Transmigrated As The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Of A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 12

Zhao Zhiyi was full of doubts, but the old butler made a shushing gesture and whispered, “The Madam is home. If you’re discovered, you won’t be able to take the Young Master away.”

Why did this sound like he was here to elope with Su Jiyu? Wasn’t this supposed to be Meng Ze’s role?

It was no wonder Meng Ze couldn’t win over his wife after hundreds of thousands of words, his phone being off at a critical moment was entirely his own doing.

Zhao Zhiyi followed the old butler through the back door into the Su family villa. Inside, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Zhao Zhiyi didn’t have time to admire the understated luxury of the Su family’s decor. The old butler was about to lead him upstairs when someone suddenly called out, “Butler?”

“The Madam is calling for me.” The old butler sighed, took a key from his pocket, and handed it to Zhao Zhiyi, whispering, “This is the key to the attic. Just go straight up.”

“Wait…” Zhao Zhiyi held the key, wanting to suggest they wait for Meng Ze, but the old butler had already hurried away.

Zhao Zhiyi: “…”

He stood there for half a minute before eventually steeling himself to go upstairs.

The attic was starkly different from the brightly lit floors belowl, it was pitch black. Zhao Zhiyi turned on his flashlight and scanned the area.

The space was filled with cluttered items covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly untouched for a long time. There weren’t even lights installed, making the dark space quite eerie.

Moving through the junk, Zhao Zhiyi spotted a locked door.

He used the key to open it. Silence reigned inside. Zhao Zhiyi began to wonder if he had the wrong place, was Su Jiyu even here?

Zhao Zhiyi frowned, shining his flashlight across the narrow, cramped space filled with cobwebs and dust. Suddenly, his movements stopped.

In the cold, white beam of light, a figure was curled up against the wall. His back was to Zhao Zhiyi, so his face was hidden, but Zhao Zhiyi could see…

Scars.

Crisscrossing, hideous, and dense scars. The blood had already dried and coagulated, crusting over the wounds. Just looking at them caused a sharp, sympathetic pain.

Zhao Zhiyi’s first thought was that the person was dead. It was only when he saw the figure’s back trembling slightly under the light that he breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward. “Su Jiyu…”

The person in the corner slowly turned his head. When Zhao Zhiyi saw his face, he froze again.

Su Jiyu had a very beautiful face, many people mistook him for an Omega but now, his face was a mass of bruises. Faint, swollen finger marks were visible, and half his face was smeared with blood. It looked as though someone had grabbed his head and slammed it against a wall, leaving a shocking trail of blood.

Zhao Zhiyi stood dazed. He could hardly believe this was Su Jiyu.

Whenever he had seen Su Jiyu before, the man was always clean, gentle, and poised, never showing a hint of distress. He was a completely different person now.

“You… you really came?” Su Jiyu’s voice was hoarse and trembling slightly. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Zhao Zhiyi snapped out of it and hurried forward to check his condition. “Are you still…”

Su Jiyu suddenly hugged him, burying his head in the crook of Zhao Zhiyi’s neck, sobbing, “You really came.”

Zhao Zhiyi instinctively went to pat his back but remembered it was covered in wounds. Such a gesture would be agonizing. Seeing Su Jiyu like this, he didn’t dare touch him, leaving his hands hovering awkwardly in the air. “Are you okay? How did you get hurt so badly?”

Su Jiyu didn’t speak, but Zhao Zhiyi felt his body shaking. Simultaneously, warm tears fell into the crook of his neck. Zhao Zhiyi unconsciously tensed his shoulders, he had always been helpless in the face of others’ tears.

“It was my mother,” Su Jiyu said hoarsely, leaning into Zhao Zhiyi’s embrace.

Zhao Zhiyi frowned. “How could she beat you like this?!”

“Because I didn’t agree to the marriage alliance.”

Zhao Zhiyi: “That Chenchen girl?”

“No.” Su Jiyu seemed to let out a short laugh. “In my mother’s eyes, she isn’t worthy of being the Young Mistress of the Su family.”

The original novel hadn’t focused much on Su Jiyu’s family life, it mostly followed the “he flees, he chases” madness of Meng Ze and Su Jiyu. It only mentioned once that Su Jiyu’s mother was very controlling. But from what Zhao Zhiyi saw now, “controlling” was an understatement, this was pathological.

Just because her son refused a marriage alliance, she beat him half to death and locked him in an attic?!

Zhao Zhiyi said in a heavy voice, “Have you never considered leaving?”

This time, Su Jiyu gave a definite laugh.

Zhao Zhiyi realized he had asked a stupid question. If refusing an alliance resulted in this, He Linrong would surely do something even worse if he tried to run. The Su family had wealth and power, where could Su Jiyu possibly go?

“…Sorry,” Zhao Zhiyi said. “Let me get you out of here first. If we stay, your wounds will get infected and fester.”

Su Jiyu looked up. The light was dim, showing dust motes dancing in the air, but Zhao Zhiyi could see Su Jiyu’s amber eyes. They were filled with fragmented light, looking as if they might shatter and fall at any moment.

“But I… I can’t walk.” Su Jiyu gently lifted his blood-stained, dirtied pant leg to show Zhao Zhiyi. “My leg is broken.”

