Chapter 696: You Were a Fine Lady, Why Did You Become a Thief?

Ye Xiaoyue's Pupils shrank to the size of a needle tip, and her whole face was as white as a sheet of paper that had been soaked in water.

She looked at Jiang Feng standing in the doorway, and her body sprang up violently from the Chair.

"Jiang Feng……"

Her voice sounded as if it were forced out of her throat, dry and harsh, carrying a trembling tone of a courage that had been shattered by terror.

"Aren't you dead?"

Jiang Feng gave no answer, merely leaning against the doorframe, his gaze calm as he looked at her.

Ye Xiaoyue's eyes stared unblinking at Jiang Feng, as if staring at something crawling up from beneath the earth; fear wrapped a layer of disbelief around it, completely devouring the faint remaining color in her face.

She had clearly seen it with her own eyes.

Last Time Jiang Feng was taken directly from the hospital by those mysterious people.

She told herself it was a transaction: she exchanged Jiang Feng's life for her father's life; though despicable, though disgusting, though every night she closed her eyes and saw that face, she had no other path to take.

But now Jiang Feng stood before her, alive and breathing…

"How exactly do they operate?"

Ye Xiaoyue's voice suddenly rose a pitch, carrying an almost collapsing loss of control, as if the string in her heart that had been stretched too long finally snapped in that instant.

"Those people… what are they after? Didn't they say… didn't they say it was absolutely impossible for you to stay alive?"

Jiang Feng watched her hysterical demeanor, and said nothing.

He lifted his eyelids, his gaze passing over Ye Xiaoyue's trembling Shoulders, landing on the pale, emaciated figure on the hospital bed.

Ye Zhonghai's Breath was shallow, the rise and fall of his chest barely visible.

An ECG Monitor sat at the bedside, its screen showing a green waveform slowly pulsing, with a rise visible only every few breaths.

Jiang Feng's gaze lingered a few breaths on that gaunt face, then withdrew, turning back to Ye Xiaoyue.

"I originally thought all this was a trap you set to ensnare me…"

His voice was faint, without much emotion.

"It seems his illness is truly severe."

Ye Xiaoyue, upon hearing that, was momentarily stunned, then as if something had shoved her hard from behind, she lunged half a step forward. Her eye sockets were still red, the moisture at the bottom of her eyes had dried, replaced by a ruthless resolve that emerged after being driven to a dead end.

She looked at Jiang Feng, her voice pressed low, bearing a hoarse, worn-down cold hardness.

"Jiang Feng, I did all of this."

She clenched her teeth, each word scraping out from between them.

"It was I who colluded with those people, just to eliminate you."

As she spoke, her chin lifted slightly, as if trying to prop the last shred of Dignity on her face.

"If you want to kill, then kill me."

Jiang Feng looked at her, a layer of resignation rising in his gaze.

"Actually I don't understand," he said, "why, why do you hate me so much?"

He stepped forward, standing beneath the central light of the ward, his shadow spreading on the floor, a arm's length away from the small patch of shadow at Ye Xiaoyue's feet.

"Our engagement—at first you refused, so I dissolved it. I never intended to entangle you."

His voice was not loud, his speech unhurried.

"But why… let you be filled with malice toward me?"

Ye Xiaoyue listened, silent for a few breaths.

Then she lifted her head, the cold hardness in her gaze receding bit by bit, revealing underneath a hotter, sharper thing.

The corner of her Mouth twitched, as if in a Cold Smile and also as if crying, her features contorting into a strange expression.

"Why?"

She repeated the two words, her voice suddenly soaring, carrying a hysteria that had been suppressed for too long finally exploding.

She clenched her fingers into a Fist, her nails digging into her palm, the sharp sound piercing the stifling quiet of the ward.

"Because you shouldn't be so outstanding!"

Jiang Feng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Ye Xiaoyue stepped forward, tilting her head back to look at him, the watery sheen in her eye sockets surged again, but did not fall.

