Chapter 1: Being a fool once is enough

The patient's blood pressure keeps dropping! Prepare for electric shock!

Where are Miss Su's relatives? The surgery consent form hasn't been signed yet!

Under the blinding shadowless lamp in the operating room, Su Yun Jiao's vision gradually blurred.

She heard the sharp alarm of the equipment intertwined with the nurses' panicked whispers, and the wound from her abdominal cesarean section was gushing bright red blood, staining the white surgical sheet beneath her.

Three days ago, she knelt in the downpour begging Lu Chi not to abandon her and the child in her womb.

But all she got was the butler's line: "Mr. Lu is with Qin Xue trying on wedding dresses."

And today she had just been forced to sign the divorce agreement when she met with a car accident.

At this moment, in the excruciating pain of the anesthetic wearing off, she trembled as she reached for her phone and dialed that familiar number for the last time.

"Lu Chi..." she whispered, her voice like a thread, almost exhausted: "The doctor said the baby might not be saved..."

"Haven't you gotten tired of this act after three years?" the man sneered, cutting her off: "If you're going to die, die cleanly, don't delay my and Xue'er's wedding."

The call ended abruptly.

At that moment, Su Yun Jiao's gaze scattered.

The heart monitor traced a long flat line, and she felt her soul being pulled out of her body.

The last thing she saw was her own sunken cheeks as the nurse lifted the white sheet—she was only twenty-six, yet withered like an old woman...

As the Su family's lone daughter, she could have lived a happy, carefree life without marrying.

But because of one Lu Chi, she ended up in such a miserable state.

It's truly ridiculous to the extreme!

If heaven could give her a chance to start over.

She would never get close to Lu Chi again.

"Are you sure it was her you got a room with?"

The police officer's voice sounded in front of her.

Then came Lu Chi's voice: "Certain."

"And you? Was it voluntary too?"

Seeing Su Yun Jiao silent, the police officer asked again: "Was it voluntary or not?"

At this moment, Su Yun Jiao gradually came to her senses.

The scene before her was blurry yet familiar.

This is... the police station?

Su Yun Jiao turned her head to glance at Lu Chi.

Lu Chi still looked like he was eighteen or nineteen, several meters tall—about 1.8 meters—his school uniform jacket sloppily draped over him.

At this moment, Lu Chi's face still held youthful immaturity, but his deep eyes, high nose bridge, and slightly upturned corners of his mouth all revealed his handsomeness.

Lu Chi looked at her, brows slightly furrowed, speaking in an almost commanding tone: "Su Yun Jiao, speak."

One sentence pulled Su Yun Jiao's thoughts back.

This was eleven years ago, when she and Lu Chi were in their third year of high school.

Because Lu Chi ran off alone on his coming-of-age birthday, she worried something might happen to him, so she searched internet cafés around the school for him, only to be summoned by a phone call from Lu Chi to a nearby motel.

Later Su Yun Jiao learned that the police had raided the place for prostitution, arrested Lu Chi, but Qin Xue, who had come to celebrate his birthday, had fled.

Lu Chi called her to have her take the blame.

In her previous life, for Lu Chi she took the blame without asking the details, not knowing the matter would later blow up at school.

This caused her to be isolated in high school, unable to lift her head until graduation.

But Lu Chi, being the school heartthrob, led boys to think he had slept with a woman right after coming of age, and they instead flattered him with obsequious praise.

Recalling her painful high school experience, Su Yun Jiao raised her head and said directly: "Officer, it wasn't me; I only came after receiving the call. If you don't believe me, you can check the nearby surveillance."

Saying this, Su Yun Jiao also took out her ID from her pocket and placed it before the officer: "This is my ID; I'm a minor, I can't get a room."

"Su Yun Jiao!"

Lu Chi's expression shifted slightly, probably not expecting Su Yun Jiao to suddenly turn against him.

The officer glanced at Su Yun Jiao's ID and indeed she was underage.

"Getting someone to take the blame? You little brat, you're quite something."

The officer asked: "Was it prostitution? What's your parents' phone number? Have them come right away."

Lu Chi's face looked grim.

Su Yun Jiao knew Lu Chi wasn't soliciting prostitution; it was just that Qin Xue used the excuse of a quarrel with her family, but actually wanted to celebrate Lu Chi's birthday.

Lu Chi, to help Qin Xue find a place, went to this motel.

This motel usually doesn't require ID registration; many sixteen- or seventeen-year-old couples come here to get a room.

Normally nothing happens.

It just happened that this time they ran into a police anti-prostitution sweep.

