Chapter 269: Returned the favor

Outside the ward, Jing and the twins were accompanying Nana.

Yukira seemed to be a little uneasy.

Nana asked, “Yukira, are you fine? Come here. Do you have a fever?” She patted the seat beside her.

“Huh?” Yukira asked. “No, Nee-chan. I’m fine.”

“But you look a little tense.” She frowned.

‘Well…Huian woke up now. Unfortunately, that woman doesn’t have amnesia, so she knows brother-in-law’s truth. I’m worried she would expose it at any moment. Thankfully she still cannot speak and move. It will bring a storm in Nee-chan’s life if Huian tells anything.’

Jing glanced at him and gave a slight nod.

‘Bro will handle it.’

Yukira inwardly sighed.

‘I hope he does.’

Yukito asked, “Nee-chan, do you think that she would still cause a ruckus about your marriage? When she will recover, do you think that she would still chase after brother-in-law? You know how stubborn she was at that time.”

Nana pursed her lips.

“It may be seven months for us. But for her, it would still be like it all happened yesterday because all this time, she was in a vegetative state, unconscious.”

“I know…” Nana was anxious about the same thing. She didn’t want to repeat all those fights and arguments.

Huian had already tried to harm herself twice. Nana only hoped that the accident may have changed her mind now, and Huian decides to move on in her life.

She had no idea how Huian would react to meeting her again.

“I trust Jinhai and all our elders.”

Yukito sighed.

He just didn’t want Huian to wreak havoc in Nana’s life again, especially when she was so close to giving birth now.

God, please let everything be alright.

—

Inside Huian’s ward.

Jinhai smiled. “Good to see you again, Huian.”

The voice and that smile that Huian loved so much all these years, for the first time now, she felt her stomach churn in horror. She wanted to run away, but her hands and legs refused to listen to her. She felt trapped.

Everybody else was worried about how Huian would react.

Huian desperately looked at Xiang Wei and Xiang Qingge to let them know about her distress. She wanted to lift her hand towards him and confess what happened that night, but her paralyzed body didn’t move.

Jinhai narrowed his eyes. He could see her efforts to move. Even if she couldn’t, he observed the minute changes as she looked at her parents. The alarm and dread in her eyes were evident.

She wanted to tell the truth.

Jinhai was standing at the other side of the bed, where her feet were covered with the sheet. Seeing to it that everyone’s attention was on Huian, he quietly stretched his finger and touched her big toe from outside the sheet.

Huian froze. She felt somebody grab her toe finger. She looked down and found that Jinhai was casually touching it as if it was an accident.

Jinhai said, “We are all so happy that you woke up, Huian.” He slowly applied pressure on her toe, squeezing it between his thumb and index finger.

Huian felt the pain building up as he pressed more and more. She looked at him in horror.

“You don’t have any idea how Uncle and Aunt have suffered, watching you in such a state for the past seven months. Thankfully, you didn’t make them wait for long.”

Suffered…? Who brought me to this state?

He started pinching it harder and harder until she felt a jolt of pain run through her body, but she felt so helpless as she couldn’t even react.

His gaze was cold but also dangerous. She understood that he wanted her to keep her mouth shut. She couldn’t oppose his threatening gaze and the desperation to tell anything washed away.

Jinhai also released her toe that he had so tightly held. Huian instantly felt relieved as his firm grasp left her toe.

This may all have gone unnoticed by others, but Liu Hai knew what was happening. He also noticed the subtle changes in her body language as Jinhai came in front of her.

He said, “I think, for now, this is enough. Let her rest. She must be tired.”

The others nodded and agreed.

Xiang Qingge lovingly brushed her hand on Huian’s forehead and smiled. “Yes, dear. Take lots of rest. We will come again.”

Jinhai suddenly interrupted. “Uncle, Aunt, if you don’t mind, then can I talk to her alone?”

Huian froze.

She once again tried to signal Xiang Wei to disagree, but Jinhai pressed her toe hard. She shifted her gaze at him, and with a very slight movement, he shook his head.

