Chapter 15: In Two Lifetimes, This Is the Only Matter I Admit Defeat Without Regret
Wu Liping was dragged by the security guards all the way to the hospital gate, then tossed out like trash. Before leaving, one of the guards spat viciously at her. "Pah! You think you deserve to be a mother? Animal! Get lost!"
Wu Liping said nothing, quietly wiping the spittle from her face. These insults and humiliations—she would repay them to Bai Lu a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
She took out her phone and dialed the number of the deputy boss of Jinyuan Casino, known as Little Jin, the younger brother of Boss Jin. Little Jin didn’t gamble or smoke—his only vice was lust. And for a long time, he’d had his eye on Bai Lu.
Ten minutes later, Wu Liping pocketed her phone, her smile steeped in venomous malice.
An old man’s plaything—would Young Master Yu still want Bai Lu after that? A girl who’d sold her body could forget about ever being the nation’s sweetheart again.
And as long as she captured the video, Bai Lu would be her lapdog for life.
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Meanwhile, in the hospital room.
Yu Fuqing was keeping Bai Lu company for dinner.
He barely touched his own food, instead tending to Bai Lu’s every need: peeling her shrimp, carefully removing the bones from her fish. Once she was done eating, he sliced her fruit and brewed her ginseng tea. By the time he finally turned to his own meal, everything was cold.
Shen Xinluo watched with aching heart. “Brother Fuqing, let me warm your food for you.”
“No need,” he replied coldly, his tone stiff and distant. Shen Xinluo’s expression faltered, wounded.
Bai Lu reclined on the pillows, watching Yu Fuqing with calm, unwavering eyes.
The moment their gazes met, Yu Fuqing’s face softened into a tender, doting smile.
Bai Lu lowered her eyes, refusing to look at him any longer. She felt nothing but revulsion.
Yu Fuqing merely chuckled to himself, thinking how easily his little darling got shy.
Shen Xinluo watched the subtle exchange between the two, nearly driven to tears by jealousy and frustration.
Bai Lu’s inward sneer was relentless. She might be an award-winning actress, but compared to Yu Fuqing, her skills were nothing. When it came to acting, she couldn’t hold a candle to him.
In her previous life, Yu Fuqing had exploited her to the utmost—far more ruthlessly than Shen Yanghong or Wu Liping.
Before scandal tainted her, she was a top-tier actress with a steady stream of lucrative offers. She’d earned Yu Xing Entertainment a fortune, and when the company faced financial crisis, it was her willingness to take low-paying roles and endorsement deals that helped them through.
But when Shen Xinluo’s schemes ensnared her in scandal and destroyed her commercial value, Yu Fuqing severed ties without hesitation. He sold her contract like used goods, making another fortune off her misery.
Yu Fuqing even dressed it up as charity, claiming he was giving her a fresh start at a new agency.
Even after she hid herself away in a psychiatric hospital, Yu Fuqing didn’t let her go. As long as she generated any buzz, he capitalized—churning out an entire documentary series centered on her: five seasons, forty-eight episodes in all.
He feasted shamelessly on her suffering.
Not only that, he even had his staff secretly auction off her personal belongings—including her intimate apparel.
Yu Fuqing claimed he loved her, and perhaps in his way, he did. He loved her face, her marketable value, and most of all, how easy she was to manipulate.
He treated valuable props with care and gentleness, but the moment they lost their worth, he discarded them without a thought.
To marry into the Lu family, Yu Fuqing shamelessly courted Shen Xin. The accusations and fabricated evidence from her former agency’s boss were the final, fatal blow—she was nailed to the pillar of shame.
At least the three members of the Shen family were openly malicious.
But Yu Fuqing, the perfect hypocrite, was the most disgusting of all.
Bai Lu slipped her hand under her pillow, gently caressing her notebook.
Those who use others as mere tools will inevitably be destroyed by their own devices.
That was the fate she had prepared for Yu Fuqing.
One day, if not today, she would make sure he “accidentally” saw the paper with his name on it.
“Brother Fuqing, have some water,” Shen Xinluo’s syrupy voice called.
At the sound, Bai Lu collected her thoughts and glanced over.
Yu Fuqing’s face was icy. “No.”
Shen Xinluo held the cup to his lips. “Brother Fuqing, just a sip, please? Your lips are cracking. I—it hurts me to see you like this.”
Yu Fuqing frowned and pushed her away impatiently. “I said no.”
Water spilled over Shen Xinluo’s hand. Eyes reddened, she put down the cup and picked up a fruit plate. “Brother Fuqing, then have some fruit.”
Yu Fuqing drew a deep breath. “Xinluo, maybe I’m being presumptuous, but I want to make things clear so there’s no misunderstanding. I only see you as a sister. You don’t have to do all this for me.”
Fighting back tears, Shen Xinluo said, “Brother Fuqing, I just want to be good to you… Can’t I, as your sister?”
“…Do as you like,” Yu Fuqing replied.
Timidly, Shen Xinluo held out the fruit plate. “Brother Fuqing, just one piece. Please?”
She even tried to mimic Bai Lu’s sweet, eager smile.
Impatiently, Yu Fuqing ate a segment of orange. “Happy now?”
Shen Xinluo blushed. “Brother Fuqing, let me make you some tea!”
Bai Lu: …………
There it was, right before her eyes—the legendary sycophant.
They say devotion gets you nowhere—but in her past life, Shen Xinluo’s persistence paid off. She really did marry Yu Fuqing in the end.
When it came to playing the dog, Shen Xinluo was a natural.
“Little Lu, don’t misunderstand,” Yu Fuqing turned and saw Bai Lu’s complicated expression, quickly reassuring her, “Brother Fuqing likes you.”
Bai Lu glanced toward the kitchen, then asked deliberately, “What kind of ‘like’ is that?”
With precise clarity, Yu Fuqing declared, “The kind where I want to marry you, to cherish, love, and protect you for the rest of my life.”
Bai Lu: …………
She almost gagged.
“But you’re still young,” Yu Fuqing said, smiling as she demurely lowered her head. “I don’t want to frighten you, so let’s take things slow, all right?”
Bai Lu: …………
She felt as if last year’s New Year’s dinner was about to come back up.
In the kitchen, Shen Xinluo was nearly beside herself with rage. But she remembered her mother Wu Liping’s advice: as long as she found a way to get pregnant with Brother Fuqing’s child, she would secure her position in the Yu family through the child.
Her mother always said, no man could resist temptation. Not a single one could remain unmoved.
Shen Xinluo straightened her chest with pride.
In terms of looks, she couldn’t match Bai Lu’s delicate beauty. But in terms of figure, even if Bai Lu matured for another ten years, she’d never catch up.
Deliberately lowering her neckline, Shen Xinluo carried the teacup back into the room.
“Brother Fuqing, here you are~” She bent forward, nearly spilling out of her dress.
The sea is all water. Shen Xinluo—she’s all chest.
Yu Fuqing’s gaze darkened, and he turned his face away awkwardly. “Mm, thank you.”
Bai Lu glanced at her, then looked down at herself.
Heh.
In two lifetimes combined, this was the one arena in which she admitted defeat.
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(A brief note from the author about another book, "Trial Marriage 99"—its drama adaptation is airing on iQIYI from August 20th! Members can binge the whole series; non-members, enjoy weekly updates. Go check it out—it's worth it!)