Chapter 353

Chapter 353

Upon hearing the doctor's first words, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, but their hearts sank again at what followed.

Especially Lu Mingzhu.

No one understood better than her how much Yang Huan valued her career.

Had it not been for Wang Hao's later encounters with her, which won her over, she wouldn’t have even considered marriage.

Over the years, she had been exceptionally diligent, continuing to act even after marriage, only stopping once she was pregnant and returning to work three months after giving birth. This time, she’d taken time off to celebrate the New Year with her family.

Though deeply ambitious, she balanced her family life well, returning home daily after filming in Hong Kong.

But now?

Why did this have to happen to her?

"Surviving such a severe car crash is already a miracle. Thank you, doctor, and all the medical staff who worked tirelessly to save her. We are profoundly grateful, though we can’t repay you now—only in the future," said Auntie Yang, her clenched hands slowly relaxing. She turned to Wang Hao. "Ah Hao, Huanhuan’s no longer in critical condition. Let the doctors tend to your injuries. If she wakes up and sees you in such a state, she’ll be heartbroken."

Wang Hao had been thrown to the ground when Yang Huan pushed him away, got some scrapes, but his left wrist was fractured and swollen beyond recognition. Despite this, he refused to leave the OR, too worried about Yang Huan.

Wang Bohui, Liao Wanru, and Madam Zhang were hurt seeing his injuries, but their hearts ached even more for Yang Huan inside.

If suffering alongside her would ease his guilt, then let him suffer—no matter how much, it was nothing compared to Yang Huan’s pain.

Instead of responding to his mother-in-law, Wang Hao asked the doctor, "Is it very serious?"

Lu Mingzhu also widened her eyes, anxiously awaiting the doctor’s answer.

After a brief pause, the doctor replied bluntly, "Yes, it’s severe—yet she was also fortunate. She protected her head instinctively, and while her ribs are fractured, her internal injuries aren’t life-threatening. The bleeding was stopped in time. The worst damage is to her limbs, with shattered bones. We can’t guarantee there won’t be long-term complications."

"Will it affect her ability to walk?" Yang Huan was such a proud woman.

The doctor shrugged, leaving the silence to speak volumes.

Auntie Yang closed her eyes briefly before opening them and asking Wang Hao, "If Huanhuan is left disabled, will you resent her?"

"Never," Wang Hao answered without hesitation. "No matter how she changes, I’ll care for her faithfully. If I break this vow, let me die in a wreck—without Huanhuan there to save me."

"Just having her alive is enough," Auntie Yang said, whether to comfort herself or Wang Hao. "Losing her career doesn’t matter now."

Wang Bohui quickly added, "Yes, as long as she lives. You have my word. Huanhuan is our daughter-in-law and saved Ah Hao’s life. From this day forward, all of Wang Hao’s inheritance from the Wang family will belong to Huanhuan. If he ever betrays her, it won’t be Huanhuan who leaves the family—it’ll be Wang Hao. I know wealth can’t measure everything, nor replace health, but this is the only way we can express our gratitude."

Liao Wanru agreed, "Yes, Mother-in-law, please don’t refuse. Think of the child’s future!"

"That’s unnecessary," Auntie Yang said, not one to chase money. She glanced at Wang Hao, still staring at the OR doors, and murmured, "Huanhuan was the one child who never caused me worry. She’s always been decisive and responsible. She pushed Ah Hao away willingly—we can’t strip him of his inheritance just because she was the one gravely injured. I’m certain Huanhuan would say the same when she wakes."

Liao Wanru gripped her hands tightly. "Regardless of what you or Huanhuan say, we’ll do what we must. Mother-in-law, don’t refuse yet—plan for all possibilities! Let me tell you, sometimes Heaven is just, sometimes it isn’t. If vows held weight, how many in this world deserve divine punishment? Yet how few actually suffer retribution? Don’t take Ah Hao’s words as absolute—we must plan for all possibilities. Huanhuan’s injuries are severe; who knows how long recovery will take? Even after, she may never work again. As her parents, we must safeguard her future interests."