"I gave you up, so you should rot in the mud as I expected, stinking! But why did you become so outstanding? Why?"

Her voice rose to a piercing pitch.

"Even the Su Family's eldest daughter Su Xueyan is enamored with you! Do you know? All this proves my ignorance!"

She slapped her own Chest hard, the heel of her hand striking her collarbone with a muffled thud.

"Since you appeared, my life has been completely ruined! The engagement is gone, my Reputation is gone, even my father looks down on me! If it weren't for you, I would still be the Ye Family's eldest daughter, still the Ye Xiaoyue everyone envies!"

She gasped heavily, her Chest heaving violently, Tears finally rolling from her eye sockets, streaming down her cheek into her Mouth.

Jiang Feng, after hearing her words, remained silent for a while.

Then he smiled.

The smile was faint, the corner of his mouth only slightly upturned, yet there was not a hint of mirth in his eyes.

That smile was neither mocking nor angry, but a helpless resignation with nothing left to say.

He had come to a complete understanding.

Ye Xiaoyue, this woman, is beyond cure.

He needed to say nothing more.

Ye Xiaoyue looked at his smile, as if something had scorched her, the muscles on her face twitching for a moment.

She lowered her head, her voice suddenly dropping, as if someone had taken a segment of her spine, making her shrink half an inch.

"Moreover…"

Her voice became low and hoarse, like an old cloth pulled from water, wetly clinging to her throat.

"Those mysterious people are from Kyoto. They promised that if I cooperate with them, they will intervene to save my dad."

She turned her head, her gaze falling on the pale silhouette on the sickbed; her lips moved slightly, as if Thousand words Ten Thousand words were stuck there, and finally she managed to squeeze out a single sentence.

"I already have None left; I cannot let my dad get into trouble again."

She turned back, looking at Jiang Feng, the sharpness in her eyes having completely receded, leaving only a hollowed-out fatigue.

Her Shoulders relaxed, Throughout she looked as if she had become very thin, her chin pointed sharply.

"Jiang Feng, I can atone with my death. I beg you, could you spare my dad just this once?"

Her voice was so light it seemed it could break at any moment.

"From beginning to end, he was innocent."

Jiang Feng looked at her, stared for a long time, then nodded.

"I am clear about right and wrong."

"Uncle Ye, I promise he will recover."

Ye Xiaoyue heard this, her Shoulders trembled sharply.

She lifted her head, looking at Jiang Feng, her lips trembling, as if wanting to say something, but in the end she only managed a bleak, almost transparent smile.

She didn't utter the words "thank you", merely turned around, walked back to the bedside, and lowered her head to look at the unconscious person on the bed.

She extended her hand, the pad of her fingers lightly brushed Ye Zhonghai's gaunt brow Bone, then slowly descended along the curve of his cheek Bone. Her movement was very gentle, as if afraid of breaking something.

"Dad…"

She spoke, her voice low, carrying a lightness that seemed to finally let go.

"It was my daughter's immaturity before."

She paused briefly, her Fingers tapping on Ye Zhonghai's back of the hand.

"In the next life, I will still be your daughter."

When the words fell, she straightened, turned and walked toward the Window.

The hospital room's Window was ajar, the evening breeze poured in through the gap, inflating the white curtains like a spread wing.

Ye Xiaoyue pushed open the Window, and the cold wind instantly filled the whole room, rustling the papers on the table.

She turned back and glanced at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng Standing There, his gaze fell on her face.

Ye Xiaoyue Laughter a moment. That smile was brief, like a firefly flashing in the night, shining for an instant, then sinking into darkness.

She turned around, leapt off the Window sill.

No hesitation at all!

Bang!

A muffled sound, then quickly, Throughout the hospital was alarmed……

Jiang Feng stood in place, letting out a gentle sigh.

"You were a beauty, why become a thief?"