Forced to Become the Female Lead's Beloved Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 18

The faint clinking of stones reached Li Wancheng’s ears. She turned to see a figure in black standing behind them, a deliberately lowered baseball cap obscuring half his face. Judging by his build, he was male, standing only a few feet away. Something glinted coldly from beneath his sleeve.

The cap’s brim blocked the faint moonlight, leaving the man’s face shrouded in darkness, revealing only vague outlines. Slowly, he raised his arm, the sleeve sliding down his wrist to reveal the object beneath: a knife.

Li Wancheng’s pupils constricted. In the darkness, the man flashed her a sinister smile, and the knife’s blade suddenly shifted direction.

In a split second, before she could react, she instinctively stepped sideways, pulling Wen Yige tightly into her arms to shield her.

A sharp pain tore through her shoulder as the blade pierced flesh. Overwhelming agony surged through her, and Li Wancheng’s brow furrowed as she couldn’t suppress a muffled groan.

“A-Cheng!” Wen Yige had only caught a glimpse of the cold glint before Li Wancheng moved to shield her.

The man clearly hadn’t expected her to actually block the attack, and he froze for a moment. Just then, a gust of wind blew his hat off.

Seeing the familiar face, Wen Yige’s pupils dilated violently, and she murmured in disbelief, “Xu Zhou…”

Xu Zhou’s hair was disheveled, as if he hadn’t taken care of it in ages. His gaunt face and the dark circles under his eyes betrayed the miserable state of his recent life.

Though he was now so destitute that he bore no trace of his former refined elegance, Wen Yige could hardly fail to recognize someone she had spent nearly two years with, day in and day out.

His fingers caressed the knife handle as he chuckled softly, “How rare. President Wen actually remembers someone like me.”

Now that his identity was exposed, Xu Zhou abandoned all pretense. He advanced step by step, the blood-stained knife dripping crimson droplets like bloodlotuses blooming in hell.

Pressing closer, he drawled, “Every day, I’m hounded by debt collectors, living like a dog. Meanwhile, you’re here, enjoying a perfect family reunion, all happiness and contentment. Tell me, isn’t that terribly unfair?”

After Diyu Liquidation declared bankruptcy, Xu Zhou’s life plummeted into the abyss. All his assets were frozen, and he was saddled with a mountain of debt. Even selling his house and car to plug the holes proved to be a drop in the bucket.

Desperate, he resorted to borrowing from loan sharks. But these lenders were far from benevolent; they bombarded him with threatening calls and even tracked down his rented apartment. With no money to repay, he was forced to live a life of constant hiding and evasion.

And all of this, he believed, was Wen Yige’s fault.

As if touching a raw nerve, Xu Zhou’s face twisted into a ferocious grimace, and his pace quickened. “Wen Yige, what the fuck gives you the right to steal what’s mine? I sacrificed everything for the Wen Corporation, and in the end, I got nothing!”

Wen Yige slowly retreated, her arm around the person in her arms, the distance between her and the man shrinking until she could clearly see the bluish stubble on his jaw. A few more steps and she’d be cornered against the wall, with no escape.

The knife’s tip pressed against her cheek. Xu Zhou seemed to relish her fear, waving the blade before her eyes. “Tsk, tsk, such a beautiful face. Where should I start cutting, do you think?”

The woman in Wen Yige’s arms gasped for breath, crimson blood gushing uncontrollably from her wound.

Wen Yige couldn’t tell how severe Li Wancheng’s injury was. She pressed firmly against the wound on her shoulder, forcing herself to remain calm. “I’ll give you anything you want. Just let us go.”

Xu Zhou clicked his tongue, his wrist dipping slightly. The razor-sharp blade sliced across Li Wancheng’s cheek, leaving a ghastly trail of blood on her delicate skin.

“See? You’re being so obedient now.”

He gazed with satisfaction at the bloody masterpiece he’d carved on Wen Yige’s face, then gripped the woman’s jaw, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“You wouldn’t let me touch you before, but now you’re right where I want you,” he sneered. “If you’d just been a good girl from the start, we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

The cold wind stung Li Wancheng’s wound. She closed her eyes, resolving that if necessary, she would charge at Xu Zhou to distract him—anything to keep A-Cheng safe.

Seizing the moment while Xu Zhou was consumed by hatred, Li Wancheng aimed a vicious kick at his groin. The blow to his most vulnerable spot sent him howling to his knees, the knife clattering to the ground beside him.

“Bitch!” he cursed, his eyes bloodshot, as he grabbed Li Wancheng’s ankle and reached for the fallen knife.

Unable to break free from his grip, she shoved Wen Yige with all her might. “Go!”

By then, Xu Zhou had found the knife and staggered to his feet. Enraged by her kick, he lunged at Li Wancheng, his eyes burning crimson.

Seeing this, Wen Yige frantically grabbed a loose brick nearby and smashed it down on Xu Zhou’s head.

The blow landed with a sickening thud. Xu Zhou collapsed like a deflated balloon, the knife landing just beside Li Wancheng’s neck.

Exhausted, Wen Yige leaned against the wall, instinctively pulling the person in her arms closer. She realized Li Wancheng had fainted.