"Mom, you’re right. Let’s proceed this way," Wang Hao agreed wholeheartedly.

Lu Mingzhu silently admired Wang Bohui and Liao Wanru’s resolve but stayed quiet, observing. A glance at Wang Xingcai and Madam Zhang revealed their approval as well.

They were stunned.

Not everyone would do what Yang Huan did—push her husband away and put herself in danger.

Wang Xingcai decided that when dividing his inheritance among his five sons and two daughters, he should leave a substantial portion for Yang Huan.

She’d saved his firstborn grandson, after all.

Just then, someone from another operating room came over and said, "The surgery failed. Unfortunately, the other victim involved in the collision didn’t make it."

The medical team assigned to that case was neither as large nor as skilled as the one here.

This was a wealthy family, after all, and they had called upon one of the most renowned international surgeons.

Fortunately, this doctor and his team had been in Macau for a three-month medical exchange and were urgently summoned overnight to operate on Yang Huan.

"Who cares if she dies?!" Wang Hao roared.

The person who had rushed out of the hotel, colliding with Yang Huan and causing both to be hit by a car, was reportedly a woman. Lu Mingzhu was too worried about Yang Huan’s condition to even ask who she was.

She didn’t even know if the one responsible was alive.

Wang Bohui didn’t scold his son for the outburst. Instead, he said gravely to the doctor who had delivered the news, "Please inform the woman’s family, not us. All expenses should also be settled with her family. Whether they seek compensation from the responsible party is their decision—it has nothing to do with us. My daughter-in-law was dragged into this because of her. The surgery has just ended, and she’s only temporarily out of danger, still unconscious. We couldn’t care less if this woman lives or dies."

He, his wife, and his parents weren’t the first to arrive.

By the time they got there, the surgery had already been underway for half an hour, so they were unaware of the woman’s situation.

Like Lu Mingzhu, they couldn’t be bothered to care.

The woman had been brought to the hospital by hotel staff for emergency treatment—the nearest and best hospital in Hong Kong, the same one Yang Huan was in.

The doctor got the message. "Understood, Mr. Wang. We’ll wait for the woman’s family to claim the body."

Wang Bohui’s secretary seized the moment to step forward. "Sir, the woman is Chen Wan."

"Chen Wan?" Wang Bohui frowned, not immediately recalling.

But Lu Mingzhu remembered and asked, "Chen Wan moved to Singapore with her family, didn’t she? Why is she in Hong Kong? She rushed out of the hotel and collided with Yang Huan—was there some scheme behind it?"

Then she turned to Wang Bohui and explained, "She’s Chen Feng’s granddaughter. She once tried to take my man and had interactions with both Xia Lin and Yang Huan."

"So it’s her!" Wang Bohui knew this couldn’t be a coincidence.

The secretary had already gathered information from the hotel, Wang Hao’s colleagues, and eyewitnesses.

Hearing Lu Mingzhu’s question, he respectfully replied, "Chen Wan married in Singapore—a moderately wealthy Malaysian businessman. She was from a good family, after all, well-traveled and knowledgeable, far surpassing the average well-bred lady. Locals also knew her branch of the family was innocent, so they were treated much better than Chen Feng. He couldn’t take the gossip and moved elsewhere to make a living, while the second wife’s family remained in Singapore managing their assets, continuing their business and living comfortably."

"Cut to the chase," Wang Bohui snapped.

The secretary quickly continued, "Chen Wan’s husband came to Hong Kong to discuss a business deal with the 'Zipper Queen' Vivian. But he stayed for half a year without returning. When Chen Wan heard he had married another woman here, she came to confront him. Unable to find him at his residence, she learned he was hosting a dinner at the hotel with his new wife. Furious, she stormed into the hotel where the Young Master and his wife were attending a wedding. They got into a screaming match, and when her husband shielded his new wife, a furious Chen Wan struck his head with a vase. When he dropped, she freaked out and bolted—right into the path of the Young Master’s wife. Sir, Young Master, and all the ladies, it really was just bad luck. It wasn’t planned."

