The still of the night was broken by erratic gusts of wind and a faint drizzle.
When Long Chengyu's car pulled into the Lan Residence, Deng Xiwen was already waiting in the hall.
Upon seeing Long Chengyu carrying a woman inside, Deng Xiwen's eyes widened, and she hurriedly followed them upstairs.
"Brother, who is she? How come..."
Deng Xiwen looked on as Shu Yimo was settled on the bed by Long Chengyu, her curiosity was naturally unbearable—
How could it not be?
Long Chengyu was already thirty-one this year, having spent so many years in the military where women were scarcely seen, not to mention getting married. What worried them even more was that Long Chengyu seemed to have no interest in women at all; he only got along well with a few of his buddies, and the family was concerned that there might be something wrong with his orientation.
Of course, they dared not pry.
Long Chengyu gave Deng Xiwen a cold glance. Deng Xiwen then held her tongue and cleared her throat a few times, hastening to examine Shu Yimo.
After being busy for a while, she finally completed the examination of Shu Yimo and put her on an IV drip.
When Deng Xiwen stepped out of the room, she also saw Long Chengyu standing by the window in the hallway, looking out at the storm.
"Brother!"
Deng Xiwen walked over, her face somber.
"Her body is covered with bruises, both old and new, likely from being beaten over a long period. The most recent injury must have been in the past two days. The wounds are dreadful to behold, with a fractured rib on the left side of her chest and a slight concussion. She's a bit frail, has caught a cold, and is now running a fever. If this continues, it won't be long before she's crippled. This kind of weather alone is enough to make her suffer..."
Deng Xiwen spoke with a heavy heart.
The physical examination of Shu Yimo had shocked her!
That battered and scarred body didn't seem like it belonged to a woman at all!
A shadow passed over Long Chengyu's eyes, and after a moment, he turned and walked away down the corridor.
"Go back after you've given the instructions."
His tall, upright figure passed under the dim wall light, and his calm voice carried over.
"Brother! I'll stay and take care of her, who is she, Brother? Brother!"
Deng Xiwen looked helplessly at the retreating figure of Long Chengyu, almost forgetting just how indifferent and aloof her cousin could be. It was so late, with the raging storm and biting cold winds, yet he didn't think to let her stay the night!
...
"Young Master, did you call for me?"
Adong knocked lightly on the door and entered, respectfully addressing the tall figure before him.
In the elegant and grand study, Long Chengyu stood with his hands behind his back in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"You're here."
The deep voice of Long Chengyu resounded, "Go and find out what has happened to her over the past two years."
"Young Master, this..."
Adong was somewhat surprised; the Young Master had never shown interest in anyone's affairs before, but now he was asking him to investigate a woman.
Adong didn't actually know what had transpired between Long Chengyu and Shu Yimo. All he knew was that the Young Master was very distant towards his fiancée—no, he should say towards any woman. Even though he was aware that Miss Shu had an engagement with him, he had never shown her any special concern, with all his energy devoted to the military.
Being so detached, Adong didn't know whether to call Miss Shu fortunate or unfortunate. However, it seemed that the Young Master might have started to take some interest?
"Just do it. I want the results by tomorrow."
Long Chengyu left with that indifferent remark, turning to exit the study.
"Yes, Young Master!"
Adong then responded and followed him out...
...
As Adong was walking down the stairs, he happened to run into Deng Xiwen, who was tidying up and preparing to leave.
"Miss Xiwen!"
"Adong?"
Seeing Adong, Deng Xiwen was naturally also surprised.
"How is Miss Shu? Is she all right?"
"She's a bit better, the fever is receding, the situation is stable, so your young master told me to get lost. Oh, you called her Miss Shu, what's that about?"
Deng Xiwen was still overwhelmingly curious.
"It's Miss Shu Yimo, the young master's fiancée. Just now, she accidentally collided with the young master's car. Her condition didn't seem very good, so the young master brought her back here."
"Shu Yimo! My cousin's fiancée? How is that possible! When did he suddenly have a fiancée!"
Deng Xiwen exclaimed in shock—
In the Long Family, actually, not many people were aware of this news, because the elder, Long Ao, had not made it public, and Long Chengyu had only learned of the existence of a fiancée two years ago...
...
It must be said that Adong was very efficient in his work; by the next morning, he had already organized the collected information and delivered it to Long Chengyu.
In the study, after seeing Long Chengyu hang up the phone and take the documents he extended, Adong began to explain—
"Young master, this is all the information on Miss Shu. Two years ago, at Bai Xiexie's birthday banquet, Miss Shu was convicted of intentionally inflicting injuries for pushing Bai Xiexie down the stairs, causing her to fracture her right hand and suffer a concussion. She was sentenced to two years and was just released early yesterday..."
Long Chengyu combed through the documents with a calm demeanour. His brows furrowed as he read on, and a deep solemnity flashed through his usually unruffled eyes.
"Eight years?"
A low, undisturbed voice came from Long Chengyu.
"Yes, young master, Miss Shu was deeply in love with Fan Lingjue. When he first took over Huading, she solved many problems for him and worked tirelessly for Huading for almost two years. It wasn't until Fan Lingjue secured his position as the president of Huading that she returned to her Shengtianhua Gang. Unfortunately, Shengtianhua Gang went bankrupt before Miss Shu was imprisoned, and it was annexed by Huading..."
As Adong spoke, he also cautiously observed Long Chengyu, but there was no visible emotion on Long Chengyu's noble face.
"Since Miss Shu was already with Fan Lingjue, how did she become the young master's fiancée?"
Then, after thinking for a moment, Adong couldn't help but voice his inner doubts.
Long Chengyu's black eyes momentarily stilled, and he continued to read through the information until he was finished. After a while, he finally slipped the documents back into their file bag.
He slowly rose to his feet and placed the file bag onto a high shelf behind him.
"By the time I learned of the engagement, she was already in a relationship with Fan Lingjue,"
Long Chengyu said slowly.
"In that case... Then, young master, Miss Shu now... seems to be... The Fan Family wouldn't accept her, and she..."
Adong spoke, but there was no telling change of expression on Long Chengyu's face; he simply took a book from the shelf and silently began to read it.
Seeing this, Adong naturally didn't dare say anymore and carefully left the study.
...