C7 He Could Not Bear to See That

He couldn't bear it, filled with guilt, resorting to lies to keep the family from falling apart. But how long could he keep it up? A year? Two? Eventually, the truth would come out. In his mind, Lu Bai could already see the despair in their eyes when they found out...

A shiver ran down his spine as his gaze unintentionally fell on a thick stack of documents. It was all the information he'd ordered to be gathered about the explosion. On one of the pages was a blurry photo taken from surveillance footage. In the picture, a slender woman was glancing back at something, her striking face caught on camera. Even though it was blurry, it was clear the woman was Xue Ning.

Seeing the photo, seeing the woman he loathed, Lu Bai's expression darkened with hatred. "Murderer!"

The day had been bright and sunny, but by nightfall, the weather had turned. The sudden storm, with its howling winds and pounding rain, was unsettling, rattling the windows and doors with a haunting intensity. The night grew darker still.

The clock on the wall slowly ticked past midnight. Xue Ning was still awake, her face showing no signs of sleepiness, instead, she was wide awake. The room remained unlit.

She leaned against the headboard, her eyes fixed on the door. She was waiting. Waiting for the nightmare from her past life to begin. Waiting for the man who had trapped her in a lifelong nightmare to arrive. On the surface, everything seemed calm, but inside, she was a bundle of nerves.

What had happened on this night in her past life? The lock on the door had been opened, and the devil had slipped in silently, his strong, lean arms wrapping around her as she slept. She had woken up to a terrifying, twisted face, too weak to struggle, drowning in helpless despair. She lost consciousness repeatedly, only to be jolted awake by pain. That night, she was nothing more than a puppet, left bruised and battered by morning.

And the devil was none other than her husband in a wheelchair—Lu Bai! The memory of that excruciating pain was still vivid, and she was determined not to endure it again.

Xue Ning's face was a mix of emotions, her body trembling uncontrollably. Just then, she caught the faint, crisp sound of metal clinking—it was the sound of a key turning in the lock. Like a startled deer, Xue Ning tensed up, holding her breath. Her eyes, accustomed to the dark, were glued to the door lock, her ears straining to pick out the sound of the key amidst the noise of the storm.

The metallic sound was faint and delicate, repeating cautiously as if trying not to wake someone. The person outside the door was patient, while Xue Ning remained half-sitting on the bed, watching warily without any intention of preparing in advance, looking utterly terrified.

A second later, there was a click as the lock was opened, and Xue Ning couldn't help but swallow hard. She thought the next step would be the turning of the doorknob, followed by the door opening.

In the dim night, her attention was entirely focused on the door, her heart in her throat. Just then, there was a loud bang from outside, followed by the clattering sound of chains being dragged. Xue Ning jumped in fright but quickly covered her mouth tightly, not making a sound.

After the noise, an eerie silence fell, with only the faint sound of wind and rain providing a hint of life. At this moment, if one looked closely, they could see the bedroom door was slightly ajar, with a sliver of light shining through, casting a shadow on the floor.