100 Days with the Contract Lover

Xiang Wei used her phone to track Yu Nuanxin’s location, but by the time Nangong Yao arrived, she was gone, leaving only her shattered phone behind. “Damn it!” he cursed, punching the wall so hard that his knuckles bled.

Just then, Xiang Wei called again, informing him that Yu Nuanxin had been taken to the hospital. Overjoyed, he rushed to the hospital, sprinting all the way to the inpatient department, only to find Wu Lian standing at the door of the ward. He slowed his frantic pace, trying to appear calm.

Wu Lian, however, saw through his facade and teased him with a smile. “What? You’re here to see her too?”

“I just want to know if she’s dead or not,” Nangong Yao retorted, peering through the small window on the door to see the doctor examining her.

“You clearly care about her, so why pretend otherwise? Does it really make you happier?”

“None of your business!”

“She’s hurt, so it is my business.” Wu Lian’s smile vanished, his gaze turning cold as he grabbed Nangong Yao by the collar and slammed him against the wall, staring him down. “I returned her to you, and you let her get hurt!”

Already in a foul mood due to his worry for Yu Nuanxin, Wu Lian’s provocation only added fuel to the fire. Nangong Yao grabbed Wu Lian’s collar in return, shoving him back. “She’s my wife. What right do you have to say that?”

“You know she’s your wife, but have you ever treated her like one? When you used her to take over ‘Thunder Mining,’ did you ever consider that she was your wife?”

His questioning pierced Nangong Yao’s heart like needles, filling him with anger he couldn’t refute.

His feelings for her had become complicated, resisting her rationally, repeatedly telling himself she was just a pawn, that he didn’t care about her at all.

Yet, her closeness with Liang Jingtang drove him to near madness. When he heard her cry for help, his heart felt hollowed out, his world shaken, unable to imagine what he would do if anything happened to her.

He couldn’t distinguish whether his feelings for her were love or hate, and it tormented him!

Enraged, he swung a fist at Wu Lian. “You’re asking for it!”

His fist was about to land on Wu Lian’s handsome face when a nurse appeared just in time to stop the fight between the two men. “This is a hospital. Please keep it down to avoid disturbing other patients.”

Both men released their grip, and Nangong Yao walked away, fists clenched, veins throbbing. “How is she?”

“The attackers slashed her face a few times. The doctor said there’s no way to restore it.”

“Damn it! Say that again!” Nangong Yao’s emotions flared up, pinning Wu Lian against the wall once more, his voice booming as if to shake the entire hospital. “How is she?”

The nurse tried to calm him. “Sir, please…”

“Get out-” Nangong Yao roared like an angry lion, eyes fixed on Wu Lian. “Speak-”

Wu Lian glanced at him indifferently, then smiled. “If you don’t care about her, why are you so worked up?”

Coolly, he said, “Don’t worry, she’s fine, just a bit shaken, with a scrape on her arm…”

“You dare deceive me!” Nangong Yao was still furious, but hearing that Yu Nuanxin was okay, he felt a wave of relief.

“I just wanted you to see your own heart.”

“I don’t need your meddling!” Nangong Yao turned to leave.

“You’re not staying until she wakes up?”

“She’s nothing to me!”

“Keep lying to yourself then!” Wu Lian mocked with a cold laugh. “If you don’t cherish her, I’ll do whatever it takes to win her over!”

Nangong Yao paused.

A wave of fear washed over him.

Wu Lian was no less capable than he was, and he knew how to win a woman’s heart. If he pursued her aggressively, Yu Nuanxin might…

Feeling threatened, his heart was troubled and restless. But he refused to show it, not wanting to give Wu Lian the satisfaction. He coldly spat out, “Whatever!” and strode away without looking back.

Wu Lian shook his head with a helpless smile. This man, wanting to love but afraid to, would eventually fall victim to his own stubbornness.

…

She ran desperately, cornered against the wall with no escape. She tried to call Nangong Yao for help but was overpowered by several men, a knife slicing into her face.

“No… No… Help… Ah!” Yu Nuanxin awoke with a start, drenched in cold sweat, gasping as she looked around at the white surroundings, unlike the alley. It was just a nightmare, thank goodness…

“Awake.” A seductive voice floated into her ears.

She turned her head to see two blonde, blue-eyed women dressed scantily, embracing each other and giving her flirtatious looks, with English words printed above them.

Playboy?

Adult magazine?

The man enjoying the ‘earthly beauty’ put down the magazine, revealing a handsome, devilish face, and smiled charmingly at her. “Awake.”

Wu Lian?

“What are you doing here?” And so brazenly reading ‘Playboy’ in the hospital? How could he be so interested?

“I saved you!”

“You saved me?”

“Yeah! Aren’t we lucky? I happened to pass by this morning. Saw some men holding down a woman, so I stepped in to help, not knowing it was you!”

It sounded too coincidental to be true…

Yu Nuanxin raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Really?”

“Yes!” Though he was used to lying, this time it wasn’t a lie.

“Thank you… How am I? Did I get disfigured?” She remembered one of the men saying he would teach her a lesson, then took a knife to scar her face.