Chapter 437 Delivered to the Doorstep

Chapter 437: Served Up on a Platter

"Come on, I'm back now, so stop crying, will you? Everyone's watching. If they don’t know better, they’ll think I hit you or something."

Zuo Zuying glanced helplessly at the curious onlookers peeking into the hospital room and sighed, trying to comfort Zuo Jinghuan.

Jing Huan clutched his sleeve, crying so hard that snot and tears ran down her face.

"Go ahead, run away again! Disappear for months, and by the time you come back, you might as well be burying me! Ugh—!

Not long ago, that bastard Zuo Shangdang nearly strangled me to death, and now, just a short while later, I almost got beaten to death by that capitalist’s bastard! If you hadn’t come back, it would’ve been too late!"

She wiped her tears and snot on Zuo Zuying’s sleeve. "You can’t run off again this time. Ditch those bad habits of yours, settle down, and find a nice girl. You’ve never tried it—you don’t even know how good a woman can be!"

Zuo Zuying spotted Su An rushing in and immediately threw her a desperate look. "Comrade Su An, quick, help me out here—talk some sense into her!"

Seeing Jing Huan’s swollen eyes from crying, Su An hurried over and sat beside her on the bed.

"What’s going on, Jing Huan? Comrade Zuo is back—shouldn’t you be happy? You were always talking about him before. Why are you crying now?"

"Don’t cry, don’t cry. Look, your eyes are all swollen. The wound on your head was just stitched up last night—don’t pop your stitches, or you won’t look pretty anymore."

After a long string of comforting words, Jing Huan finally stopped crying, and Zuo Zuying let out a huge sigh of relief, shooting Su An a grateful look.

He couldn’t stand women crying—especially an injured one. He couldn’t get angry or snap at her.

It made his heart ache.

"Second Sister, I really had to leave in a hurry last time. I didn’t mean to just abandon you and run off. Alright, alright, I won’t do it again, okay? I promise, next time I leave, I’ll explain everything to you first."

Once Jing Huan had calmed down, Zuo Zuying’s expression darkened as he asked, "What happened? You just said Lu Jin'an did this to you? And Zuo Shangdang hit you too?"

Jing Huan had just stopped crying, but at his question, tears started falling again.

"Yes! It was Lu Jin'an! Last night, he brought a bunch of men to kidnap me! He called you a damn rat who only knows how to hide from him. He wanted to take me hostage to force you out! Su Ping got hurt trying to save me—he took a steel pipe to the shoulder! And then Lu Jin'an shot at us! He hit Su Ping! If it weren’t for him... *she hiccuped*...

And Zuo Shangdang hit me too! He brought that capitalist whore to my shop and nearly strangled me to death! Ugh—!

If the neighbor’s shop owner hadn’t come in time, I would’ve died right then and there! Ugh—! And you weren’t even home! No one had my back!"

"This time, that little bastard came after me because Zuo Shangdang must’ve told him! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known! What happened to me isn’t just that little bastard’s fault—the main culprit is that bastard Zuo Shangdang!!!"

Jing Huan clung to Zuo Zuying, alternating between sobbing and hurling accusations, her eyes blazing with hate. She might as well have outright told him to go kill his own father.

Twice now, she’d nearly lost her life. She was ready for a life-or-death feud with Zuo Shangdang and his other family.

Jing Huan had already lost a lot of blood the night before and was weak. Between crying and cursing, she quickly wore herself out. After Zuo Zuying soothed her and she finally fell asleep, he turned to the three of you and bowed deeply.

"Thank you so much. Really, thank you. And... I owe you all an apology."

Ren Shan lowered her eyes, her face cold as she tucked in Su Ping’s blanket, not even sparing Zuo Zuying a glance—as if he owed her his life.

Su Ping started to grin but caught himself halfway, shooting a look at Su An instead.

Su An’s tone was sharp. "You really do owe us an apology. If my brother and I hadn’t shown up in time last night, who knows what would’ve happened to my brother and Jing Huan."

"I don’t know all the details of your family drama, but since your beef with Lu Jin'an is unavoidable now, you’d better harden your resolve and figure out how to end it once and for all."

"Your mother, Aunt Hou, and Jing Huan are just civilians. If something like last night happens again, forget Jing Huan—even Aunt Hou won’t be able to take it!"

"Luckily my brother is fine, otherwise..."

Su An's tone was light, but Zuo Zuying's heart instinctively tightened. He knew—Su An was furious.

Su An was indeed furious. Her biggest wish in life was her brother’s health and happiness.

To her, her brother mattered even more than her birth mother, Wang Xiaocui. Yet, because of the mess in Zuo Zuying's family, her brother had been beaten and hospitalized.

Damn right she was blaming him!

Zuo Zuying put on an apologetic smile, covering Su Ping’s medical bills, lost income, recovery costs, and even the meals for family members accompanying him in the hospital. He also personally presented the three of them with generous gifts.

He said Hou Li and Zuo Jinghuan could thank them however they wanted—this was his own separate gesture of gratitude.

Su An took it all without hesitation. Su Ping and Ren Shan followed her lead, taking their cues from her expression. Since she accepted, they didn’t hold back either.

After that, Zuo Zuying turned the whole city upside down looking for Lu Jin'an. He had wanted to cripple the guy before the New Year, but Lu Jin'an had been lucky enough to dodge him. Later, in his efforts to curry favor with Dong Dongdong, he hadn’t found the time to deal with him.

Who knew the bastard would go digging his own grave?

Daring to mess with his second sister—this was crossing a line he couldn’t ignore!

Before Zuo Zuying could get to him, Qiang Zi and the others coincidentally stumbled upon his trail.

The moment Lu Jin'an heard that the man he’d been searching for over half a year had resurfaced, he ignored the pain in his ass and immediately set a trap against Zuo Zuying.

Zuo Zuying and Gang Zi were hiding under Longxiang Mansion, had no idea he’d already been exposed. He thought he was hidden, unaware that his every move was being monitored by Lu Jin'an.

After two days of waiting, Lu Jin'an finally showed up, shades hiding his missing eye and limping along.

Zuo Zuying’s eyes darkened. He motioned to Gang Zi nearby and stealthily followed behind Lu Jin'an.

This time, he’d make sure the bastard didn’t walk away. No way this little shit’s luck held every time!

Lu Jin'an acted as if he hadn’t noticed the tail behind him, slipping into a secluded, dilapidated alley.

The deeper they went, the more uneasy Zuo Zuying grew.

Gang Zi, spooked by the grimy, dead-silent alley, whispered, "Xiao Zuo, Lu Jin'an’s a rich kid—what’s he doing in a place like this? He ain’t here to take a dump, right?"

Zuo Zuying hardened his heart. "Who cares why he’s here? Perfect spot for an ambush."

"Let’s go in!"

The moment they stepped through the archway, a large net dropped over them.

Zuo Zuying’s heart sank. He threw up his arms to block it and lashed out with a lightning-fast kick, sending Gang Zi flying several meters back.