novelraw Chapter 199 What did I do to Ranran?
Chapter 199 What did I do to Ranran?
Taking advantage of Jin Qiqi rushing over to check Gu Yanxu's injuries, Lian Bichen suddenly gripped the half-broken lamp. Her eyes held no hesitation, no fear, only a burning, reckless madness—like someone who had nothing left and cared nothing more.
She bypassed Gu Yanxu and lunged at Lu Xiran. The shards of the lamp reflected a cold light under the lamplight, their sharp edges aimed at Lu Xiran's lower abdomen.
That moment was incredibly fast, as fast as lightning. Jin Qiqi's scream was still in her throat, Gu Yanxu's hand was still in mid-air, and even Bi Cen's figure had already swept past them.
Lu Xiran backed away. She retreated to the wall, with nowhere left to go. She protected her stomach and closed her eyes.
A hand pushed her from behind. Not a push, but a protection. A broad, warm palm rested on her waist, pulling her back and firmly into an embrace. At the same time, another hand reached out, precisely gripping Lian Bichen's wrist and giving her a forceful push.
Lian Bichen fell backward and crashed heavily to the ground. The lamp flew out of her hand, hit the corner of the wall, and shattered into several pieces.
"Mom!" Gu Yanxu rushed over, knelt on the ground, and helped Lian Bichen up. Her elbow was scraped, and blood was seeping out. Her eyes were empty, like a lamp blown out by the wind.
Lin Chen stormed in with his bodyguards, their footsteps shaking the floor. The bodyguards quickly dispersed, blocking every exit from the room.
"Ranran, are you alright?" Gu Yanshen's voice came from above Lu Xiran's head, panting and trembling. His hand was still on her waist, not letting go.
Lu Xiran looked up at him. His face was covered in sweat, veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he had run all the way here, as if he didn't care about anything else, didn't want anything else, as long as she was safe.
She looked into his eyes, and there was fear, lingering dread, and something she had never seen before that almost consumed him.
Her tears finally fell, flowing uncontrollably, like a dam bursting, as if she were crying out all the grievances, all the fears, and all the unspoken words of the past few days.
"I'm sorry," she stammered, her voice breaking into fragments. She knew her stubbornness had put herself and the child in danger. She was sorry for worrying him, sorry for not listening to him, sorry for almost getting the child hurt—maybe all of these, maybe none of them.
She just wanted to say sorry.
Gu Yanshen did not answer. He pressed her head against his chest, his hands protecting the back of her head, encircling her completely in his arms.
"It's alright, it's alright." His voice was very low, as if he were talking to himself, as if to confirm that she was still alive and still in his arms.
He picked her up in his arms and turned to walk towards the door.
He didn't want to care about anything—not Lian Bichen, not Gu Yanxu, not those grudges and schemes. He just wanted to take her away from here, to a safe place, so she would stop trembling.
Lin Chen's gaze followed Gu Yanshen out of the room, and then his voice came, cold as ice, "Hand her over to the police."
"No one can touch her." Gu Yanxu stood in front of Lian Bichen, his arms outstretched, like a crumbling wall.
Jin Qiqi stood there, stunned.
She looked at Gu Yanxu, at the man she had shared a bed with for three years, at him standing in front of the woman who had just tried to kill her, and at the almost desperate stubbornness in his eyes that she had never seen before.
"Gu Yanxu, she's trying to kill someone! And you're still protecting her?" Her voice trembled as it was forced out of her throat.
"Qiqi, she didn't." Gu Yanxu's voice was very soft, so soft that it was as if he was begging her to believe him.
He turned to Lin Chen, his voice rising a few decibels. "This is just an internal dispute within the Gu family, Lin Chen, there's no need to involve the police."
Jin Qiqi took a step back.
She looked into his eyes, those eyes she had once thought she would look into for a lifetime, but now they held only something unfamiliar and chilling to her heart.
"Gu Yanxu!" Her voice shrilly rang out. "She's trying to kill someone! What she just did was intentional homicide!"
"Qiqi!" Gu Yanxu's voice was pleading, his eyes red-rimmed. "She's my mother! And your mother-in-law!"
"So what?" Jin Qiqi shook her head, tears streaming down her face and landing on the floor. "So you can protect her no matter what she does, right?"
"Qiqi!" Gu Yanxu looked at her. "She did it all for me—"
Jin Qiqi stopped listening. She walked to Lin Chen's side and stood still.
"Hand her over to the police. She must pay for what she did."
"Impossible!" Gu Yanxu blocked their way, his voice hardening. "You have no evidence, so what right do you have to let the police arrest her?"
"I am the evidence," Jin Qiqi said, emphasizing each word. "Every single item in this room is evidence."
"Qiqi!" Gu Yanxu's voice softened again, so soft it sounded like he was begging her, like he was begging her to spare his mother, like he was begging her not to push him to the brink.
"No!" Jin Qiqi roared, her voice exploding in the room, shaking the glass. "Gu Yanxu, are you really so unable to distinguish right from wrong?!"
"She's my mom..." Gu Yanxu's voice trailed off, becoming as soft as a mosquito's hum, as quiet as a child who had done something wrong but didn't know how to make amends.
Jin Qiqi looked at him. Seeing his expression, she suddenly remembered what he had just said—"Don't make the same mistake again."
Her blood suddenly turned cold.
"Even if she is, she can't..." Her voice began to tremble, from her fingers all the way to her lips, "My God, could it be that three and a half years ago...?"
She remembered the child. She remembered Lu Xiran lying in the hospital bed, her face as white as paper.
"Gu Yanxu!" Jin Qiqi's pupils contracted sharply. "Three and a half years ago, Ranran's child—"
Gu Yanxu didn't speak. He stood there, frozen like a tree struck by lightning.
Jin Qiqi took two steps back and slumped onto the bed. The mattress bounced, and she felt as if all her strength had been drained away.
"Gu Yanxu... I'd rather get hurt myself than let Ranran hurt even a finger." Her voice softened, almost as if she were talking to herself. "And you, you and your mother actually used me. Used me to call Ranran home."
She looked up at her hands. Those hands had once held Lu Xiran's hand, embraced Lu Xiran, and held her hand when Lu Xiran was at her lowest point. But it was also those hands that had pushed Lu Xiran into the trap.
"Could it be...could it be that three and a half years ago..." She remembered that day, when she and Ranran were in her grandmother's room, "could it be that she was using me too..."
Her voice shattered into fragments.
"What exactly did I do to Ranran?"