Julian gasped, his breath hitching as the realization hit him instantly.

No wonder that over the past seven years, Lucas had brought three children home to the family, claiming they were his younger siblings and that they were adopted into his name to care for Julian’s mother in her old age.

It turned out that those three children were actually the product of her affair with Lucas!

Julian’s heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by invisible hands, suffocating him.

"Sleeping with someone else is what you call atoning for my sins? Vivian, how disgusting can you be!"

Vivian’s face darkened, and she was about to step forward.

Just then, a young nurse passed by, carrying a large bottle of liquid.

"Everyone, be careful! This contains bone-melting solvent; it’s lethal if it touches anyone—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lucas suddenly swayed and slammed into her!

The nurse’s body jerked, and the liquid in the bottle seemed about to splash onto him!

"Lucas!"

Vivian’s face changed drastically. Almost as a reflex, she grabbed Julian and shoved him forward with all her might!

Before Julian could even react, the freezing, stinging liquid splashed all over his entire arm!

His skin was instantly charred black, revealing bloody, raw flesh. Unspeakable, excruciating pain surged through every nerve!

"Argh—"

He curled up on the floor in agony, rolling around, his throat emitting nothing but painful whimpers.

He gathered all his remaining strength to lift his head and call for help.

But all he saw was Vivian holding Lucas in her arms to comfort him.

"Lucas, don't be afraid. With me here, I will never let anything happen to you..."

The last shred of hope in his heart vanished at that moment.

The corners of his lips curved into a bitter arc, and tears spilled out before he could stop them.

No one remembered that many years ago, the night he was cornered by thugs in an alleyway,

She had said the exact same thing to him, promising to protect him forever.

But now, all these scars on his body were caused by her.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the stark white walls of the hospital ward.

From outside the door, he could hear Vivian’s intentionally lowered voice.

"Treat him at any cost! If anything goes wrong with Julian, don't even think about keeping this hospital open!"

Julian listened quietly, his gaze falling on his arm, which was wrapped tightly in gauze, and he curled his lips in self-derision.

He picked up his phone from the bedside table and composed a text message.

"Professor, regarding the study abroad opportunity you mentioned last time, I accept."

The reply came quickly.

"Good. Once I finish the paperwork in a week, I will send someone to pick you up."

Chapter 3

When Vivian pushed the door open and her eyes met his, her furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and her face was filled with the relief of a survivor.

"Julian, you're finally awake. I—"

Julian did not speak; he instinctively recoiled from her touch.

Vivian stared at her empty palm, stunned for a moment.

The atmosphere remained tense, and after a long silence, she let out an imperceptible sigh.

"Julian, I know you feel wronged, but you are independent and rational. Haven't you been living just fine these past seven years without me?"

There wasn't even a trace of guilt on her face, and her tone was full of dismissive placation.

"But Lucas is different. He doesn't know how to do anything; he’s isolated and helpless in this family. He can't survive without me..."

Julian suddenly laughed, though his nose ached fiercely.

So that was what she thought.

But... was he really doing well?

He thought of the severe depression diagnosis report hidden under his drawer, the numerous hideous scars on his wrists that made him feel sick, and those late nights when he had repeatedly returned from the brink of death after being rushed to the hospital...

His eyelashes trembled as he bit his lip desperately to hold back the tears.

Just then, a commotion came from the hospital door.

"Julian, I’ve come to see you."

Lucas stood at the door, looking lost, his voice choked with sobs.

"It’s all my fault for being so clumsy, for not doing anything right and causing you to end up like this."

As he spoke, he carefully lifted the thermal container in his hand.

"I made some soup for you. Why don't you drink some to regain your strength?"

Julian suppressed his anger, about to tell him to get out.

"Lucas, your hand!"

Vivian suddenly gripped Lucas’s hand, which had been scalded red. The composure she had shown moments ago vanished, replaced by a look of deep concern in her eyes.

Julian watched quietly, his face devoid of expression, but his fingernails dug so hard into his palms that they broke, and droplets of blood fell to the floor.

Vivian used to be like this when he had so much as a scratch.

She would be so heartbroken that she would send people overnight to cover the entire villa with imported wool rugs.

But seven years had passed, and the old rugs were long since worn and tattered.

And in her eyes, there was no longer any room for him.

He took a deep breath and spoke in a cold voice.

"This isn't a hotel. If you want to flirt, go outside; don't disgust me here."

Lucas turned pale, rushing over to explain in a flustered state.

"Julian, I didn't mean—"

But in a corner where no one was looking, the hot soup he was holding spilled right onto Julian’s freshly treated wounds!

"Hisss!"

Julian gasped in pain, instinctively pushing him away.

With a loud bang!

Lucas and the thermal container in his arms crashed to the floor, soup splashing everywhere!

"Argh—"

He cried out in pain, his hand covered in alarming blisters from the scalds.

Vivian’s pupils dilated. She lunged forward to pull him into her arms, then turned her head toward Julian, her eyes burning with overwhelming rage.

"Julian, have you gone mad!"

Julian swallowed the bitterness in his throat, about to speak.

But Lucas suddenly grabbed the hem of Vivian’s clothes, curling his lips in a show of feigned magnanimity.

"It’s okay, Vivian."

"It was my fault to begin with. As long as it makes Julian feel better... these minor injuries are nothing."

Vivian dragged Julian off the bed with a dark face, gritting her teeth.

"Lucas burned his hands full of blisters just to make you soup, and this is how you repay him!"

Julian wanted to explain, but looking at the loathing and certainty in her eyes, his throat was so dry he couldn't make a sound.

Even if he explained, what would be the use?

He curled his lips and looked straight into her eyes.

"Made by a mistress, I want to vomit just looking at it."

"Disgusted, are you?"

Vivian was so angry that her chest heaved violently, her tone as cold as ice.

"Well then, today I insist that you drink it all!"

"Someone, hold him down and pour all the soup from the floor into his mouth! Not a single drop is allowed to remain!"

Chapter 4

As soon as she finished, Julian was forcefully held by the jaw by several bodyguards!

The contaminated liquid, along with glass shards, was forced down his throat cup after cup!

Sharp, piercing pain exploded in his mouth, as if his esophagus were being ripped open!

He curled up on the floor in agony, sewage mixed with blood dripping from his cheeks to the ground, a scene of absolute misery.

But before he could catch his breath, an overwhelming sensation of suffocation surged up, and his whole body itched as if thousands of ants were crawling on him!

When his gaze swept over the fish meat remaining in the container.

Julian’s heart skipped a beat, and a bone-chilling coldness swept through him.

Lucas knew perfectly well that he was allergic to seafood...

His vision began to fade to black, but he didn't even have the strength to call for help.

Vivian frowned and stared at him, her eyes seemingly showing a hint of hesitation as she prepared to step forward.

But Lucas suddenly covered his head and let out a painful moan.

"Vivian, I feel so unwell..."

Vivian’s face changed instantly. She shifted her focus, scooped him up into her arms, and rushed out.

"Doctor! Call the doctor, quickly!"

Julian watched her back disappear through the door, and the sound of something inside his heart shattering gently echoed, the pain as sharp as a knife.

In the end, it was the nurse passing by who found him and barely managed to save his life.

...

During his hospitalization, Vivian seemed to disappear again.

But Julian could still see news about her on the television.

The news that the only daughter of the Lin family, who had been dead for seven years, was alive went viral across the internet.