Volume 1, Chapter 45: What on Earth Happened That Night Six Years Ago?

The child’s clear voice echoed sharply through the stairwell.

Tear tracks were still wet on his face, but his eyes shone like quenched stars—pure and leaving no room for the slightest doubt.

The neighbors peering through the gaps in their doors instantly fell silent.

"That kid... doesn't look like he's lying, does he?"

"Hard to say, maybe the adults coached him..." someone muttered nearby, though their voice was noticeably weaker.

Shang Linyuan’s jawline was as taut as a breaking bowstring, and the chill radiating from him was almost enough to freeze the hallway.

He looked down at Chu Yan standing by his feet, his words laced with icicles: "Get lost."

Acting as though she hadn't heard, Chu Yan suddenly lunged forward, grabbing tightly onto his calf as her knees hit the concrete floor with a dull thud.

She raised her head, her face a messy paste of snot and tears, her hair plastered in disarray against her cheeks. Her once-exquisite makeup was smeared like a crumpled, smudged painting: "Shang Linyuan, you can't treat me like this!"

Her voice pitched upward abruptly, piercing the air with a sob: "Six years ago, Lu Xiaoman left of her own accord! She was the one who abandoned you. Now that she's back with some bastard child, what right does she have to waltz right in?!"

"I've stayed by your side for six years!" She wept, trembling all over. "I gave you the best six years of my life, and now you want to throw me away like garbage?"

Without even glancing at her, Shang Linyuan kicked his leg out in disgust.

Chu Yan was knocked over onto the floor.

Clambering back up, she suddenly whipped around to face Lu Xiaoman, the venom in her eyes practically overflowing: "Lu Xiaoman, do you really have to be so unforgiving? I only have him! Are you going to steal even this pathetic sliver of happiness from me?"

The woman's tearful accusations fell like heavy hammers on the listeners' hearts, and the neighbors' expressions shifted instantly.

"Sigh, sounds awfully pitiful..."

"Human hearts are truly unfathomable..."

"Exactly, having another man's son and still coming to snatch someone else's boyfriend. Shameless..."

Accusations hailed down like hailstones. Lu Xiaoman dug her fingernails into her palms, but she felt nothing.

Seeing the crowd's reaction, the corners of Chu Yan's mouth twitched into an almost imperceptible smirk, though her weeping grew even more shrill: "Linyuan, look, everyone is on my side. They believe me—why won't you? Turn around and look at me, won't you?"

Having reached the limit of his patience, Shang Linyuan was about to take matters into his own hands when he noticed Lu Xiaoman suddenly move.

She slowly crouched down, her gaze fixing upon Chu Yan’s tear-streaked face, as calm as a bottomless pool of freezing water.

"Bitch, you want to do to me... Ah, that hurts!"

Chu Yan's vicious voice was cut short by a sudden, painful yank on her hair.

Lu Xiaoman gripped a handful of Chu Yan's hair, applying just enough force to exert unquestionable dominance.

"If you don't want Shang Linyuan to know the truth about that night six years ago, you'd better get the hell out of here right now!"

Her voice was lowered to a whisper, like a fine, ice-dipped needle piercing precisely into Chu Yan's ear.

Chu Yan’s crying stopped abruptly. Her pupils contracted sharply, and every trace of color drained from her face.

She stared in terror at Lu Xiaoman, her lips trembling so violently she couldn't speak.

The chaotic night from six years ago crashed violently into her mind: she had hidden in the corner of the hotel corridor, watching in a panic as Lu Xiaoman fled, before daring to slip inside using the spare room key she had prepared long in advance.

The man's disheveled clothes were scattered across the floor, and the air still lingered with an ambiguous, enchanting scent. Ignoring all of it, she had quickly stripped off her own clothes and crawled under the covers on the bed.

Shang Linyuan wouldn't wake from the drug's effects for another three hours. She had calculated the time, and she had also calculated that a fool like Lu Xiaoman wouldn't dare stay the night by Shang Linyuan's side.

By the time Shang Linyuan woke in the morning, everything would be set in stone.

For the past six years, she had relied on that lie to secure her place by Shang Linyuan's side, believing she could bury the secret forever. She never expected that bitch Lu Xiaoman would have the nerve to return.

"You..." Chu Yan's voice shook uncontrollably.

She pinched herself secretly, trying to use the pain to maintain a shred of composure, but meeting Lu Xiaoman’s contemptuous gaze and the oppressive aura bearing down on her caused her defenses to crumble instantly.

She knew Lu Xiaoman; whatever she said she would do, she would follow through.

The surrounding neighbors were still whispering, their gazes shifting among the three people locked in a standoff.

Shang Linyuan looked coldly at the suddenly silenced Chu Yan, moving imperceptibly closer to Lu Xiaoman.

He remained constantly on guard against another outburst from Chu Yan, worried she might hurt Xiaoman.

Biting her lower lip, Chu Yan looked at Shang Linyuan with a pained expression, only to encounter his warning, defensive gaze—devoid of even a hint of concern.

Stumbling up from the floor and daring not look at anyone else, she covered her face and stumbled toward the elevator.

The moment the elevator doors slid shut, the tension in Chu Yan's body finally collapsed entirely. She slid down the wall of the elevator car, weeping as terror and relief washed over her in a flood.

The stairwell fell into a sudden silence as the neighbors exchanged bewildered glances.

Chu Yan's tearful accusations still lingered in their ears, but her frantic escape now felt like a resounding slap in the face, shattering those confident whispers into pieces.

Lu Xunxi tugged at the hem of Lu Xiaoman’s skirt, tilting his small face upward as he whispered, "Mommy, that bad woman ran away."

Lu Xiaoman crouched down to ruffle her son’s hair, the chill in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a trace of exhaustion.

Watching her, Shang Linyuan's throat bobbed. What had Lu Xiaoman whispered to Chu Yan just now?

Why had Chu Yan complied so obediently and left without a fuss?

Shang Linyuan's gaze fell upon Lu Xiaoman's tightly clenched right hand.

The burst of ferocity she had displayed when grabbing Chu Yan's hair was worlds apart from her usual gentle and serene demeanor, and that low-toned warning had precisely struck the most secretive doubts buried in his heart.

He bent down to scoop up Lu Xunxi, who was still glaring indignantly down the hallway. The little fellow's earlier declaration of "He's my daddy" still echoed in his ears, suddenly bringing a sense of warmth and relief to his chest.

Unconsciously, Shang Linyuan's fingertips brushed against the boy's soft hair, but his gaze swept past the crowd to fix upon Lu Xiaoman's pale face.

She was deliberately avoiding his eyes.

What was she afraid of?

Chu Yan's earlier remark—"You left six years ago"—felt like a puzzle piece suddenly clicking into a blurred gap in his memory.

He had always believed that Chu Yan had schemed her way into his bed, but Lu Xiaoman's threat regarding the "truth" clearly carried enough weight to terrify Chu Yan.

"All of you, disperse."

Shang Linyuan’s cold voice swept over the onlookers, his gaze sharp as a blade that instantly silenced their murmurs.

Clutching Lu Xunxi, he turned to face Lu Xiaoman, his tone devoid of emotion: "Inside. We'll talk inside."

The moment the door closed, the clamor of the hallway was sealed outside.

Lu Xunxi, seemingly still recovering from the confrontation, wrapped his arms tightly around Shang Linyuan's neck and refused to let go.

Shang Linyuan settled his son on the sofa first, and as he turned around, he caught Lu Xiaoman’s hand trembling slightly as she poured a glass of water.

"What really happened that night six years ago?" he asked straight to the point, locking his gaze onto her profile.