"What? Are you all better now?"

Julian was choked so hard he couldn't utter a word.

Lucas scoffed, released him, and proceeded to smash the ward to pieces.

The loss of equipment amounted to tens of millions.

Julian cowered in the corner, staring at him with venomous eyes:

"You're finished! Joanna will definitely avenge me!"

Lucas suddenly laughed.

He grabbed Julian by the hair, picked up a syringe, and drove it into his vein without hesitation.

"You have some nerve, forcing my mother to donate blood for you!"

He quickly drew a tube of blood and then casually spilled it.

He didn't know how many tubes he had drawn, but Julian’s eyes were rolling back, and his face had turned deathly pale.

Just then, the ward door was pushed open violently.

Joanna entered with her bodyguards, an aura of bone-chilling coldness radiating from her.

"Lucas, you are testing my limits!"

She caught Julian as he fainted upon seeing her, her eyes fixed on Lucas as if she were ready to kill.

Lucas stared straight back into her eyes without retreating:

"It is you who is testing my limits!"

"Julian doesn't have a clotting disorder at all; he did this on purpose!"

Joanna looked at him with an expression of utter hopelessness and deep disappointment.

"Take him to the baseball field. Have someone teach him properly how to use a baseball bat!"

Julian woke up languidly in her arms at the perfect moment.

She whispered comfortingly: "I'll take you to watch a wonderful baseball performance."

Inside the baseball field.

Lucas was locked in a batting cage.

Joanna had hired professional baseball players to pitch balls from every direction continuously.

One baseball after another, carrying the massive force of acceleration, slammed ruthlessly into his face, nose, chest, ribs, and legs.

He tried his best to dodge, but there was nowhere to hide.

The fierce impact easily tore open the stitches from his car accident.

His face was beaten black and blue.

Before long, he was covered in blood.

Internal bleeding spilled from his nose and mouth, as if his internal organs had suffered severe damage.

His vision grew increasingly blurry.

Yet, he could still see Joanna gently holding Julian, seemingly teaching him how to pitch a baseball.

The next second, Lucas saw Julian look at him with a smug expression and throw the baseball in his hand.

The ball struck him right in the center of his forehead.

He lost consciousness completely after the sound of Julian’s excited laughter echoed in his ears.

The saline solution from the impact blended naturally with the blood.

It turned out that even after ten years, he still felt heartbroken for Joanna.

After all, she was once the bright, charming angel who helped him out of trouble!

In those ten years of memory, no matter how many cold looks she gave him, he firmly believed that she was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

As long as he persisted, there would come a day when the ice would melt.

From being pushed away by her time and time again, to finally being allowed to walk by her side, to his successful confession.

He could clearly feel that she wasn't indifferent to him.

She was cold-natured and often accused of being arrogant, yet she remembered his birthday, said she was too busy while secretly watching his basketball games, and behind his back, she would destroy the love letters from his fanatic pursuers...

They clearly could have had a good ending...

Half-dreaming and half-awake, Lucas felt someone gently wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes.

Immediately after, hot, scalding tears fell onto his face.

He could vaguely hear the sound of his mother weeping.

He tried desperately to open his eyes, but he couldn't.

He could only hear his mother’s tearful voice echoing in his ears.

"Tell Joanna that I agree to her terms."

"The condition is that she must find the best doctors to heal Lucas!"

5

When Lucas woke up again, he found himself lying in a VIP hospital room.

The Landon family’s housekeeper, Martha, was taking care of him.

"Martha? Why are you here?"

Seeing him wake up, Martha finally breathed a sigh of relief, her furrowed brow smoothing out slightly:

"Young Master, I am here to look after you per the Madam’s instructions."

Lucas suddenly snapped back to reality.

That’s right, he had clearly heard his mother’s voice while he was unconscious!

"Martha, where is my mother?"

Tears suddenly welled up in Martha’s eyes.

"Young Master! The Jiang family is truly bullying us too much!"

"They hurt you so badly, and they’ve banned all hospitals from treating you!"

