Gu Huai had worn a dark expression ever since he left the hospital.
His secretary followed behind him and asked cautiously, "Young Master Gu, the termination agreement has been signed. There shouldn't be any more trouble from the Xu Family."
Gu Huai said nothing.
Xu Zhihan's words from earlier filled his mind.
Were you in a car accident three years ago?
You hit someone and didn't help?
Gu Huai stopped and gave his secretary an icy look. "Not a word about what happened in that hospital room today is to get out."
The secretary immediately lowered his head. "Understood."
Gu Huai got into the car, his fingers tightening around his phone.
What had happened three years ago had long since been taken care of.
He had been drinking that night. Driving past the South City Overpass, he had crashed into a rideshare car. The people inside had been badly injured. One woman had even reached out to bang on his window, begging him to save her.
But the Gu Family had been preparing to partner with the Xu Family then. He couldn't afford any trouble.
The driver had taken the blame.
The surveillance footage had been deleted.
Compensation had been paid.
Apart from a few trusted members of the Gu Family, no one should have known about it.
How could Xu Zhihan know?
The more Gu Huai thought about it, the darker his expression became.
He dialed a number, his voice cold. "Find out who Xu Zhihan has been in contact with lately, especially yesterday and today. And check whether anyone has dug up that incident at the South City Overpass three years ago."
The person on the other end acknowledged his orders.
Gu Huai hung up and leaned back in his seat, irritated.
Xu Zhihan had become far too strange.
The old Xu Zhihan would even soften his voice whenever he saw him. Now, Xu Zhihan looked at him as though he were something filthy.
Gu Huai didn't like that look.
He liked the certainty in Xu Zhihan's voice even less.
He sneered and tossed his phone aside.
Misfortune within three days?
Let's see what a sickly weakling could possibly do to me.
Back at the hospital, Lu Wenchuan sat in the ward, peeling an apple.
He wasn't very good at it. The peel broke several times, and in the end, he cut the apple into pieces and put them on a plate.
Xu Zhihan glanced at it without moving.
Lu Wenchuan pushed the plate toward him. "Want a bite?"
Xu Zhihan said, "No."
"Afraid I'll poison you?"
"Too much trouble."
Lu Wenchuan's hand paused, and he laughed. "Even eating an apple is too much trouble?"
Xu Zhihan leaned against the headboard, still looking terribly pale. "Chewing is too much trouble."
Lu Wenchuan stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly took the apple pieces back and ate one himself.
"With a body like yours, making it this far is quite an achievement."
Xu Zhihan gave him a cold look.
Lu Wenchuan raised his hands. "That was a compliment. Sincerely."
Xu Zhihan didn't want to bother with him.
He had exerted himself too much earlier, and his chest still felt tight. The Sin Line on Gu Huai was substantial, and that dark red line trailed more than one chain of cause and effect behind it.
The hit-and-run was only one of them.
Over the years, the Gu Family had climbed upward on the blood of many people. Gu Huai was no innocent, either.
Xu Zhihan had no interest in dispensing justice on heaven's behalf.
But Gu Huai had come right to him and made a racket in his hospital room for ages.
He had only himself to blame for his bad luck.
After finishing the apple, Lu Wenchuan looked at him again. "Was that Gu Huai just now?"
Xu Zhihan didn't answer.
Lu Wenchuan continued anyway. "The Gu Family's youngest son. Nasty temper, but he has quite a few projects on his hands. He did get into trouble three years ago, but the Gu Family covered it up so quickly that hardly anyone outside the family knew."
Xu Zhihan looked up. "You knew?"
"A little," Lu Wenchuan said casually. "The Special Investigation Bureau doesn't investigate ordinary cases, but there were anomalous traces at the crash site. Our people went there."
Xu Zhihan asked, "And the result?"
Lu Wenchuan's smile faded a little. "The Gu Family said the driver had been driving while fatigued."
"You believed that?"
"I'm not an idiot."
Xu Zhihan glanced at him.
Lu Wenchuan might have seemed frivolous, but he certainly had his head on straight.
Lu Wenchuan continued, "But the evidence had been wiped away too thoroughly, and the Gu Family had connections. The Special Investigation Bureau couldn't overstep its authority, so nothing ever came of it."
Xu Zhihan lowered his eyes. "That woman didn't die."