After a pause, he added, "I had Mr. He, Mr. Lu Yanzhi, and Mr. Zeng look into it. They confirmed it."

"If my godfather, foster dad, and father all confirmed it, then there’s no issue," Lu Mingzhu said, trusting these men—especially He Yun and Zeng Mei, one a powerful figure in Southeast Asia, the other a long-time Singapore resident with deep influence.

And Chen Wan—just like that, she was gone!

Even dying, she had to take others with her.

Although Lu Mingzhu had no fondness for Chen Wan and even harbored resentment over her attempts to poach her man, Chen Wan had never committed any heinous crimes, so Lu Mingzhu had never wished for her death.

"What about the driver? Dead or alive? We must hold him accountable!" If not for him, Yang Huan wouldn't be in this state.

The thought of Yang Huan—exceptionally beautiful, a first-rate actress, kind-hearted, and strong-willed—ending up disabled for life made Lu Mingzhu clench her teeth in anger at the culprit.

The secretary's expression shifted slightly.

Wang Bohui urged, "Speak. What else happened? Did the car belong to the driver himself, or was it owned by some wealthy family with a hired driver? How could such a coincidence happen? Mistaking the accelerator for the brake?"

The secretary quickly replied, "The car didn’t belong to the driver. The two Mercedes-Benz vehicles were owned by Chen Hai, the former textile tycoon of Shanghai. The driver was their family chauffeur, a veteran who had followed them from Shanghai to Hong Kong. His skills were always impeccable, never causing any issues before. The car was also carrying his favorite son and grandson. But for some reason, today he mistook the accelerator for the brake. Not only did he die on the spot, but he also dragged many others down with him. Apart from Chen Hai’s favorite son and grandson in the car, there were casualties from the vehicle crashing into the hotel. Many guests had just finished dinner and were walking out when they were tragically caught in the accident. According to investigations, this accident resulted in four deaths and seven injuries."

Lu Mingzhu was stunned. "Besides Yang Huan and Wang Hao, five others were injured?"

The secretary nodded. "After hitting the Young Madam and Chen Wan, the driver didn’t stop but continued to charge forward, though the impact was slightly mitigated. Those inside suffered injuries ranging from minor to severe."

Liao Wanru grabbed Wang Bohui’s arm. "Let’s go make him pay!"

If she didn’t skin him alive, she wouldn’t bear the surname Liao.

Wang Bohui had no objections. He addressed the group, "Mom, you should go home with Dad and Mom. Wang Hao and Huanhuan are being looked after by doctors and nurses here. Mingzhu, you and Junyao have also waited all night. Thank you for your help. Go home early too—don’t worry your family. And please convey my gratitude to your godfathers and your father. I won’t have time soon, but once Huanhuan recovers a bit more and I’ve handled matters, I’ll host a dinner to thank them properly."

"No need for thanks between family," Lu Mingzhu said as she and Xie Junyao rose from the bench. "Godfather, if you need any help, just ask. I’ll also notify the Senior Physician and Meng Ruyu to examine Yang Huan. Maybe we can combine Western and traditional Chinese medicine—Western for treatment, Chinese for recuperation—to help Yang Huan recover faster."

Wang Bohui patted her shoulder. "I appreciate it."

"Not at all," Lu Mingzhu replied.

When she got home, she didn’t rest immediately after bathing. Instead, she called Chen Jianing.

"Did you know your father’s good-for-nothing son and beloved grandson were in a car accident?" Lu Mingzhu asked bluntly.

Chen Jianing gasped. "What happened? I haven’t heard anything!"

Lu Mingzhu summarized the incident for her.

