Translator: O(n^n) oh baby

TLC: Jury

Editor: thepinkfleurdelis

Quality Check: Kai

First Published on Chaleuria

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Eight: Alice's Insanity (III)

Everyone looked towards the entrance in the direction of the voice. When they saw the speaker, they had very different reactions. 

Xiao Yu tried rus.h.i.+ng towards their savior and almost fell out of Yan Jin's pocket. Luckily, Yan Jin managed to grab him and stuff him back into his pocket. 

"You're very late." Yan Jin didn't forget to mock him while rapping Xiao Yu on the head as punishment. 

"… Shut up." Chu Ge had rushed over here. After his shout, he could barely catch his breath. 

Nan Chan was still frozen in place. She hadn't even noticed what had happened between Yan Jin and Xiao Yu. 

"Sir, you can't go in there! Sir!" A delicate-looking secretary chased after Chu Ge. She was probably Nan Chan's personal secretary. 

The secretary had unsuccessfully tried to stop Chu Ge from entering the entire way. Chu Ge had forcefully broken into Nan Chan's office. When the secretary saw Nan Chan's messed-up attire, she broke into a cold sweat. "M-miss, I don't know what this gentleman here wants. I'll go call the police…" 

Nan Chan didn't respond. 

The secretary was about to cry but made one last valiant effort. "Sir, what is the meaning of this? If you don't leave, I'll call the police!" 

"This is my friend," Yan Jin said. "He came with me. Miss secretary, please just treat him as my bodyguard." 

The secretary knew Yan Jin. She looked between him and Nan Chan with a difficult face. "But, but he can't just break in like this…" 

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem. But, today's situation was special…

The secretary snuck a look at Nan Chan and was scared out of her wits by Nan Chan's expression. 

"You can leave," Nan Chan finally said. 

The secretary felt a buzzing in her head and blankly said, "But, but, Miss, you…"

Nan Chan gave her a cold glare. The secretary felt like a cold-blooded hunter was staring her down. Her joints began to s.h.i.+ver. 

"You don't even recognize this person and you have the face to be a part of the Nan Family?" Nan Chan's voice was like frost cutting to the bone. "Get out! I don't want to see you again." 

The secretary's face became deathly pale. Not daring to speak a word, she staggered out of the office and quietly closed the door. 

The second before she closed the door, the secretary saw a sight she'd never seen before: an innocent yet warped smile on Nan Chan's face. 

She aimlessly staggered to the top of the stairs. A gust of cold air blew from outside and her brain finally restarted. 

That guy… who is he?

She felt like she should recognize him, but the atmosphere had been too tense earlier. She hadn't had the time to react or slowly think about it. 

She and Nan Chan were actually cousins. When they were younger, they had actually played together a few times. However, when the main line of succession had had some problems, Nan Chan's genius talent had caught the Nan Family's attention, and Nan Chan surged past all the others to become the successor. Their two positions within the family changed to the extent that they couldn't be more different. 

Chu Ge had left a much deeper impression on Nan Chan, so Nan Chan had instantly recognized him despite not seeing him for ten years. On the other hand, Nan Chan's secretary wasn't as familiar with Chu Ge, but she had been with the Nan Family for many years and understood some of their family's history that couldn't be bandied about. Combined with Nan Chan's words and her smile, an answer suddenly presented itself to the secretary. 

After suddenly realizing this, the secretary covered her mouth with both hands to stop an irrepressible scream already at the edge of her mouth. 

"Long time no see." 

Nan Chan fixed her dress's shoulder strap without a hint of awkwardness. She gave them both a sweet smile. 

But, Xiao Yu was already almost scared to death. 

When Nan Chan had undone her shoulder strap, Xiao Yu had felt more than the indignance of catching his husband in an affair. It was more of a deep-seated fear. 

In the first place, Xiao Yu had been there the entire time and knew how the situation had reached that point. An affair wasn't possible. He himself could verify Yan Jin's innocence. Secondly, when Yan Jin had avoided Nan Chan's lunge, Xiao Yu had been thrown halfway out of Yan Jin's pocket. At that moment, Xiao Yu had coincidentally met Nan Chan's eyes from a strange angle. 

To be more accurate, Xiao Yu had seen Nan Chan's head-on gaze. 

It had only been for a moment, but it was enough for Xiao Yu to see those frenzied eyes. 

There was neither love nor hatred in them, only an unidentifiable emotion—

—Like a young girl whose doll had been s.n.a.t.c.hed from her. 

If it were his past self or if he hadn't known Nan Chan's feelings towards Yan Jin, Xiao Yu now definitely knew the gaze of someone in love. 

