Chapter 89: Lu Zhizhi Is Going to Jump, Are We Going to Intervene?

乔卫卫 only took one look before blurting out, "Some so-called innocent girls really are impossible to talk about."

"I was just saying one pest was gone, and here comes another."

Song Mi saw her too.

But she first glanced at Qiao Weiwei and said, "You're two people now. Don't go mouthing off at a mad dog later."

Song Mi still remembered how, back at the art exhibition, when Lu Zhizhi slapped her, Qiao Weiwei had lunged forward to shove Lu Zhizhi away even faster than Song Mi herself had reacted.

Qiao Weiwei smiled and flicked a glance at her. "Mi'er loves me!"

In truth, Song Mi did not need to remind her. Lu Zhizhi looked like trouble from the moment she appeared.

And in Qiao Weiwei's eyes, Lu Zhizhi seemed a little... off.

Soon, Lu Zhizhi rushed up to them. "Song Mi, what are you doing here?"

"Haven't you hurt me enough yet?" Lu Zhizhi pointed at Song Mi, fury sparking in her eyes. But in the next instant she changed completely, her face twisting with terror. She clutched her head with both hands. "No, I don't want it... I don't want surgery..."

As she spoke, she shook her head violently and crouched down. "I don't want surgery..."

There she squatted in front of them, blocking their way, still muttering, "I don't want to go back to Vancouver..."

Qiao Weiwei was stunned. Looking at her now, Lu Zhizhi seemed insane.

How long had it been? How had Lu Zhizhi become like this?

She had drugged Mi'er, had Rong Le slander her in public, had dared to slap her, and later had been bold enough to stab her with a knife. And now she had apparently driven herself mad?

With that level of mental fortitude, she still had the nerve to go out and stir up trouble all over the world?

Song Mi, however, could imagine a few things.

From being slapped in public at the exhibition, to being drugged by Shen Ruming and then trapped with those men arranged by Shen Yanye, and then later stabbed in the capital and taken away to be locked in a dark room, these past two months had certainly not been kind to Lu Zhizhi.

And all the while, she had been plagued by an impossible love for Lawyer Wen. Her innocence was ruined, her love was lost, and in this state, the educated and graceful heiress persona she had maintained for years was probably already shattered.

The more she cared, the less she could escape the torment of her own mind, and the easier it was for her to be swallowed by negative emotions.

Suspicion, resentment, terror, paranoia.

Lu Zhizhi now looked as though she had fallen into a swamp, mud clinging all over her and dragging her down inch by inch. One careless step, and she might never be able to climb out again.

In other words, Lu Zhizhi was in a very dangerous psychological struggle at the moment.

One thought, and she could be reborn, still the well-bred Miss Lu, even if rotten at the core.

One thought, and she could fall into hell; from then on, whether she went mad, went foolish, or even killed herself, none of it would be surprising.

Seeing Lu Zhizhi crouched there in fearful shrinking confusion, Song Mi did not feel much pity.

For one thing, the champagne with something in it had absolutely been handed to her by Lu Zhizhi herself. Because of that glass of champagne, she had suffered the agony of the procedure and nearly bled to death.

With her special blood type, if she had developed severe hemorrhaging, there was a very high chance she would have died on the operating table.

That alone made it impossible for her to feel sympathy for Lu Zhizhi.

For another, the other day Wang Lisha had been drugged in an attempt to frame Lawyer Wen. Since the true mastermind was Lu Zhiyuan, it had to have still been for Lu Zhizhi's sake.

Perhaps Lu Zhiyuan's clever plan was that once Lawyer Wen's future and reputation were destroyed, his sister would have no chance left anyway.

But from Lu Zhizhi's muttering, Song Mi caught one phrase precisely:

"I don't want surgery."

What surgery?

Could it be that Lu Zhiyuan had told Lu Zhizhi about the secret liver donation agreement she had signed?

Was Lu Zhizhi talking about refusing the liver donation operation?

These thoughts flashed through Song Mi's mind in less than half a minute.

In that same brief span, Qiao Weiwei's reaction to what she saw and heard had gone from disbelief and confusion to a preliminary conclusion.

