Chapter 80

Chapter 80: The Second Victim

As soon as Cui Jue Yan walked in, he noticed that Du Lian Shuang was already awake. Overjoyed, he hurried over, wanting to hold her hand, but Du Lian Shuang, acting out of instinctive fear, dodged him first.

This had never happened before!

The smile on Cui Jue Yan’s face froze for a moment. He subconsciously clenched the hand he pulled back, but still forced himself to ask with concern: “What is it? Are you still feeling unwell anywhere?”

Du Lian Shuang also realized she had lost control. She bit the tip of her tongue again, using the pain to pull her mind back to reason.

“These past two days I’ve felt tightness in my chest and it’s been hard to breathe. I even fainted once today. My sister-in-law is worried something might suddenly happen after I go home, so she wants me to stay in the hospital a few more days for observation and only go back once we’re sure I’m really fine.”

Mother Du immediately caught on to Du Lian Shuang’s little plan not to go home and share a bed alone with Cui Jue Yan. She squeezed her daughter’s hand to comfort her.

“Lian Shuang has always been healthy. It’s hard not to worry when she suddenly faints and feels chest tightness. Our family is one of this hospital’s shareholders anyway. Having them keep a room for her is no big deal. Let her stay for a few days under observation. When she’s better, she can go back. That way we can feel at ease.”

With the two of them having decided this, Cui Jue Yan had no good reason to object. But when he heard Du Lian Shuang mention her chest tightness and shortness of breath, a faint gleam flashed in his eyes.

It was Du An Rao who tilted her head in slight confusion.

[When did Mom and Aunt talk about her staying in the hospital? How did I not hear that just now? Was I too caught up in my thoughts and missed it?]

Du Lian Shuang and Mother Du both froze at the same time, cold sweat pouring out as they frantically wondered how to patch things up and fool her.

But Du An Rao had already found an excuse for them.

[Maybe they just got together just now to whisper to each other? These elders love to whisper right in front of us juniors and still think we’re too young to understand anything. Tsk…]

The two elders who liked to whisper to each other: “…”

Fine.

Anyway, with Du Lian Shuang staying in their own hospital, it was better than going home and being with that man who was always ready to drive her crazy. That was the main reason Du An Rao did not dwell on it.

Since she was going to be hospitalized, someone had to stay with her.

Du Lian Shuang honestly did not know how to face her husband, so she sent him away on the excuse of having him go home to pack her clothes and toiletries.

After that, she used the reason that Cui Jue Yan had to stay at the hospital to look after her and there would be no one to care for the two children, so she had them stay at the Du family home for a while. She would pick them up again after she was discharged.

This arrangement was acceptable to the two children. After all, even an adult like Du Lian Shuang did not know how to face Cui Jue Yan right now, let alone two underage kids.

If either of them slipped up and let Cui Jue Yan notice something, then the things they wanted to find out would probably remain secrets forever.

Before the Du family left, Du Lian Shuang tugged on Father Du’s sleeve, hoping he would stay a while longer with her.

Seeing this, Mother Du immediately understood that the siblings had something to talk about, and very tactfully gathered everyone else up and left.

Once the ward door closed, leaving only the brother and sister inside, Du Lian Shuang could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

“Brother, how could this happen? How could he do this? My dad… my dad treated him so well, almost like his own son. All these years, whether he wanted to invest or do research, as long as my dad could help, he never shorted him. How could he… how could he be so heartless… did a dog eat his conscience?”

She could accept other things. Even if she learned about Cui Dong Mei and her son’s identity, she could have let him off once for the sake of the two children and just cut ties completely from then on.

But if her father’s death was really connected to Cui Jue Yan, then they were destined to fight to the death.

Father Du looked at his younger cousin, who he had practically watched grow up, and sighed with heartache: “Third Uncle treated him like a son, but he never treated Third Uncle as his dad. He has his own parents.”

Du Lian Shuang’s sobs stopped. Father Du’s words struck her like a bolt of lightning and completely woke her up.

Right. He not only had his own parents, he also had his own wife and child. She, her children, and even her father had all just been stepping stones for him to climb higher.

When she thought about how all these years Cui Jue Yan had been using her family’s money and resources to support his wife and child outside, Du Lian Shuang felt so sick she couldn’t hold it back and vomited right in front of Father Du.

Father Du hurried to support her. But since she had fainted without eating much, all she threw up was some sour water.

After vomiting, Du Lian Shuang’s face actually looked a bit better.

Father Du poured her a glass of water and asked: “What are you planning to do about this?”

“We have to find out the truth about my dad’s death.” Du Lian Shuang said, clutching the cup as tears fell again. “My dad really was allergic to many kinds of pollen, especially locust tree flowers. As soon as he touched even a little, he would have a reaction…”

“All right, I’ll look into this,” Father Du said. “You hold Cui Jue Yan steady and don’t let him suspect anything. Especially about what’s going on in his family, you should act like you don’t know a thing for now. Once we have the evidence, there will be plenty of chances to settle the score.”

Du Lian Shuang let out a breath of relief and secretly felt lucky that she still had family willing to stand up for her.

After Cui Jue Yan went home to get her change of clothes, he soon came back. Having thrown up and cried her heart out, Du Lian Shuang’s emotions were mostly under control. For now she could grit her teeth, swallow her disgust, and act polite with him so he would not grow suspicious.

Luckily, this torment did not last long.

Their vacation only lasted until the day before the accident. Early the next morning, Cui Jue Yan had to go back to the company to work.

Du Lian Shuang politely turned down his offer to take leave and stay to look after her. She hired a care attendant in name only, then waited in the ward for Du An Rao to come.

The second day of her hospitalization was not a weekend. Du Yu Xi had to go to class, and after she talked to them, the two younger ones also went back to school.

Desperate to learn more about everything related to Cui Jue Yan, Du Lian Shuang asked Mother Du to bring Du An Rao along when she came to deliver food.

Facts later proved that this was a very wise decision.

When Du An Rao followed Mother Du to the ward, carrying the old hen soup that had been stewing since last night, a female voice she had never heard before sounded from inside.

“You’re even in the hospital and that guy Cui Jue Yan still doesn’t stay with you? That’s too much. He says all those sweet things on normal days, but at the key moment he runs faster than anyone else. Men really are unreliable!”

“I’m the one who told him to go back to work first,” Du Lian Shuang said. “The company has several big projects right now that need someone to watch over them. They really can’t do without him. If you scold all men like that, your own man will be unhappy.”

“I don’t care if he’s unhappy.” The woman snorted. “Where are your two kids? Jing Yi was just saying she wanted to go over to your place to play with them, and before she could even visit, you ended up in the hospital.”

[Wait, Jing Yi?]

Outside the door, Du An Rao instantly perked up her ears and widened her eyes.

[That second victim who ended up childless and even worse off than Aunt, Liao Jing Yi?]