At least, it definitely wasn't that. That was a gaze that instilled fear. 

"You've grown up." Those were Chu Ge's first words to Nan Chan. 

Then, the office fell into a heavy silence. 

With a hand protecting Xiao Yu, Yan Jin retreated two steps to the wall and leaned against it, appreciating everything that had happened until today. 

Xiao Yu poked the back of Yan Jin's hand to signal that he wanted to come out, and Yan Jin accepted his request. 

The view had been very limited from the pocket, and hamster eyesight was very average. At most, Xiao Yu had only been able to see rough outlines. Now, from Yan Jin's palm, Xiao Yu could finally observe Nan Chan's full appearance. 

Xiao Yu didn't want to blindly speak out against the rumors of her devastating beauty. In the past, Xiao Yu had greatly agreed that she was a rare beauty, but now, with her bare feet on the floor, askew attire, messy hair, and feigned aloofness, she couldn't even be considered good-looking. She didn't even look like a normal person. 

The most frightening part was how she had gone from endlessly pursuing Yan Jin earlier to now having eyes only for Chu Ge. 

An absolute lunatic, Xiao Yu concluded. 

When he realized this, Xiao Yu was filled with a fl.u.s.tered confusion. 

There was something he couldn't understand. 

How could Yan Jin communicate normally with Nan Chan?

Actually, even Chu Ge couldn't understand this. 

Chu Ge had only been able to arrive at the crucial time because Yan Jin's phone had been clearly transmitting their conversation to Chu Ge the entire time. 

Truth be told, Chu Ge was clearer than anyone on how ten years could change someone. After ten years apart, no matter how unwilling Chu Ge was to admit it, he had to concede that Nan Chan was no longer the open-minded young girl who had saved a homeless cat. On the contrary, her innocent kind-hearted nature had become cold and cruel. She had become an unscrupulous, selfish, despicable adult. 

Though he knew this, when Chu Ge had first begun to listen in, he had hoped that there was some misunderstanding. 

As their conversation continued, Chu Ge's hopes had plummeted. 

Even an outsider like Xiao Yu could tell something wasn't right with Nan Chan. How couldn't Chu Ge? 

Chu Ge specialized in surgery, but because of an older cla.s.smate, he also understood quite a bit of psychiatry. He wasn't proficient to the point of giving well-calibrated diagnoses, but for someone like Nan Chan, a diagnosis wasn't even needed. 

Listening to the conversation, Chu Ge had spent a whole five minutes in shock. 

Against all of Chu Ge's expectations, the little sister who had bloomed brighter than fresh flowers somehow completely withered in ten years. 

Perhaps because of his long experience in the industry talking to terminally ill patients, Chu Ge sometimes could sense a faint impression of death on very sick patients. 

It was an irrational feeling that Chu Ge couldn't explain. Perhaps from a scientific standpoint, Chu Ge could infer this from the pain and suffering on patients' faces. 

Now, Chu Ge could see the same thing on Nan Chan's face. 

He could see it in her raised cheekbones, her sluggish pupils, and ailing body. In just the time he was gone, his sister had become beyond saving. 

"Sorry, I've been gone for too long. It won't happen again." That was the second thing Chu Ge said to Nan Chan.  

Nan Chan nodded very lightly. Her next words were very cautious, as if they'd break a mirage. "Are you… here for my wedding?" 

Chu Ge shook his head. "You can't go on like this. You really can't." 

"What's wrong with me? I'm fine." Nan Chan smiled shyly.  "I've been wondering all this time when you would return. You haven't even brought me back the dress you promised." 

Dress, dress…

The promised dress. 

When had he promised it?

Ten years ago. 

Although he had already made such mental preparations, Chu Ge was still caught by surprise. 

Yan Jin's expression had changed too. He put Xiao Yu back into his pocket and pulled out his phone to call for some outside help. 

"You can't have forgotten, right?" Nan Chan pouted. Step by step, she approached Chu Ge until they were no more than a step apart. Their bodies were almost touching. 

Nan Chan lifted her head and gave Chu Ge an alarming stare. Word by word, she said, "It's no big deal if you forgot as long as you bring me one." 

Chu Ge ground his teeth and embraced her around the waist. "Yes, I won't forget this time." 

Her pupils widened for a moment and she let out a sound of happiness. Then, she slowly closed her eyes—

Her whole body fell over. 

Chu Ge calmly threw away his syringe. He turned around and told Yan Jin, "Call Private Hospital 1's ambulance." 

The syringe lay on the floor, its tip glittering coldly.