Chapter 377: A So-called Warning
The very night Su Li had her incident, Ye Xilan and Mother Ge both happened to have incidents of their own, as did the rest of the Ge family.
Both Ye Xilan and Mother Ge had gone out that evening.
Ye Xilan went to meet Ye Jian and get an update on the matter he was handling.
Mother Ge had some things to arrange—nothing good—and both women made sure to avoid being seen.
And that’s when things went wrong.
Around the same time, one after the other, both women were attacked.
Their assailants weren’t exactly strangers. Mother Ge was attacked by the very person she had hired, while Ye Xilan was attacked by one of the vagrants Ye Jian had found.
The two women, both accustomed to a life of comfort, were dragged away without a struggle—one into a dark alley, the other into a pitch-black room.
When they came to, one was in a foul-smelling alley, the other in a dark room.
They were both rescued quickly, and ultimately, no serious harm was done.
But bright red words had been left on both of their arms.
The message was only two words: "First warning."
This was the first warning. If they dared to try anything again, the next time wouldn’t be so simple. It wouldn’t just be a scare.
Neither woman was an ordinary person. Normally, after such a terrifying experience, they would have immediately called the police.
This time, however, both of them kept their mouths shut, not daring to publicize the matter at all.
Why? Because they couldn’t have their assailants arrested. If they were, their own deeds would be exposed.
This was a classic case of having to suffer in silence, forced to swallow the bitter pill.
They used money to make their moves, but they didn’t realize that the people they could bribe could just as easily be bribed by someone else.
If not scared out of their wits, Mother Ge and Ye Xilan were certainly close to it.
After being sent home, both women came down with a high fever that night.
Wu Sheng made little effort to conceal what had happened to Ye Xilan, using it as a way to inform Li Xian of his wife’s actions.
Although Wu Sheng said nothing, Li Xian understood his unspoken message.
’If you can’t control your wife, I’ll do it for you.’
Li Xian knew that if Ye Xilan persisted, Wu Sheng wouldn’t hesitate to step in and discipline her on his behalf again.
Wu Sheng’s devotion to Su Li was unquestionable; he wouldn’t allow anyone to lay a finger on her.
That night, the lights in the Li Family home stayed on all night.
Li Xian didn’t sleep a wink, and no one knew what was on his mind.
The lights in the Ge family home also stayed on all night.
After taking some medicine, Mother Ge finally managed to fall asleep, but her rest was fitful, plagued by one nightmare after another.
Thinking of Ge Ba, and then looking at her daughter-in-law, Grandma Ge stayed up the entire night.
Grandma Ge had long known that Wu Sheng was no simple man, but she never realized that while he rarely made a move, he was utterly ruthless when he did.
But the matter wasn’t over yet.
「At dawn the next day」
Grandma Ge received a call from her daughter, asking if her granddaughter, Little Yangqin, was there.
When Grandma Ge heard this, the world spun around her, and she nearly lost her footing.
Of course, Little Yangqin hadn’t come to the Ge family’s home.
Little Yangqin, who had gone out early to buy breakfast, was missing.
They searched everywhere she might have gone, but she was nowhere to be found. The Ge family mobilized everyone to look for her, but there was no trace of her.
The only thing in Grandma Ge’s mind was what Wu Sheng had once said to her: "Little Yangqin is fifteen this year, isn’t she?"
Grandma Ge was wary of Wu Sheng, but she had always assumed his threats were just words. She believed that no matter what, he would never truly harm Little Yangqin, a girl he had watched grow up.
Because he was close to Ge Ba, Wu Sheng had spent a lot of time with Little Yangqin when they were younger. He’d even given her piggyback rides.
Little Yangqin was also very fond of this "Uncle Wu."
And now... now Little Yangqin had vanished just like that.
Hearing that Little Yangqin had disappeared, the rationality that Grandma Ge had lost in her anger over Ge Ba’s plight finally returned.
She finally calmed down and, for the first time, truly saw Wu Sheng—the boy she had watched grow up—for who he really was.
She had always been wary of Wu Sheng, but relying on their past connection, she had never truly understood him.
Until now.
Grandma Ge felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cave, a chill seeping deep into her bones.
She sent someone to check on what Wu Sheng was doing.
The prime suspect, Wu Sheng, was by Su Li’s side at the hospital. He hadn’t left at all, leaving him with a perfect alibi.
No one could pin anything on him.
The Ge family was in utter chaos. Just as they were reporting it to the police, Little Yangqin returned home on her own as dusk began to fall.
She looked tired, but she had returned completely unharmed.
Little Yangqin was completely oblivious to the chaos her disappearance had caused, looking utterly innocent.
"Why is the house such a mess? Did something happen?"
When she learned that all the commotion was because everyone thought she was missing, she was dumbfounded.
"I ran into a classmate. Her family was having a wedding banquet, so I went along with her for fun. I asked Uncle Dabao to pass a message for me."
The Uncle Dabao she’d asked had been called away on urgent business and hadn’t had a chance to deliver the message.
Then, on her way back, Little Yangqin ran into a few other delays, which is why she only just got home.
Everything was a coincidence, a series of chance encounters. But when you put all those "chance encounters" together, it no longer looked like a coincidence at all.
With Little Yangqin back safe and sound, Grandma Ge, who had been on the verge of collapse, hugged her granddaughter—the apple of her eye—and burst into tears.
From that day on, the Ge family finally fell completely and utterly silent.
Su Li knew nothing about any of this.
She only knew that Ye Xilan was the one who’d sent the vagrants to the radio station, and that Wu Sheng had told her he’d already gotten revenge for her.
After that, she also found out about what had happened to Ge Ba.
Hearing about Ge Ba’s fate, Su Li was silent for a long time before she said something to Wu Sheng.
"He... probably won’t ever do anything so crazy again."
After she spoke, a well-known line inexplicably came to Su Li’s mind.
"What is this thing called love, that makes one pledge life and death?"
Even though it didn’t quite fit the current situation, the line just popped into her head.
The emotions in Wu Sheng’s heart were even more complex than Su Li’s.
He shook his head, not wanting to discuss it further. "Do you still want to go back to the radio station?"
"If you do, I’ll take you. I can prove to everyone that I’m not a married man."
Wu Sheng delivered the last three words with a slight, teasing lilt to his voice.
Su Li pursed her lips into a smile. She thought for a moment. "I have to, but I want to take some time off first."
This incident made both Wu Sheng and Su Li realize they couldn’t put off dealing with her trauma any longer.
Wu Sheng agreed. "You should rest for a while."
Su Li paused, then suddenly asked, "Wu Sheng, do you think I should see a therapist?"
Wu Sheng was quiet for a moment. "There’s no rush. Let me think about it."
Su Li didn’t go, but he did.
In a way, Su Li was already undergoing treatment, and it was having some effect. But to truly resolve her trauma, she couldn’t rely solely on a doctor.
Seeing the somber look on Su Li’s face, Wu Sheng gently stroked her head.
"I’m here. Don’t be afraid."
Su Li couldn’t help but smile. "Those words... are nice to hear."
She pulled his hand down and gently caressed the ring on his finger.
"Snagging you was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life."