When the police arrived, Lu Chi hadn't left yet, but Qin Xue ran away for fear of being caught.

Although it was a mix-up, being taken to the police station was inevitably embarrassing; the Lu family's upbringing is strict, so Lu Chi naturally feared his family finding out.

But after the officer's repeated urging, Lu Chi could only call his family.

While waiting for the Lu family to arrive, Su Yun Jiao sat alone in the side office chair, with no communication whatsoever with Lu Chi the whole time.

"Su Yun Jiao, you did this on purpose, right?"

Lu Chi lowered his voice: "It's just taking the blame, isn't it? Can't you cover for me? Xiao Xue and her family had a falling out, I got a room to find her a place to sleep; if my mom finds out, I'm done."

"Isn't it just taking the blame?"

Lu Chi's words were said lightly.

If getting caught by the police for getting a hotel room is something glorious, Qin Xue wouldn't need to run.

Facing Lu Chi before her, Su Yun Jiao said coldly, "Sorry, I can't do that."

Lu Chi looked at the unusually behaving Su Yun Jiao, unconsciously furrowing his brow, and asked, "What's wrong with you today?"

They grew up together since childhood, and Su Yun Jiao used never to refuse him.

Su Yun Jiao didn't speak.

She is not the foolish, wholeheartedly devoted Su Yun Jiao of her previous life for Lu Chi.

Once, she and Lu Chi were childhood sweethearts, having grown up together, which made Lu Chi feel special toward her compared to other girls.

Because Lu Chi was the school heartthrob, from elementary to high school, girls who liked Lu Chi all disliked her.

This also resulted in her having no friends other than Lu Chi.

Thus she relied on Lu Chi especially.

But Lu Chi firmly grasped this point, treating her like a lackey and ordering her around.

"Su Yun Jiao, have you gone mute?"

Lu Chi frowned.

Obviously dissatisfied with Su Yun Jiao's reaction just now.

Facing Lu Chi before her, Su Yun Jiao felt extreme hatred, but to avoid letting him notice anything odd, she still said with a cold face, "You caused the trouble yourself, you bear the blame yourself, don't drag me into it."

"Su Yun Jiao, why are you like this?" Lu Chi said discontentedly, "We're basically good buddies; when a brother is in trouble, how can you not help?"

"Good buddies?"

Hearing that address, Su Yun Jiao almost laughed.

Have you ever seen good buddies with a marriage contract?

Everyone at school knew she liked Lu Chi.

Lu Chi himself was aware, but he deliberately blurred the boundaries.

He enjoyed her affection while stringing her along, letting her harbor fantasies.

Probably seeing Su Yun Jiao unmoved, Lu Chi said again, "Jiao Jiao, Xiao Xue is different from you; her family is poor, and she's such a fragile girl—if she gets caught, her second half of life will be ruined."

"Xiao Xue is a girl, am I not?"

Su Yun Jiao countered Lu Chi.

When the Lu Family was at its most difficult, she married Lu Chi, bringing the entire Su Family as her dowry.

Lu Chi once held her hand and promised to treat her well for a lifetime.

In the end, Lu Chi relied on her family's wealth to rise to prominence, and she had thought her suffering would finally be rewarded.

But what was the result?

Just as Qin Xue had returned to the country, Lu Chi couldn't wait to proceed with divorce procedures with her.

Only four hours before her death did Su Yun Jiao find out.

Even after marriage, Lu Chi never truly severed ties with Qin Xue.

During Lu Chi's career low point, she worked three jobs alone to sustain the household.

But Lu Chi didn't feel sorry for her.

When Qin Xue merely had a birthday, Lu Chi sold his wedding ring just to give her a decent gift.

When she was seven months pregnant.

Lu Chi got into a fight and was taken to the station, at the time said to be due to drinking and causing trouble.

The other party demanded Lu Chi serve jail time.

To keep the peace, she disregarded her pregnancy, knelt on the ground, and begged the other party to show leniency.

But in fact, that night someone harassed Qin Xue, and Lu Chi fought the other party fiercely for her sake.

All this, just because Qin Xue is different from her?

Thinking of these, Su Yun Jiao gave a self-mocking laugh.

Being a fool for a lifetime is enough.

She can't be foolish a second time.

Since Lu Chi likes Qin Xue so much, why should she keep throwing herself at him?

Lu Chi hadn't expected Su Yun Jiao to say that, and he was momentarily at a loss: "I didn't mean it that way."

"In my view, you are exactly that meaning."

Su Yun Jiao said coldly, "Since you treat me as a good brother, let's call off our marriage."