Lu Wenchuan paused.
Xu Zhihan's voice was quiet. "Someone in that car survived. She lived, but Gu Huai's Sin Line is dragging at her soul. She probably hasn't woken up since."
The smile faded further from Lu Wenchuan's face.
"In a vegetative state?"
"More or less."
Lu Wenchuan tapped his fingers against his knee, looking thoughtful.
Xu Zhihan looked at him. "You want to investigate?"
Lu Wenchuan countered, "Don't you?"
Xu Zhihan closed his eyes. "Too much trouble."
Lu Wenchuan watched him for a while.
Xu Zhihan said it was too much trouble, but when Gu Huai had left the room earlier, he had sent retribution after him.
Lu Wenchuan could tell.
Xu Zhihan had a foul temper and a sharp tongue, and he could barely be bothered to spare most people a second glance. But he wasn't truly indifferent to everything.
That was rather interesting.
Lu Wenchuan smiled. "Fine. If it's too much trouble for you, I'll do it."
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes. "Who asked you to?"
Lu Wenchuan answered with perfect confidence, "I did."
Xu Zhihan looked at him, one word written plainly in his eyes.
Idiot.
Lu Wenchuan understood and smiled even more broadly.
"Don't look at me like that. Saving a life earns you some merit."
Xu Zhihan said flatly, "You're about to lose your own life. What good will merit do you?"
Lu Wenchuan paused, then smiled. "Maybe it'll help."
Xu Zhihan said nothing more.
He could tell Lu Wenchuan didn't care much about his own life.
Or rather, he did care, but he didn't show it.
People like that were far more troublesome than those who cried and begged for help.
Lu Wenchuan stayed a little longer. Seeing Xu Zhihan look increasingly unwell, he finally stood.
"I'm leaving. Get some rest."
Xu Zhihan ignored him.
At the door, Lu Wenchuan suddenly remembered something and turned back. "By the way, that stepbrother of yours was having quite a lively conversation with your stepmother downstairs."
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes.
Still smiling, Lu Wenchuan added, "I couldn't hear them, but judging by their expressions, they weren't planning to kneel down and pay their respects to you."
Xu Zhihan's tone was calm. "Only a matter of time."
Lu Wenchuan raised an eyebrow. "You're that certain?"
Xu Zhihan looked at him. "Misfortune is coming for the Xu Family."
Lu Wenchuan froze for a moment, then laughed.
"Then I'll wait and watch."
After he left, the hospital room fell quiet.
Xu Zhihan leaned against his pillow and slowly closed his eyes.
He really was tired.
This body was too weak. He couldn't use his power for long yet. But Gu Huai had signed the agreement to break off their engagement today. Next, the reputations of both the Xu Family and the Gu Family would begin to crack.
He was in no hurry.
The Sin Line had already stirred.
Within three days at most, Gu Huai would stumble into his own retribution.
That night, Gu Huai returned to the Gu Family residence. He had only just entered the study when his assistant called.
"Young Master Gu, something's happened at the South City project."
Gu Huai frowned. "What happened?"
"They dug up the wreckage of an old car at the construction site. The police are already there. Someone filmed it, too. They're saying the license plate looks like the one on the car that disappeared after the South City Overpass accident three years ago."
Gu Huai shot to his feet.
"What did you say?"
The voice on the other end tightened. "The video is already circulating. We can't contain it. And the family of that woman in a vegetative state has seen the news, too. They're on their way to the police station."
Gu Huai's fingers turned white around his phone.
Xu Zhihan's words suddenly echoed in his mind.
Within three days, misfortune will find you.
Impossible.
Gu Huai's face darkened as he forced himself to stay calm. "Get someone to delete the video and deal with everyone at the scene. And contact my father immediately."
He had barely finished speaking when the study lights flickered.
Gu Huai looked up.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, everything was pitch-black.
A woman's face was faintly reflected in the glass.
Her face was pale, blood staining her temple. She was pressed against the glass, staring at him.
Gu Huai went rigid.
The next second, the lights returned to normal.
There was nothing on the glass.
Cold sweat broke out across Gu Huai's back as he gripped his phone tightly.
His assistant was still calling through the phone. "Young Master Gu? Young Master Gu, are you still listening?"
Gu Huai's throat tightened.
Suddenly, he didn't dare turn around.