"The Young Master and his son (the heir) both died?" Chen Jianing was shocked. "Our family hasn’t heard a word. My parents ate, drank, and slept well last night, waking up at dawn. They exercised in the garden this morning before heading out to meet friends. No one informed us that the Young Master and his heir died in a car accident."

Underneath the shock, she felt a flicker of delight.

For over a decade, no matter how hard she worked, her parents would rather pin their hopes on her useless brother’s untested son than pass the family business to her.

Fortunately, she could support herself independently, not at her parents’ mercy.

Now that her brother and nephew were dead, her parents would have no choice but to rely on her—certainly not her sister-in-law, who’d married into the family knowing full well what her brother was like.

Chen Jianing began considering emulating Ming Yue by taking in a live-in son-in-law. Her parents would have no choice but to hand over the inheritance.

Her father had once hoped for another son but failed. Despite his age, women threw themselves at him.

When the Chenhai Textile Factory declined to the point of having to accept Mingzhu Textile Factory as a shareholder, her father hadn’t been as generous as Mr. Lu!

In that instant, countless thoughts raced through Chen Jianing’s mind. But Lu Mingzhu was even more baffled. "Your family wasn’t told about this huge incident? How is that possible? Four dead, seven injured in this accident. Yang Huan fought tooth and nail all night to survive and probably ended up disabled. How did the cops miss notifying your family?"

She remembered Wang Bohui mentioning that they had already reported the incident to the police.

"I'm absolutely certain—no phone calls, no visitors," Chen Jianing replied with equal bewilderment, turning to the butler. "Did anyone call our house last night?"

The butler hesitated.

"Speak!" Chen Jianing demanded sternly. "This is a major incident—what could possibly be unspeakable?"

The butler swallowed hard and closed his eyes before answering. "Someone cut the phone line at some point—it was Young Master Sun. We only discovered it this morning and immediately had it repaired. Had Miss Lu called half an hour earlier, you certainly wouldn’t have been able to answer. So, whether any calls came in last night—none of us in the household can say for sure."

Chen Jianing was stunned. "Young Master Sun cut the telephone line? What else did he do?"

As Chen Jianing was now the general manager of Mingzhu Textile Factory's branch, her authority at home was second only to Chen Hai's, so the butler answered respectfully in a low voice, "Young Master Sun did many things—which one are you asking about?"

Frowning, Chen Jianing relayed this to Lu Mingzhu.

Lu Mingzhu couldn’t help but remark, "What is this? He’s reaping what he sowed?"

"Perhaps. Right now, my parents need to go apologize in person to the Wang family and investigate why Driver Jiang hit the gas instead of the brake. Driver Jiang had been with our family for many years—skilled, never touched alcohol, and if he was too tired, he’d refuse the shift outright and let another driver take over. Because of his diligence, my father highly valued him and assigned him to my brother just two days ago to chauffeur him and his son around." Chen Jianing explained truthfully to Lu Mingzhu.

Thus, she was sure there was more to the crash and warranted a thorough investigation.

Lu Mingzhu yawned. "That’s enough for now—I need to rest."

She was confident that everyone would get to the bottom of it.

Xie Junyao urged her to bathe, and both were too tired to do anything else, falling asleep in each other's arms.

Wang Hao and Yang Huan had nearly been torn apart by tragedy, making them cherish each other all the more.

Xie Junyao tightened his arms around Lu Mingzhu, resolving to swap out her bodyguards for younger, tougher, more agile, and highly skilled individuals. The ones her father had picked out should be reassigned to regular security duty. After thirty-five, reflexes and stamina aren’t what they used to be.

Xie Junhao wholeheartedly agreed.

He, too, had heard about the gruesome crash the night before.

While Xie Junyao and Lu Mingzhu rested, Chen Hai and his wife faced Wang Bohui and Liao Wanru’s unexpected visit, learning for the first time about the deaths of Chen Hai’s eldest son, grandson, and their driver—and how Wang Hao and Yang Huan were also caught up in it.

