Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Lu Jinnan, this person, had a vicious tongue most of the time and had an intemperance style of handling matters, but when it came to relationships, Lu Jinnan was more of a clean freak than anyone else.

  “Change clothes and go inform Xiao Nuan about Bai Xiaonian’s condition, but don’t scare her!” Fu Huai’an knew the hospital had its regulations—doctors were obligated to disclose the worst-case scenario to the patient’s kin, even magnifying the odds of that happening.

  “I know! Would I scare one of our own? Moreover… my surname is Bai, while sis-in-law’s friend’s surname is also Bai. It’s hard to say we might even have been a family several hundred years ago. Sis-in-law’s friend is also considered my younger sister, so why would I spout nonsense and curse my own younger sister?” Bai Jinyu glimpsed the way Lu Jinnan’s brows were deeply furrowed, then stuffed his surgery cap into his pocket. “That would be downplaying my outstanding medical skills! I’ll change into other clothes first!”


  Fu Huai’an nodded, then said to Lu Jinnan, “Let’s have a smoke outside.”


  …


  The sky had already darkened outside of the hospital.

  Fu Huai’an and Lu Jinnan stood in the garden outside of the hospital. He asked Lu Jinnan for a light, then lit up the cigarette at the corner of his lips.

  Amidst the white smoke, the flame was visible.

  Lu Jinnan covered his lighter with one hand and struck it, but no flame came on despite several tries. He frustratedly removed the cigarette from his lips, then turned around and sat down on the long bench within the garden. He rubbed his face furiously with both hands, wanting to rub away the state of decadence on his face. However, his hands came into contact with the wound inflicted by Lin Nuan earlier. The wound that had already coagulated was cracked open from his rubbing, and a few droplets of blood trickled down from it.

  Lu Jinnan was fair-skinned and good-looking to begin with, exuding an elegance that revealed a hint of toughness. With that injury on his face and those bloodshot eyes, there was a sense of foppishness and decadence added to his appearance, which gave him a different charm…


  Nurses and female patients who walked by tended to notice Fu Huai’an first with his extraordinary aura, which caused their hearts to flutter. Then they moved on to look in Lu Jinnan’s direction, their faces making it apparent that they had their breaths taken away from them.

  Fu Huai’an’s deep eyes were narrowed, white smoke puffing out from the corner of his mouth. He had one hand in his pocket as he tapped the cigarette ash, asking with a frown, “What happened with Bai Xiaonian? Speak the truth…”


  Even if Lu Jinnan’s skin was thick, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about the process of how he made love with Bai Xiaonian in front of his good friend, what’s more, it was such an embarrassing process…


  “I started out forcing Bai Xiaonian, that’s right!” Lu Jinnan clenched his jaw, speaking unclearly. “I should have taken her away with me right then, not left her there waiting for me!”


  At that point, Lu Jinnan had frantically ended his first time with Bai Xiaonian. Although he tried to feign calm, he was inevitably flustered at heart. Bai Xiaonian said she wanted to clean up, so Lu Jinnan just went off before overthinking about it…


  But at that moment, Bai Xiaonian didn’t reveal any hint of her intention to end her life.

  He asked Bai Xiaonian to be his woman, and although Bai Xiaonian didn’t give a direct answer, she stopped struggling when he was going in and out of her!

  Lu Jinnan had thought that was a form of consent.

  Lu Jinnan didn’t go into details, that was all he said to Fu Huai’an.

  Fu Huai’an had his fists clenched, and after he took a deep breath on his cigarette, the length of the cigarette ash increased…


  He furrowed his brows and only broke his silence after a long while. “Lu Jinnan, are you out of your mind? There are plenty of women around, why did you have to rape Lin Nuan’s best friend?”


  “Old Fu, don’t interfere in this matter. It will affect your relationship with Lin Nuan!”


  “You think our relationship hasn’t been affected?” Fu Huai’an asked in turn.

  Lu Jinnan’s throat vibrated slightly, but he didn’t utter a word.