"The Madam went to beg Joanna for you, but I never expected her to demand that the Madam endorse Mr. Julian’s designed products and grant them access to the malls under the Landon Group!"

"The Madam saw the designs; they are utterly amateur! But Joanna used your life to force the Madam into agreeing!"

As she wiped her tears, Martha continued,

"The Madam is currently being forced to cut the ribbon for the launch of Julian’s brand!"

Lucas’s expression shifted instantly, and he moved to pull out his IV needle without a second thought.

Martha hurriedly stopped him: "Young Master, what are you doing! Your injuries haven't even begun to heal!"

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and insisted on leaving the hospital.

"I would rather die than let Julian tarnish my mother’s reputation!"

When Lucas arrived at the mall, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was already over.

Julian was standing in the center, triumphantly showcasing his works.

His mother stood to the side, looking pale.

Lucas’s heart sank, and his eyes reddened.

The Landon Group started with luxury jewelry, and its growth to this day was inseparable from his mother’s fame as a world-renowned designer.

What his mother cared about most and was proudest of was her taste in jewelry.

Everyone knew that any designer brand endorsed by her was destined to become an international trend.

And for the sake of Lucas, his mother had been forced to sell her reputation to endorse Julian!

To his mother, this was no different from killing her!

Lucas walked step by step toward the exhibition stand, looking at Julian’s biography with a sneer:

"An emerging designer?"

"Do you even deserve that?"

Julian’s face turned white.

"Lucas, I know you don't like me, but you cannot insult my work!"

"These works are my heart and soul! They are things I polished bit by bit!"

Before anyone could react, Lucas grabbed a necklace.

"Didn't this necklace copy M-brand’s early summer collection?"

"And this bracelet, it’s a copy of D-brand’s classic; these earrings are copies of C-brand’s best-seller from last year..."

"Heart and soul?"

"Is this trash even called art? Does it deserve to have my mother endorse it and stand on stage for you?!"

With that, Lucas grabbed all of Julian’s works and threw them straight into the sewer nearby!

The color drained from Julian’s face.

He looked aggrievedly at Joanna:

"Joanna, those works... I spent three years abroad painstakingly drawing and handcrafting them..."

Before he could finish, her face was already looking extremely ugly.

Joanna grabbed Lucas by the wrist:

"Are you ever going to stop?!"

"I gave you the best treatment out of respect for your mother, not so you could have the strength to come here and hurt Julian!"

Lucas shook off her grip and stared her straight in the eyes:

"Joanna, I’d rather die than be saved by you!"

Her expression shifted abruptly, and her heart clenched tightly.

Looking at his furious eyes, the unhappiness and irritation in her heart grew even stronger.

"You are stubborn beyond reason!"

"Apologize to Julian!"

He laughed coldly: "In your dreams!"

Joanna’s face turned frosty, and she said coldly:

"Someone, open the manhole cover. Let the Young Master go down there himself and pick up Julian’s works!"

6

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by many influential figures.

Hearing her words, everyone’s surprised gazes focused on Lucas.

Joanna’s bodyguards had already surrounded him tightly.

A staff member opened the manhole cover, and an instant, foul stench wafted from the sewer, causing everyone present to frown.

With his hands held by the bodyguards, Lucas stared at Joanna, refusing to give in:

"Joanna, if you want me to pick up Julian’s trash, wait for the next lifetime!"

Irritation flared in her eyes as she commanded:

"Throw him into the sewer. Don't let him come back up until he has retrieved Julian’s work!"

Watching as Lucas was forced toward the filthy sewer by the bodyguards, his mother could no longer hold back.

"Joanna, you've gone too far! Lucas is the heir to the Landon family; how could you subject him to such humiliation!"

"Stop this immediately! Otherwise, I’m calling the police!"

Joanna gave a light chuckle, her voice ringing out hauntingly:

"Fine, go ahead and call them, Madam."

She opened her phone and clicked on the video of Lucas using a baseball bat to smash the expensive equipment in the hospital under the Jiang Group, looking completely unbothered.