This Lu Zhizhi had probably suffered some enormous shock and broken down mentally. The way she looked made it clear she had developed paranoid delusions.

In any case, they had better keep their distance. "Mi'er, let's go."

"Mm." Though she had questions, Song Mi would not go asking an obviously unstable Lu Zhizhi.

"Ah—"

With a cry, Lu Zhizhi suddenly stood up, just as Song Mi and Qiao Weiwei had only taken a couple of steps around her to leave.

Seeing Lu Zhizhi about to crash into Qiao Weiwei, Song Mi was startled. "Watch out."

Qiao Weiwei was pulled aside by Song Mi just in time to avoid the Lu Zhizhi who had turned and bolted away. "Hey... this woman..."

Song Mi's hand was still on Qiao Weiwei's shoulder. Her gaze skimmed over Lu Zhizhi's retreating back and returned to Qiao Weiwei's face. "All right, don't mind her."

"Let's go."

Qiao Weiwei answered, "Mm."

But just as they reached the turn in the stairwell and were about to climb up, they ran into Lu Zhiyuan hurrying down the stairs.

Saint Noah was a private hospital, but the architecture was nothing like a hospital. The buildings were all red-brick VIP pavilions, their interior layouts and decor strongly reminiscent of the grand mansions of wealthy families in the Republican era.

None of the buildings were very tall, about six or seven stories each, and of course they had elevators serving every floor.

Still, for just three or four floors, taking the stairs was perfectly normal.

Song Mi had asked Lin Assistant to book the doctor for Qiao Weiwei, and the consultation room happened to be on the third floor, so they had chosen the stairs.

They had not expected such repeated bad luck: first meeting Lu Zhizhi on the outside corridor, then running into Lu Zhiyuan in the stairwell.

Lu Zhiyuan naturally saw them as well.

Ordinarily, at a time like this, rushing to find his sister, he should not have slowed his pace. Yet for some reason, he spoke almost as if possessed. "President Song, what a coincidence."

The stairwell was only so wide, and with three people walking side by side, it would certainly be cramped.

Since Lu Zhiyuan had spoken first, Song Mi thought she might as well get straight to the point. "It is a coincidence, though I happen to have something to say to you, President Lu."

"Weiwei, go upstairs and wait for me."

At that, Qiao Weiwei did not move. She only lifted her eyes and gave Lu Zhiyuan a cold glance.

The matter of her brother being stabbed had happened before. She had said she would have someone investigate it, but Mi'er had stopped her and told her the general outline.

Although Mi'er said there was still no proof, Qiao Weiwei harbored absolutely no goodwill toward the Lu siblings.

Lu Zhizhi's hysterical state just now had been pitiful, yes, but not pitiful enough to deserve sympathy.

If you set out to harm others, you should be prepared to bear the consequences!

She had not asked Mi'er exactly how Lu Zhizhi had been dealt with, but she believed Mi'er would not be the one at a disadvantage.

In the end, Lu Zhizhi simply had too poor a mental constitution.

But Lu Zhiyuan was different. When Mi'er faced Lu Zhiyuan, she had to stay on guard no matter what. Yet now Mi'er was telling her to go ahead first; of course she could not feel at ease.

So Qiao Weiwei's long look at Lu Zhiyuan carried a great deal in it, and she deliberately asked, "President Lu, have you gone to see my brother?"

She was reminding Lu Zhiyuan what he had done.

"Young Master Qiao?" Lu Zhiyuan knew perfectly well what she meant, but on the surface he looked puzzled. "What happened to Young Master Qiao?"

It had to be said, Lu Zhiyuan's act of playing dumb was rather good.

Qiao Weiwei exchanged a glance with Song Mi and smiled. "Oh, so President Lu doesn't know my brother is hospitalized."

"Looks like you're not that close to my brother either. He's been in Jinzhou Second Hospital for days, and he never even thought to contact you when he was bored?" After all, she was the Qiao family's young lady. With the Qiao family behind her, she had the confidence to carry herself with composure. "And my brother is worried right now. In a few days it'll be my grandfather's birthday banquet, and he's afraid that by then he still won't be able to get out of bed and come home to celebrate. If that happens, the matter of him being stabbed in the street will be impossible to hide."

