Chapter 24: A Single Blaze, Burning It All Away

Three years! Three whole years.

The man had been in therapy, yet he was constantly breaking down. If he saw a woman who resembled her, he would lose his mind. If he saw Yi Yi’s large eyes, identical to hers, he would drink himself into a stupor, self-harm until he lost too much blood, and end up hospitalized. If he saw the small cabin where they had once found joy in their shared hardships, he would suffer from insomnia night after night, yet he stubbornly insisted on staying there, breathing in the last traces of her scent.

"Fu Shiyong, why? I want you to hate me! I want you to hate me!"

Yu Zao clutched that diary tightly. The medical reports lay scattered everywhere. Her legs, drained of strength by the ravages of illness, could no longer support her; she collapsed onto the floor like a withered leaf. In her mind, Yang Chen’s helpless voice echoed: "Huntington’s disease is extremely rare globally, and there are very few new experimental drugs available each year. Xiao Yu, you can only delay it; you cannot change anything."

Then there were the stumbling, heartfelt words of two-year-old Yi Yi: "Mommy, kiss Yi Yi. Yi Yi wants Mommy to keep kissing Yi Yi. Yi Yi is your favorite little clingy baby~"

Even the gentle laughter of that tall boy washed over her, overwhelming and inescapable.

"Wife, our lives are bound together."

"Unless one day you truly betray me and make me hate you."

"Otherwise, if we cannot be born on the same day, we might as well die on the same day. I can't go on living without you anyway!"

"Aaaah!!!"

Yu Zao covered her ears, screaming to vent her agony. She wanted to smash the room to pieces, but the moment her fingers touched the corner of the bedsheet, she let out a bitter laugh, slumped on the floor, and began to sob uncontrollably.

"God, I want to live. I want to live a healthy life."

"I want to stay by Fu Shiyong and Yi Yi’s side. Please, I beg you, let me survive, let me live!"

Her forehead was bruised and battered. Her emotions were pushed to the brink of insanity.

*Buzz, buzz—*

Suddenly, a series of numbers with no name appeared on her battered phone.

It was Fu Shiyong!

She lunged for it instinctively. A thoughtless, desperate impulse made her disregard everything; she just wanted to pick up the call. She wanted to tell this man, who was destroying himself for her sake: "Fu Shiyong, I am sick. I am very, very sick."

"I will lose my mind. I will become a fool who cannot care for herself."

"My body will begin to move in strange, uncontrollable twitches."

"Before long, I will die. I will die right in front of you, and I..."

There was so much she wanted to say. But she didn't get to utter a single word.

Suddenly, the entire cabin erupted into a raging inferno. Many of the servants were trapped inside, unable to escape. Zhao Ma ran toward the master bedroom, desperate to save Yu Zao, but was crushed by a burning crossbeam. The stench of charred flesh instantly filled the confined space.

"Ma... Madam, run! Quick... run away..."

Tongues of fire engulfed Zhao Ma.

Yu Zao screamed, trying to rush over to save her. But suddenly, Yu Yue appeared from nowhere. She grabbed Yu Zao’s hand, shoved a sharp fruit knife into it, and then thrust it forcefully into her own vital abdomen!

*Splurt.*

Blood sprayed.

The next second, without giving Yu Zao any chance to react, Fu Shiyong burst in with a team of firefighters.

"Shi... Shiyong, I’m... I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I failed to stop my sister from destroying this place..."

Yu Yue clutched her stomach, looking frail and dying, yet she desperately apologized, appearing humble and pitiful.

In contrast, look at Yu Zao.

Zhao Ma lay dead at her feet. The diary and medical records had burned to ashes. The fruit knife was still dripping blood in her hand. Her deathly pale face was filled with a chilling, absolute silence.

"Was it you?" His deep, magnetic voice trembled violently.

He didn't rush to save his beloved fiancée first. Instead, he stared fixedly at the silent Yu Zao with dark eyes that looked ready to burst with blood.

What answer did he want?

An explanation? A plea of innocence? Or the truth about why she had abandoned her husband and child three years ago?

The heat waves devoured the crumbling cabin. The fire chief motioned for his team to take the unconscious, injured Yu Yue away. But Fu Shiyong refused to leave, stepping closer and demanding, "Yu Zao, tell me, what exactly are you..."