  Fu Huai’an couldn’t stand the way Lu Jinnan was keeping silent. The furrow in his brows deepened as he threw what remained of the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot. With both hands in his pockets, he stood tall and questioned Lu Jinnan from above, “Your sperm took over your brain? Like? Or is it something else… There’s got to be a reason. What’s your reason for doing that to Bai Xiaonian?”


  “Old Fu, I have… never ever so desperately wanted to obtain a woman! Under a clear mind!” Lu Jinnan looked spaced out. “It’s as if I was poisoned.”


  Upon hearing these words, Fu Huai’an retrieved another cigarette and asked Lu Jinnan for a light again.

  Lu Jinnan handed the empty lighter to Fu Huai’an. After striking several times and failing to get a flame, Fu Huai’an irritably unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt. “How did your intersections with Bai Xiaonian come about?”


  “After Wen Moshen’s wedding, my dad was hospitalized. Coincidentally, Bai Xiaonian’s father was in the hospital as well. The two of them hit it off instantly, so I began running into Bai Xiaonian more and more frequently.”


  Lu Jinnan was honest and didn’t hide anything in this regard.

  Even though every time they met, it reeked of the smell of gunpowder.

  “Did you consider that Bai Xiaonian’s father might whip you to death when you were removing your belt, taking off your trousers, and forcing yourself upon her with your weapon?”


  Fu Huai’an was more incensed than the previous time when Lu Jinnan killed someone.

  Fu Huai’an didn’t know Bai Xiaonian very well; the only thing he knew about her was… from that time she sent Lin Nuan those movies.

  But back then, Fu Huai’an had investigations done on everyone around Lin Nuan; Bai Xiaonian and Lin Nuan were so close, so Fu Huai’an naturally knew what sort of character Bai Xiaonian had.

  Bai Xiaonian was oftentimes rash, but she truly had been taking care of Lin Nuan like a younger sister all these years.

  She was willing to fend off many matters for Lin Nuan by blocking in front of her. In this day and age… it was rare to find someone who treasured friendship so much and was even willing to sacrifice for a friend…


  Especially in this age where the term “best friend” had become a degrading term, Lin Nuan and Bai Xiaonian’s friendship was indeed hard to come by.

  Also, based on Lin Nuan’s character, those who managed to stay by her side must have solidified their positions in her heart. Those were Lin Nuan’s Achilles Heels and couldn’t be messed with.

  Fu Huai’an’s eyes were riveted on the wound on Lu Jinnan’s face. Lin Nuan very rarely hit someone, probably as a result of Liang Mulan’s excellent upbringing.

  For Lin Nuan to have hit both of the Lu brothers, it was evident how angry Lin Nuan was.

  Lu Jinnan’s lips moved as he drew another cigarette. He only realized his lighter was empty when he was about to light it up.

  “I’ll talk to Bai Xiaonian first when she wakes up…”


  “Old Fu, don’t bother with me in this matter. Once you interfere, regardless of the outcome, there’ll be irreparable damage done to your relationship with Lin Nuan…” Lu Jinnan held the cigarette in his fingers and readjusted his sitting posture. “Lin Nuan is a good girl. Such girls are rare to come by in this society. You’ve lived a hard life all these years, so now that you finally managed to meet the right one, there’s no need to destroy the harmony between the two of you for my sake.”


  “Thinking of going in again?” Fu Huai’an asked.

  Lu Jinnan knew Fu Huai’an was referring to prison…


  “If Bai Xiaonian wants that for me, it’s what I deserve!” Lu Jinnan raised his head, a heavy atmosphere clouding his handsome features.

  Lu Jinnan couldn’t make himself clear, merely affirming he was willing to shoulder the responsibility.

  Fu Huai’an rubbed his aching temples. “If you really did rape Bai Xiaonian, how are you going to face Xiao Bei?”


  Almost every time Lu Jinnan brought Lu Jinbei to attend their gatherings, Lu Jinbei would scorn others’ behavior of bringing along a female companion, vowing he would only love one woman in this lifetime. He always said that he only knew regret after letting her slip by once, so he never wanted to make the same mistake again…