Then Qiao Weiwei even made a joke. "Is public security in Jinzhou really that bad?"

"Mi'er, I'll go upstairs and wait for you."

After Qiao Weiwei passed her and headed up the stairs, Song Mi looked at Lu Zhiyuan's rather ugly expression and said mockingly, "President Lu must be eager to go visit Young Master Qiao now."

"Then I'll keep this brief." She had no intention of beating around the bush. "You ordered Wang Lisha to frame Lawyer Wen, used Wang Quan's phone to send messages to me, and pinned it all on Shen Yanye."

"You exposed Tang Lishi and Shen Yanye, bribed someone close to Shen Yanye to drug him, made Shen Yanye place all the blame on me, and in his rage he sent people to attack me."

Under Lu Zhiyuan's narrowed stare, Song Mi slowly lifted her red lips again. "President Lu's scheme was brilliant indeed. Sitting in the mountains and watching the tigers fight, waiting for me and Shen Yanye to tear each other apart until one of us was dead."

"Only, President Lu probably never calculated that Qiao Yudong would take a knife for me, did you?"

As they faced off, Lu Zhiyuan's expression grew darker and darker, though he did not reveal much emotion. "I had no idea President Song's imagination was this rich. You've spun a seamless story, with logic to match."

Then he asked, "Is that all President Song wanted to say to me?"

Song Mi curved her lips. "Of course not."

Then she said what she had just heard Lu Zhizhi muttering over and over. "If I remember correctly, I said at the time, and President Lu agreed personally, that before the agreement took effect, I did not want a fourth person to know about it."

Her tone chilled, and a trace of frost entered her amber eyes. "What is it now, President Lu? Have times changed so much that your sister has already come out of that dark room, so you've decided to break the contract unilaterally?"

"With integrity like yours, once the Lu family falls into your hands in the future, I doubt it will go very far."

That last sentence was a naked threat.

At any rate, her plan to disrupt the Lu family's stockpiled seasonings being pushed into the Wanjia supermarket chain was progressing smoothly.

She did not mind giving him a warning in advance.

Lu Zhiyuan's expression was painfully complicated.

He stared at her for a full twenty seconds.

Song Mi had not expected him to expose something so private so directly. "What she didn't want was the abortion."

At this, Song Mi froze for a real moment.

"My sister is pregnant!" Lu Zhiyuan's stare grew even more forceful, more lethal. "That night!"

"I brought her here for an abortion!"

She could not speak for a moment.

Soon, Lu Zhiyuan tugged at the corner of his mouth and forced out a few words through clenched teeth. "Satisfied now?"

His gaze lashed across her face before he turned and went downstairs.

Song Mi lowered her eyes at once and went upstairs as well.

...

Ultrasound room.

Lying on the examination bed, Qiao Weiwei nervously reached out and grabbed Song Mi's hand, tightening her grip over and over. "Mi'er, can you see it?"

"How big is it?"

"Does it... does it have hands and feet?"

"Has it... grown a nose and eyes yet?"

Song Mi almost laughed at this stream of questions, but before amusement could rise, a wave of sour ache surged up and covered it.

She thought of herself.

Of the child she had once had.

That dot the size of a soybean on the screen was Qiao Weiwei's child, only not yet six weeks old.

That tiny soybean had once belonged to her too, not long ago.

It came in a hurry.

And left in agony.

She had not even had the chance to look at him or her the way she was looking now.

It was her sin.

She had never truly wanted to keep it.

Perhaps she had, once. When Lin Shen was struggling between life and death, when she had seen with her own eyes how fragile life could be, she had wavered.

But only then.

Afterward, she had returned to being hard as iron, with not a trace of hesitation left in her.

"Mi'er... are you there?"

Not hearing her answer, Qiao Weiwei shook her hand and asked from beyond the curtain, "...Did you see it?"

Song Mi came back to herself and squeezed the hand that was clearly sweating in her own. Qiao Weiwei was very nervous. "You're holding my hand and still asking if I'm there."

The words had barely left her mouth when she realized her voice sounded off. Perhaps to cover it, she quickly added, "It's very small, probably only the size of a soybean."