Zhao Zhiyi was shocked. “Your mom broke your leg too?!”

Su Jiyu curled his lips. “I jumped from the balcony and broke it myself.”

“…What?”

“I wanted to run, too,” Su Jiyu said softly, resting his forehead against Zhao Zhiyi’s shoulder. “After being beaten, of course I wanted to run. I was a bit frantic at the time and jumped straight from the second floor.”

Zhao Zhiyi was stunned by the Su family’s complex and dysfunctional relationships.

He understood now why Meng Ze and Su Jiyu were the protagonists. Compared to them, his own background, a father in prison and a mother who died of illness was quite ordinary. These two were the real heavyweights.

“Doesn’t your mother care if you end up a cripple? She’s just leaving you like this?”

“She’ll probably care eventually. It would be embarrassing to take a cripple out in public,” Su Jiyu said. “But not yet… maybe in two or three days, once she cools down.”

Zhao Zhiyi: “.”

He no longer wanted to offer any commentary on He Linrong. He gave Su Jiyu’s head a rough rub. “I’ll carry you down.”

“Can you carry me?” Su Jiyu asked worriedly. “I’m very heavy.”

Zhao Zhiyi: “You’re so thin, how heavy can you… ugh!”

When he actually tried to lift him, Zhao Zhiyi was shocked.

…How was he this heavy?! Did Su Jiyu have a body full of lean muscle under those clothes? This was killer.

“Maybe… never mind,” Su Jiyu said. “I…”

“You asked me for help.” Zhao Zhiyi sighed, looking into Su Jiyu’s eyes. “If you felt you would die here if no one saved you, why are you worrying about being a burden now?”

He braced Su Jiyu’s arm. “I might not be able to carry you on my back, but I can support you. Bear with the pain, we just need to get out. The taxi driver is still waiting downstairs. I told him I’d pay ten yuan for every minute he waits, so it’s costing me a lot to linger here.”

At some point, the faint scent of white tea began to mingle with the musty, damp smell of the attic.

Zhao Zhiyi wrinkled his nose. “Your pheromones…”

In the dim light, Su Jiyu’s lips curved slightly, his voice still weak. “My wounds probably opened up. Sorry for the trouble. I’ll try to stop the bleeding.”

“…Don’t mess with your wounds,” Zhao Zhiyi said. “You really have a death wish. Just bear with the pain, we’re going down.”

Zhao Zhiyi struggled to support Su Jiyu as they headed down from the attic. Afraid of being spotted by He Linrong, they moved slowly. Once they reached a better lit area, Zhao Zhiyi noticed Su Jiyu was bleeding continuously. There were bloodstains on the floor; he couldn’t imagine the agony the man was in. Yet, Su Jiyu could still smile palely at him and say he was fine.

As they reached the first floor and victory was in sight, a loud “THUD” echoed from the living room, like someone smashing something. This was followed by a shrill female voice: “…When are you going to stop causing trouble for me?! Su Chengfeng, you useless waste! Aside from giving people reasons to mock me, what else can you do?!”

Zhao Zhiyi flinched at the sound.

“Why so angry?” Facing the furious He Linrong, Su Chengfeng was surprisingly calm, nonchalantly lighting a cigarette. “It’s not a big deal. I’m not going to divorce you, those women are just for fun. The Su family will always belong to your son.”

He Linrong sneered, “Unfortunately, Su Jiyu is also your son, and he inherited your incompetence! All my years of careful grooming and education only taught him how to defy his mother!”

“Ha, he’s still your son,” Su Chengfeng said. “Is it entirely my fault he turned out like this? If you ask me, his meanness and coldness are more like yours. That kind of ungrateful white-eyed wolf.”

“Who are you calling a white-eyed wolf?!”

“I’m talking about Su Jiyu, not you, haha,” Su Chengfeng said. “Why bother with all that effort? If this one is ruined, just raise another. You only have one son, but I have plenty. Take your pick of who catches your eye, and I’ll bring them home one day…”

Slap! He Linrong struck Su Chengfeng across the face.

She said coldly, “I’ve told you before, the Su family will only belong to my son! Your bastards won’t get a single penny from this house!”

Having been struck, Su Chengfeng also grew violent. He kicked the coffee table over and shouted, “Su Jiyu, that disobedient brat! You admitted yourself he’s uncontrollable, yet you insist on him being the heir? Are you waiting for his wings to grow so he can settle scores with you? Are you stupid!”

He Linrong’s eyes turned dark. “His wings growing?”

“Before that happens, I’ll break every bone in his body one by one until he trembles just at the sight of me.”

Zhao Zhiyi covered Su Jiyu’s ears. “Don’t listen.”

Su Jiyu lowered his lashes. “I’m used to it.”

Zhao Zhiyi’s heart ached.

How must Su Jiyu feel, being used as a weapon for his parents to attack each other?

He pursed his lips and gripped Su Jiyu’s hand. “I’m taking you out of here.”

Zhao Zhiyi opened the back door. Suddenly, a roar of thunder shook the sky, and a torrential downpour began to fall. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and the wind howled, whipping the trees and grass.

Su Jiyu rested his chin on Zhao Zhiyi’s shoulder. His gaze fell on the suppression patch on the back of Zhao Zhiyi’s neck. He smiled slightly and said, “Zhiyi, it’s raining.”