*Pfft!*

*Hahaha—*

Before he could finish, she covered her mouth and let out a mocking, hysterical laugh. As she laughed, her body, deprived of its special medication, began to stiffen, her muscles beginning to lose control.

The man sensed something amiss and tried to lean in to look closer. Yu Zao seized the opportunity to slap him hard, then shook her hand with a look of disdain.

"Mr. Fu, do you really think we are still young, naive teenagers?"

"You shower Yu Yue with delicacies and treasures."

"When it comes to me, I get this trash? Is this interesting? Wouldn't it be more satisfying to just burn it all down?"

"It’s just a pity that Yu Yue was so meddlesome. What other choice did I have?"

Cold-blooded, heartless, and morally bankrupt to the core. Her limbs had begun to twitch and jerk slightly; she had to drive Fu Shiyong away immediately. Using her practiced acting skills, she struck hard at his deepest pain.

In less than a second, the man’s thick, powerful hand, filled with pent-up rage, rose high.

*Slap!*

It didn't hit Yu Zao's face; instead, it grazed her and slammed into the wall. Blood dripped from his expensive diamond cufflinks, landing on her feet—scalding and hot.

"Yu Zao, I thank you for making our decade of love worthless."

"From this day forward, I, Fu Shiyong, have nothing to do with you. As for Yu Yue, she will be the woman I spend my life protecting!"

With that, he swept away.

Sparks flew. He hid his arm, burned while saving Zhao Ma, behind his back.

Yu Zao, caught in a seizure, twitched grotesquely in the firelight, like a butterfly about to be consumed, releasing the last of her vitality.

Across the crowd, she saw Fu Shiyong gently soothing the severely injured Yu Yue.

Across the collapsing cabin, she curled up in the ruins, crying silently, whispering to herself:

"Fu Shiyong, this is the last gift your little Yu has for you."

"Before I die, this is all I can do."

"For the rest of your life, I wish you health and happiness."

"For the rest of your life, I pray you will never remember me again..."

The fire led to suspicions of intentional injury. Yang Chen’s lawyer acted quickly, suppressing the matter under the guise of medical parole. However, before the case was closed, Yu Zao could not leave the country, nor could she even leave Jingbei.

After recovering for half a month, her school leave ended. She insisted on returning to work; after all, the subsequent new drug treatments would cost a significant amount of money.

On the day she was discharged, Chen Ya went to the Yang family, throwing a tantrum and threatening to end it all. Yang Chen couldn't make it. Yu Zao looked up the route back to her apartment on the map, feeling weak and limping as she walked out.

Just as she reached the elevator lobby, she saw hospital logistics staff sealing off the accessible elevator.

The nurses gathered around had stars in their eyes, sighing, "Could Miss Yu Yue be any happier? For her, Mr. Fu has not only booked an entire high-care floor but also hired top Michelin chefs for her three meals a day."

"Just for her discharge today, there are over a dozen Rolls-Royces leading the way. To bring good luck, Mr. Fu even ordered the entire path from the hospital to the Fu villa to be covered in red carpet."

"And this elevator—Miss Yu Yue said she didn't like the smell of strangers, so Mr. Fu had the hospital seal it off for the exclusive use of the future Mrs. Fu."

Listening to their chatter, Yu Zao heard every word clearly. She lowered her eyes to look at the disposable lunch box in her hand.

She couldn't keep accepting Yang Chen's help, but the balance in her bank account was pitifully low. During her hospitalization, she had only eaten the cheapest steamed buns and pickles from the cafeteria, just enough to survive.

The elevator's red numbers descended. Afraid of an awkward encounter, she stumbled into the stairwell.

She climbed down thirteen flights of stairs. By the time she reached the bottom, she was a mess—her clothes disheveled, her hair in knots, and her face covered in dust that stuck to her raw, bleeding scrapes.

Leaving the hospital building, she intended to head to the bus stop through the back gate. But as soon as she stepped out, walking too hurriedly, she accidentally bumped into someone.

She was just about to apologize when a custom gardenia fragrance hit her, rushing straight to her senses.