"As for the nose, eyes, and hands..." She paused there, then turned to ask the doctor beside her, "They should all be there, right?"

The female doctor smiled and took up her words. "At six weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is usually about 0.6 centimeters long and weighs around three grams. It looks like a tiny blueberry. Starting from this week, the fetus's head, brain vesicles, and facial organs, meaning the nose, eyes, and so on, will begin to differentiate. At this stage, pregnant women may start to experience early pregnancy symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, and the urge to vomit..."

The doctor's gentle words slipped into Song Mi's ears one by one, striking her heart.

She could not say she regretted it.

Nor was she regretting it.

Because she could not irresponsibly create a life.

Yes, she did have the right to bring a child into this world. But she did not have the right to deprive that child of maternal love, or of the chance to have a complete family.

Since she was destined not to accompany this child as it grew, since she could not give it a normal family life, why insist on giving birth to him or her and creating a vast regret and burden for that life?

Song Mi did not regret it.

But when she saw so directly a soybean-sized life at six weeks, how could she possibly feel nothing, remember nothing, be unmoved?

After all, she too was a person of flesh and blood and feeling.

She felt sorry.

Sorry for that tiny soybean.

And sorry for the man who had helped create it with her.

After they left the examination room, even Qiao Weiwei noticed something was wrong. "Mi'er, what's the matter?"

"Your face doesn't look good. Are you feeling unwell?" She looked at Song Mi with concern. "Is it your old injury on your back hurting? Or did Lu Zhiyuan just say something to you?"

Song Mi looked at her, then at her belly. "Didn't you say you wanted the child to call me godmother?"

Qiao Weiwei immediately nodded emphatically. What doubt was there? Her child would be Mi'er's child too. "Yes!"

But then she faltered. "...But Mi'er, do I really want to have this baby?"

"An unmarried mother... I..." Qiao Weiwei was reluctant too, but if she really gave birth, she feared she might not be able to bear it.

Could she be a good mother to a child in her condition?

Mother is such a grand word. To become a mother is to become strong. Could she manage that?

Qiao Weiwei kept asking herself: could she?

For a moment, Song Mi did not know what to say.

She seemed to have many reasons she could use to persuade Qiao Weiwei to keep the child, but when the words reached her lips, she found she could not say a single one.

Or rather, she had no right to.

Besides, Song Mi was thinking that perhaps if the child stayed in Qiao Weiwei's womb a little longer, her feelings would grow deeper, and she would be better able to make a decision she would not regret.

After all, the Qiao patriarch's birthday banquet was approaching, and there was no way she could choose to have an abortion at this time.

Qiao Yudong had already been stabbed and was recuperating in bed. Whether he could get up and walk again would depend on how well his wound healed. If Qiao Weiwei did not show up by then, there would be no easy way to explain things.

In any case, Qiao Weiwei would not have an easy time in the days ahead.

Thinking this, Song Mi silently glanced at her again, reminding herself to take better care of her during this period.

The two of them, each lost in their own thoughts, walked side by side down the stairs and outside.

Just after passing through the corridor, they heard voices from somewhere nearby. "Is that a person up there?"

"Yeah... it is a person... Could she be about to jump?"

After all, this was a private hospital. There were far fewer patients and family members walking around than in a public hospital, and the atmosphere was much quieter and more refined. Precisely because of that, the nearby voices were especially attention-grabbing.

Very quickly, following the direction of one person's pointing finger, Song Mi saw at a glance that there was a person sitting on the roof of the nearest Building Five.

Qiao Weiwei saw it too. "Mi'er, look, that person... isn't that Lu Zhizhi!"

Song Mi saw it as well. It was indeed Lu Zhizhi.

Because the building was not very tall, she could see clearly.

Song Mi's heart gave a sudden lurch, and then something flashed quickly across her field of vision. Right after that, there was a dull thud from the bushes nearby.

At the same time, someone cried out in alarm. "Ah!"

One of Lu Zhizhi's shoes had fallen off.

"Damn, this..." Qiao Weiwei had been looking up just now. She quickly glanced left and right and instinctively pulled Song Mi back a step. "What do we do? Lu Zhizhi is going to jump. Do we help or not?"