She must be lying to me!

She must be!

Chen Zhendong did not give Helian Wei Wei the chance to continue, as he hastily turned around and left.

His heart desperately hoped that the news was untrue, so much so that he became a little insane.

He dashed toward his car with hurried footsteps and drove so fast it felt as though his car was floating.

Chen Zhendong was not heading toward his home.

Instead, he went to Lan Ya's residence.

He could still remember his disdain when she first pa.s.sed him the keys to her house.

Now, as he vehemently pressed on the doorbell, he dearly wished that the owner of the house would open the door for him.

He dialed the number over and over again.

Alas, it was still not in service.

He had never failed to find her.

Hence, he had never found any other means to contact her besides the apartment they share and her phone number.

Right! Her friends!

Chen Zhendong tapped his phone to life, before coming to a pause again.

For the past three years, he had not taken an interest in which friends she was closest to.

He merely remembered her telling him that she would not hang around those people from before anymore.

Due to his att.i.tude, she was estranged from the few friends that she had in the Main Compound as well.

As for the new friends that she made…

He had never paid attention to her when she was talking about them.

Consequently, she became increasingly quiet before him.

He had forgotten when the last time she smiled was while being with him.

Chen Zhendong raised his fist and smashed it against the doorframe.

He disappointedly marched out of the apartment. Then, he turned his car around and sped toward the Lan family's mansion.

He used to see the contract as a nuisance. He even warned her not to inform her family about their relationship.

In other words, they had been dating in secret for the entire time.

It was no mystery as to why her smile and cheerfulness gradually faded when she started to be with him.

Chen Zhendong felt a sudden rush of uneasiness. His throat was hurting, but he forced himself to continue driving.

He finally arrived at the Lan family's mansion but strangely, only the maids were around.

The Chen and Lan family had been friends for many generations…

Even though he had been purposefully avoiding coming to the Lan family's house for the past three years.

However, Auntie w.a.n.g, who was the family cook, still recognized him.

Curiously, Auntie w.a.n.g seemed to be rather astonished by his appearance.

Chen Zhendong said nothing to her. Instead, he had to abandon courtesy for the first time and hastily dashed upstairs while clutching his aching stomach. He headed straight for the second floor and flung open the wooden door to the room which she lived in as a child.

Alas, there was no one inside.

Even though all her things were there…

She was nowhere to be found.

His panting grew more anxious as he walked into the room. A picture was placed on the bedside table – it was taken by Lan Ya's father of the two of them when they were seven years old.

Both of them were sitting on little stools, and their heads were leaned together as they shared an ice cream.

Chen Zhendong struggled to comprehend his own actions. As a child, he already knew that he ought to give way to her. How did I end up hurting her so many times when I became an adult?

“Young Master Chen!” Auntie w.a.n.g finally managed to catch up with him. Breathing heavily, she stared at Chen Zhendong and asked, “Why are you here?”

Chen Zhendong raised his eyelids as he muttered a reply, “Auntie w.a.n.g, where's Lan Ya? Where did she go? Did she go out to eat with Uncle Lan?”

Hearing this, Auntie w.a.n.g froze for a moment. After a long stare at Chen Zhendong, she replied, “Young Master Chen has grown too distant with the young lady, no wonder why you don't know about it.”

Then, Auntie w.a.n.g's eyes suddenly reddened as she mumbled, “Since the master and young master didn't inform you, it seems that they have no intention of letting you know of it. I've seen the news from the last two days, Miss Xiao seems very suitable for you, Young Master Chen. It's better if you avoid coming to the Lan family's house from now on.

Chen Zhendong had never expected that one day, he would be chased out of the Lan family's house by Auntie w.a.n.g.

However, instead of this advice, he was more anxious to find out what happened.

Where's Lan Ya?

Where's my Lan Ya?

Where in the world did she go?

Chen Zhendong stood blankly outside the mansion, as he watched the gates heartlessly closed before him.

He could clearly sense Auntie w.a.n.g's hostility toward him.

Chen Zhendong was bright enough to comprehend that Auntie w.a.n.g could not have treated him in such a manner, without the approval of everyone in the Lan family.

“Perhaps Mr. Chen would like to know why.” Helian Wei Wei emerged from the darkness, accompanied by His Highness in his adorable form.

Chen Zhendong was so confused and exasperated, his bulging eyes were completely bloodshot.

“I knew from the start that Mr. Chen wouldn't believe me, so I've prepared some things for you.” Helian Wei Wei drew out her phone and tapped open a few pictures that were sent to her by Monkey. Some were clearer than others, but they were clear enough to discern their images.

When he noticed the pictures, Chen Zhendong s.n.a.t.c.hed Helian Wei Wei's phone away, as his pupils trembled violently.

“You should be familiar with this car, Mr. Chen,” Helian Wei Wei spoke plainly, “It was involved in an accident five days ago, not too far from the hospital that you are working in. According to investigations, the owner of the car took a wrong turn and crashed into a tree, in an attempt to avoid an oncoming car. The impact snapped the tree trunk, causing it to fall atop the car hood. The owner's phone was damaged in the accident, even its SIM card was completely crushed. There wasn't anyone on the pa.s.senger seat, but the driver was Lan Ya.”

Chen Zhendong tightened his grip around the phone as he fervently scoured for a loophole in her story.

How he hoped for these pictures to be false.

Yet, no one knew better than himself that there really was an accident that day, near his hospital.

Since he was not in an operation, he was sitting outside and chatting with Xiao Ziqiu.

The nurses coming into the hospital mentioned a severe accident near the junction of the hospital. They were contemplating if the victim could survive.

Chen Zhendong's expression grew increasingly pale, so thunderstruck by the revelation that he could no longer feel the pain in his stomach.

It was because something else in his body hurt even more.

It hurt so much that it felt as if it was being hollowed out.

Helian Wei Wei stared at him, but she did not stop talking. “I can tell you why Lan Ya got into an accident too, Mr. Chen. That's because she saw you together with Xiao Ziqiu. She was already in a terrible mood, and she had a fever two days before the accident. All of that tormented her so much that her mind was too disordered to avoid the oncoming vehicle.”

That was the final blow to him.

Instantly, Chen Zhendong doubled over in agony.

He could almost hear his entire world crumbling and collapsing.

So, it was all because of me.

No wonder Auntie w.a.n.g chased me away.

If I'm in her shoes, I would've already stabbed myself to death!

Why did I have to talk to some other woman at that time?

Why wasn't I even aware that she had an accident?

Why didn't I realize that she was feverish on the day that she left?

Why am I the one that's alive, while she's the one who died?

Chen Zhendong clutched his chest in agony, so tightly that his knuckles had turned white, as he crouched on the ground. As if he was a wolf in despair, he suddenly let out an unprecedented howl!

He deeply resented someone. And that someone was no one, but himself…