Liu Hai supported his son. “Yes, Wei. Let them talk.”

Xiang Wei thought about it and nodded.

The Xiang and Liu family left her ward. Outside, Nana slowly got up as she saw everyone. The twins helped her.

“Mom, Dad. How is she?”

Liu Chunhua nodded. “She is fine.”

She looked for Jinhai but didn’t find him. “Where is Jinhai?”

Liu Hai said, “Ah, he is inside. He said he wants to talk to Huian alone.”

Jing and Yukira shared a glance.

Nana paused for a bit.

“I hope you don’t mind, child.”

“Huh?” Nana snapped out. “Of course not. In fact, I was going to tell Jinhai the same. It’s good if they talk about it. I…also wanted to, but I guess Miss Huian won’t like it.”

He sighed and patted her head. “Don’t stress about it. That time will soon come too.”

—

Jinhai closed the door and turned to look at her. Her heart rate accelerated as he slowly stepped towards her. Huian’s state was not a pleasant sight to see. She couldn’t scream even if she wanted to.

Jinhai walked over to the side where all the instruments and medicine bottles hung. He sat on the chair and looked at her left hand, which was pinched with needles and tubes, infusing the liquid in her.

Huian was watching his every move as if he would jump on her to attack at any moment.

Jinhai chuckled. “Look how afraid you are now. Don’t worry. I’m not so bad. You must know, right? After all, we are childhood friends.”

The last statement was more of a taunt to her.

She must know? Yes, they were childhood friends, but she never knew about this side of his. And shouldn’t a childhood friend understand the other person better than anyone else?

But now she wondered who this man who had pushed her off the balcony, and was now sitting in front of her without an ounce of guilt in his expression was?

Was he really the same Liu Jinhai that she grew up with?

Jinhai continued. “But it is not your fault even if you don’t know me well enough. What can I say? I’m a two-faced man, hiding many secrets in my heart.” He smiled. “So many that it would take an entire day counting it to you.”

Huian gulped. She felt her throat go dry.

“One of which is…” He tapped his index finger on one of the needles. Huian widened her eyes in horror. Her eyes teared up. “How you fell off the balcony that night.”

She was starting to feel breathless.

“So, my ex-wife. Did you find the answers to my questions that I asked just before you stumbled off to your current state?”

Huian stiffened. She recalled the night when she was kidnapped with Suyin and Nana.

She recalled how Nana came back to save them.

She recalled how she left Nana in the shed.

“Your face clearly says that you got them. Glad to know that the seven months didn’t go to waste. At least, you did something useful in your unconscious state. So, you should have also realized why I did what I did to you.” He tapped his index finger on the needle again. It pricked her in pain when he did that.

Huian was in no position to say anything. But with her questioning gaze, she wanted to convey, to ask how he got to know everything.

Jinhai raised his brow. “I sense a question. Is it how I got to know the truth?”

He knew he was correct in guessing it.

Jinhai smiled. “Before answering that, how about you think why Nana was spared that night from the goons in the first place?”

It wasn’t quite visible, but she furrowed her brows.

Spared?

But didn’t Nana fell off the slope? It was an accident. The goons-

Huian slowly widened her eyes as she suddenly realized something.

“Correct.” Jinhai chuckled. “Now, you know another secret of mine.”

Huian felt as if her brain short-circuited. She couldn’t believe it.

Those goons…were Jinhai’s men? So, what happened to Suyin wasn’t a coincidence? Those were his men, that’s why they didn’t harm Nana. And they must have told him about what happened.

And I thought that she was so lucky. But it wasn’t luck. It was Jinhai protecting her all along.

That means they raped Suyin on his orders. But why? What did Suyin do?

Jinhai lazily rested his head on his palm. “And I can see that you have another whirlwind of questions storming your mind right now. Trust me, there many more secrets hiding in here.” He pointed at his head. “But that isn’t necessary. What is important is what you did that night and how I returned the favor to you with full interest.”