Shen Yuhuan's eyes darkened. "What is this?"
"I don't know," Lu Zemin replied quickly. "I swear. He asked me—if anything ever happened, and if you or Shen Fuyue reached out—I was to give this to one of you."
Shen Yuhuan froze.
Her trembling fingers closed over the pendrive, lifting it as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Her mind swirled with questions.
"Where is Yunjin?" she asked softly.
Lu Zemin's face fell. "I… don't know. I tried calling him the day he left for Jinling City. But his phone's been unreachable ever since."
Shen Yuhuan's heart sank.
Lu Zemin continued, voice tight. "I was out of town. I didn't know what was happening here until recently. When I heard someone was searching for Yunjin, I checked who it was. When I found out it was you—I knew I had to reach out."
Her gaze sharpened further. "Why are you helping... us?"
Lu Zemin swallowed hard. "I owe him. A debt I can't repay. When he asked me to keep this safe… I understood."
Shen Yuhuan stared at him. She understood the unspoken words—Lu Zemin was unknown, invisible to most. Yunjin had trusted him to keep this safe, where no one would think to look.
She drew a steady breath, calming the whirl of thoughts. "Did Yunjin leave any other message?"
Lu Zemin opened his mouth to speak—
RING—RING—RING.
Her phone vibrated sharply on the table.
Shen Yuri.
"Excuse me." Shen Yuhuan picked it up instantly."Yuri?"
"Yuhuan-gugu!" Shen Yuri's voice was shaking. "The reporters—they've found out Fuyue-jiejie is here! They're trying to break into the hospital! It's chaos! The police are trying to hold them back! Gugu—I don't know what to do!"
Shen Yuhuan's heart plummeted.
***
The sun hadn't even risen fully, but Lianhua Hospital was already under siege.
Sirens wailed faintly in the distance as more patrol cars were called in.
Barricades had been hastily set up, but the growing crowd of reporters and cameramen pressed against them like a living tide—cameras flashing, microphones raised, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of accusation.
"She's inside! Shen Fuyue is inside the hospital!""Sources confirm she's in the VIP wing!""Get that angle—make sure we can see the window!"
Shen Yuri stood just behind the sealed entrance, clutching her phone with trembling fingers, her face pale as death. The roar from outside echoed down the hallways, shaking even the thick hospital walls.
Inside the VIP room, it was worse.
Shen Fuyue lay under the hospital bed—small, trembling, her fragile body pressed into the cold floor as muffled screams reached her ears.
The moment the noise had started, panic had gripped her. The voices sounded like they were right outside the door—demanding her blood.
"Miss Shen! Please—please come out. You're safe here," one nurse begged, kneeling beside the bed, her hands gently tugging at Fuyue's arm."She won't come out. The noise—she's terrified," another whispered, her own voice tight with anger.
Dr. Luo stormed in, his coat flaring behind him. His face was thunderous.
"Who the hell let this happen?! I want the front entrance locked down! NOW!"
Behind him, Inspector Zhang and two more officers entered, guns at their belts, eyes scanning the scene.
"We're trying, Doctor," Inspector Zhang said grimly. "They came prepared—ten, fifteen news vans, all live-streaming already. We're calling reinforcements."
Shen Yuri rushed to Dr. Luo, voice shaking."Doctor—you have to do something! She can't take this! They'll kill her with this noise!"
Dr. Luo clenched his teeth.
"Status?" Dr. Luo demanded.
The head nurse gestured helplessly."She won't come out. She's terrified. The reporters—they're practically rioting outside."
Inspector Zhang's face darkened."They're trying to breach through side doors now. We've got plainclothes units moving to intercept."
Dr. Luo crouched beside the bed, voice gentle but firm."Miss Shen… listen to me. You're safe. We won't let them near you. But you must trust us—you can't stay under there. You'll only get worse."
But Shen Fuyue didn't respond.
Then—a faint, broken murmur escaped her lips, almost inaudible beneath her trembling breath.
"No more… please… no more… I'll be good… don't… don't touch me…"
The words stabbed through the room like a blade. The nurses stiffened, eyes welling. One covered her mouth with shaking fingers.
Dr. Luo's throat tightened painfully. For a beat, he couldn't speak.
"God…" one young nurse whispered, her voice cracking.
Outside, a new wave of shouts rose:
"Bring out Shen Fuyue!"
"We demand answers—what is she hiding?"
"Is Qinglan Group being sold off? Is the Lianhua Hospital protecting a criminal?"
The reporters were known to be ruthless, but this time, they had abandoned any shred of humanity.
Inside, Dr. Luo's voice suddenly cut through the chaos like a whip."I don't care what you do. Keep those vultures away from my patient!"
His fury was palpable, cutting through the chaotic hum of the ward. The nurses and staff froze—many had worked under him for years, but none had ever seen him like this.
Inspector Zhang gave a sharp nod. "I'll secure the perimeter. No one gets through."
Without another word, she turned on her heel. With a swift gesture to her team, the officers moved out, boots thudding against the floor as they headed for the entrance.
The mob outside pressed harder, trying to squeeze whatever they could:
"Shen Fuyue! Are you going to speak to the public?"
"Why are you hiding if you're innocent?"
"Did you stage the assault to manipulate the Mo family into marriage?"
"Mo Corporation sources say the engagement was broken months ago—why were you still pursuing Mo Ziqian?"
"What happened to the Qinglan Group's remaining assets? Are you part of an embezzlement cover-up?"
"Did Shen Weimin funnel illegal funds through your name before the collapse?"
"If you're innocent—come out and face the public! Or are you guilty after all?"
"Why did the Shen family publicly disown you? What are they hiding?"
Each question felt like a dagger.
Each camera flash like a gunshot.
"This is not journalism anymore," one of the older nurses snapped in fury, gripping a tray so hard her knuckles turned white. "This is a lynch mob."
"She's not safe here," another whispered. "They'll break through soon."
Under the bed, Shen Fuyue covered her ears—her slender frame shaking violently. The cruel words burned through the floor, through the walls, through her skin.
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't think.