“A-Cheng!” She fumbled for her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed 120, the terror and shock still gripping her.

A sharp, throbbing pain surged from the wound. As blood loss blurred her consciousness, Li Wancheng faintly felt something wet on her face.

Tears…?

Everything around her dissolved into a white haze. She seemed to have returned to her consciousness space, but the scenery shifted again and again in rapid succession.

When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in a hospital bed, her consciousness gradually clearing. “Little Seven, why doesn’t my wound hurt anymore?”

The System, likely infuriated by her reckless behavior, replied with an uncharacteristic edge of anger in its usually calm electronic voice: “Of course it doesn’t hurt! I temporarily raised your pain threshold.”

Li Wancheng moved her arm slightly, then pinched herself. She genuinely felt no pain.

If you had this function all along, I wouldn’t have had to take that knife for nothing!

“Why didn’t you activate it when I was getting stabbed?” she complained. “I nearly passed out from the pain back then.”

At this, the System snapped: “How was I supposed to know you’d jump in front of the knife? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

A moment of silence hung in the air before Li Wancheng spoke softly: “I couldn’t just stand there and watch her collapse in front of me.”

Xu Zhou’s knife had been aimed at Wen Yige’s neck. If Li Wancheng hadn’t intervened, Wen Yige would likely have died on the spot.

After a pause, she added quietly: “Besides, she’s my mission target. If something happened to her, my mission would fail.”

The System fell silent, ultimately refraining from saying what it wanted to.

As the doctor disinfected the wound, Wen Yige gripped Li Wancheng’s hand tightly, biting her lip and refusing to speak. Only her teary eyes betrayed her emotions.

“I’m fine,” Li Wancheng reassured her, scratching Wen Yige’s palm gently.

The moment she said this, the tears in Wen Yige’s eyes became even more pronounced.

Perhaps because it was dark, Xu Zhou’s knife had actually missed its mark. Combined with the thick winter clothing that provided some protection, the final examination revealed only a superficial wound. Two stitches and rest would be enough.

Despite this, Wen Yige was still deeply shaken. Given the circumstances, if the knife had been even slightly off, it could have struck her neck.

She didn’t even dare to imagine the consequences of such a small deviation.

“What’s wrong? Does the wound hurt?”

As the anesthesia wore off, a dull ache began to throb in Li Wancheng’s shoulder. Not wanting to worry Wen Yige, she shook her head and softened her voice. “Kiss me,” she murmured. “A kiss will make it feel better.”

This was something Li Wancheng had discovered later: Wen Yige seemed to adore her when she acted spoiled. In other words, if she acted spoiled, Wen Yige would climb a ladder to pluck the stars from the sky for her.

An almost boundless indulgence.

How could she refuse when the person she held dearest in her heart made such a tender, delicate request?

Wen Yige’s cool fingertips cradled Li Wancheng’s cheek, and her soft kisses fell like petals, treating her as if she were a fragile treasure. Even her kisses were gentle.

After a long moment, Wen Yige pressed her forehead against Li Wancheng’s, her voice hoarse with emotion. “Next time, don’t shield me like that again.”

She remembered the terror she had felt in that moment. Li Wancheng was in her arms, her scalding blood seeping through Wen Yige’s fingers, filling her palm as if she were watching her life slowly drain away before her eyes.

Just barely… just barely she almost lost her forever.

Li Wancheng gently grasped Wen Yige’s little finger and gave it a playful shake. “I couldn’t help it. I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”

Wen Yige’s breathing suddenly grew heavy. Though Li Wancheng was right beside her, her voice sounded as if it were coming from a great distance.

“A-Cheng… you have to be okay. You absolutely have to.”

The sorrow in her voice was overwhelming. Before Li Wancheng could react, Wen Yige cut herself off.

“The IV drip is finished. I’ll go get the nurse to change it.”

As soon as she stepped out of the room, Wen Yige could no longer contain her grief. Like a bent dodder vine, she leaned weakly against the wall, covering her mouth as she sobbed silently.

It wasn’t worth it. My worthless life isn’t worth Li Wancheng doing this.

Realizing there was no way out, he confessed everything.

Driven to desperation by loan sharks, he had initially planned to threaten Wen Yige into handing over some money under the cover of darkness. But in the heat of the moment, he accidentally injured her.

After this incident, Wen Yige showed no more mercy. Armed with evidence of his embezzlement and the charge of intentional assault, she had enough to ensure he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

On the day of the sentencing, Wen Yige attended the trial. Xu Zhou sat in the center of the courtroom, shackled and utterly devoid of his former arrogance.

It was a bitter irony that the former couple’s reunion took place in a courtroom.

As the verdict was announced, Xu Zhou glared at the woman in the gallery and suddenly erupted into a mad roar: “It’s all your fault! You ruined me! Wen Yige, you’ll die a miserable death!”

Wen Yige leaned back in her chair, calmly watching his desperate, caged-animal-like howls. Her eyes remained utterly impassive throughout.

He had brought this fate upon himself through his own greed, yet he blamed everyone else.

How pathetic.

As he was being escorted away, he suddenly bared his teeth in a low, sinister grin, like a demon whispering in her ear:

“Oh, by the way, she doesn’t know yet, does she? You don’t have much time left.”