Overcome with grief, Chen Hai fainted on the spot.

Mrs. Chen, though, kept her cool.

As the stepmother, her worry for the sons was half-hearted at best.

But since she held just the nominal head-wife title, she had Chen Hai sent to the hospital and honestly told Wang Bohui and Liao Wanru that she knew nothing, could do nothing, and had no say in the matter. Everything had to wait until Chen Hai regained consciousness.

Wang Bohui and Liao Wanru had no choice but to return home.

Fortunately, Yang Huan woke by evening. Swathed in bandages, she comforted her husband, who had been keeping watch at her bedside. Noticing the absence of other family members, she wasn’t bothered, knowing they likely hadn’t expected her to wake so soon—but they’d have been there when it counted.

She understood her family well and didn’t dwell on it.

Noticing the cast on Wang Hao’s wrist, Yang Huan spoke weakly, "Hao, accidents are called accidents because they happen suddenly and unpredictably. No use pointing fingers. I’ll focus on recovering, following doctor’s orders to get better as soon as possible."

Not being able to act again will sting, but life mattered most.

Just being alive is everything.

She still had her mother, child, and family, so she couldn’t just give up.

It was unbearably painful.

It felt as though her entire body had been shattered—worse than when she fell off a horse during filming.

Tears welled in Yang Huan’s eyes.

Wang Hao’s heart twisted in pain, and he couldn’t help saying, "I’m the man here—you should’ve saved yourself first. Why push me away? You could’ve gotten away if you hadn’t wasted time pushing me."

He would rather have been the one severely injured than his beloved—the woman he’d fought so hard to marry.

"That brilliant brain of yours—what a shame if it got hurt! Didn’t Xiu Xiu’s brother say it? That you’re meant for research, and teaching alone would be a waste. But even if you can’t serve the country directly yet, raising the next generation still counts." Yang Huan finished speaking, then, seeing the fierce look in Wang Hao’s eyes, immediately complained, "I’m in so much pain, and you’re still scolding me?"

"I was terrified, Huanhuan." Tears streamed down Wang Hao’s face as he held Yang Huan’s cast-bound hand with his uninjured one, voice cracking. "If you hadn’t tried to protect me, how could you have suffered like this? You’re in pain, but it’s killing me. When you were in critical care, I was so afraid... afraid you wouldn’t wake up. Huanhuan, you’ve gotta start putting yourself first. No one would blame you for that."

Yang Huan blinked rapidly. "Don’t worry, I’ll know better next time."

Her head was also injured, wrapped in bandages.

Her arms and legs in casts, she couldn’t move at all—not even nod.

By the time Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao woke up, it was already past seven in the evening. Upon learning that Yang Huan had briefly regained consciousness before falling back asleep, they stayed away from the hospital.

It was too late, and it wouldn’t have been appropriate.

Right now, Yang Huan needed absolute rest.

Wang Bohui and Liao Wanru had spared no expense to arrange a private room for her, banning all visitors—not even Wang Zhongzhao or his siblings were allowed inside, let alone outsiders. They feared thoughtless words from too many people might affect Yang Huan’s mood.

Especially the reporters camped outside the hospital.

How could such a horrific accident not make headlines? The severely injured was Yang Huan, while among the dead were Chen Wan—granddaughter of the former Southeast Asian Sugar King and once a wealthy socialite—as well as the son, grandson, and driver of Chen Hai, the former textile tycoon of Shanghai. The driver, who was also the one at fault, turned this into something straight out of a thriller.

Why?

Because police investigations revealed that it wasn’t a case of the driver mistaking the gas pedal for the brakes, as initially believed. Instead, the brakes had been deliberately tampered with before the crash.

This was murder.

The only question was whether the target was Chen Hai himself or his reckless son and spoiled grandson.

The entire city of Hong Kong was in an uproar.