to provoke.

After all, who could send a man of over two hundred pounds flying that far with a single kick?

"Aren’t you going to get lost?"

Jiang Fan snorted, and Zhong Long, terrified, turned and fled.

Seeing his pathetic display of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, the gloom on Sun Yanzi’s face deepened.

"Hey, boss, how much for the damaged chair? I’ll pay for it," Jiang Fan said, turning around.

"Don’t worry about it, young man. You’re a real man!"

Who would have thought the boss would actually give Jiang Fan a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration.

"I can’t stand those useless types who bully the weak, fear the strong, and hit their wives!"

"Pah! What a piece of trash!"

"I was watching you two eat just now. You were both perfectly proper."

"With a scumbag like that, forget about whether anything was going on between you two. Even if there was, I’d still have your back, young man."

Hearing the boss’s righteous words, Jiang Fan fought back a laugh and just scratched his head.

Sun Yanzi couldn’t help but feel her ears flush red.

"Boss, please, just tell me how much I owe you."

Jiang Fan pulled out seven or eight hundred yuan from his wallet.

"Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal. When I say you don’t have to pay, you don’t have to. Now hurry up and go."

"The young lady got a scare just now. Take her somewhere else to sit down and relax."

The two of them left the barbecue restaurant and walked for quite a distance before they couldn’t help but laugh.

"That boss is quite a character."

"I know, right? Otherwise, why would you have slipped those few hundred yuan under the plate when he wasn’t looking? You must have been feeling pretty pleased with yourself when he said all that, huh?"

Sun Yanzi gave him a playful eye-roll and a light glare.

"Not at all. I just didn’t feel right making him take the loss."

"Since you don’t want to go back, why don’t you walk with me for a bit?"

"There’s a park just ahead."

"No problem. It’s pretty close to where I live anyway," Jiang Fan said nonchalantly with a shrug.

The two walked on aimlessly, the cool night breeze on their faces, neither of them speaking.

A gentle breeze blew away a wisp of cloud, revealing the bright moon, which cast down its silvery light.

"I know you must be curious about why I married him."

After a long time, Sun Yanzi stood by the edge of a bridge, staring blankly into the distance as she spoke.

"I know you must have your reasons."

"Doesn’t everyone have things they’re forced to do?"

Jiang Fan leaned back against the railing, watching the scattered cars speeding by.

"His father saved my father’s life by sacrificing his own."

"So, as a matter of course, he became my father’s godson."

"But he couldn’t find a wife, so, as a matter of course, I was forced to marry him."

"He forced me by threatening to take his own life. If I didn’t agree, my dad would die."

"Isn’t that ridiculous?"

Seeing the mockery on her lips, Jiang Fan was at a loss for words.

"Didn’t you try to resist?"

"You’re his biological daughter, after all."

"I resisted twice. The hospital pulled me back from the brink of death both times. Once I slit my wrists. The other time I jumped off a building and broke both my legs."

Sun Yanzi buried her head in her arms.

"He’s the only family I have left."

Jiang Fan let out a deep sigh, utterly helpless.

This was the most complicated and unsolvable kind of situation.

’Unless her father passed away one day.’

After a long silence, Jiang Fan spoke again. "So you’re just going to endure this and torture yourself by staying with him? You have to find a way to solve this."

"As long as he isn’t drinking, he won’t hit me. I just don’t know how he found me here this time. He probably lost money again."

"He gambles, too?"

"His parents left him three houses. He’s already gambled away two of them. The last one is in my name, and he’s always scheming to get his hands on it, but I’ve refused no matter what."

"Alright, don’t look at me like that."

At some point, Sun Yanzi had already wiped the tears from her eyes and forced a bright smile.

"I’m fine. I’ve made it through so many years already. Besides, it feels much better to talk about it."

"And I’ve come to terms with it."

Jiang Fan fell silent. ’Has she really come to terms with it? Or has she just given up all hope?’

"Okay, it’s getting late. Thanks for walking with me for so long. I’m going to head back now. You should get some rest, too."

Sun Yanzi waved at an approaching taxi.

"How about I give you a ride? I drove here."

"It’s not safe for a woman to take a taxi home this late."

"No, it’s okay. You should head back early."

Sun Yanzi waved him off and then slipped into the taxi.

Watching her leave, Jiang Fan felt an unexplainable weight pressing down on his heart.

’To think that someone so bright and cheerful at the company had such a story behind her.’

’Even an honest official can’t settle family disputes. I really can’t get too involved.’

「...」

Standing at the door, Sun Yanzi took a deep breath, pulled out her key, and pushed the door open.

The room was pitch black. Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the living room light suddenly switched on.

"You’re finally back? Had your fun?"

"Bitch! I think you’re looking to die!"

Zhong Long lunged forward, grabbing Sun Yanzi by the hair. He wrapped his hand around her neck and actually lifted her clean off the ground.

Unable to breathe, Sun Yanzi’s face turned crimson, yet she didn’t resist at all. Instead, a smile of release appeared on her face.

"You think dying is that easy? How dare you let your lover beat me up!"

A ferocious look appeared on Zhong Long’s face as he flung her to the ground.

Sun Yanzi gasped for air, coughing uncontrollably.

"I owe Boss Liu 600,000 yuan. You go spend two nights with him, and the debt will be cleared."

"I’d rather die."

Sun Yanzi didn’t even glance at him. Her voice was utterly cold, devoid of any life.

"Die? You think dying is that simple?"

"Don’t forget your good-for-nothing old man is still lying in bed."

"If you dare to die, I dare to carve him up, piece by piece!!!"

Zhong Long crouched down, yanked Sun Yanzi’s hair, his face twisted in a savage grin.

"Isn’t your lover tough? Go get him. Tell him to go have a go with Boss Liu."

"Zhong Long, if you dare lay a single finger on my father, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Sun Yanzi, with a sudden surge of strength from nowhere, began to struggle, grabbing Zhong Long’s arm.

"Hmph, what won’t I dare to do? You can go ahead and try me!"

"Believe it or not, if I carved up that old dog, he’d have to stand up and praise me for it!"

"You’re a fucking whore who’s been passed around by a thousand men! Stop putting on a goddamn act for me!"

"Tomorrow night, you’d better be ready! Right here. You’re not going anywhere!"