Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Victim Blaming? Qin Yan said angrily, "That woman is too obsessed with Shixu. She's been chasing him for ten years, and Shixu has said no more than ten sentences to her in total. Her mental state isn't that of a normal person. Tangtang, she might have done this out of jealousy because you took Shixu away from her." Lin Yueying's chest heaved violently with rage. "She's insane! If anything happens to my son, I won't let her get away with it!" Elder Mrs. Jiang's face showed displeasure as her gaze swept toward Lin Yueying. "Yueying, Shixu is still in surgery right now. What do you mean by 'anything happens'? How can you, as his mother, say such things? Are you cursing Shixu?" Lin Yueying's eyes were red. "Mother... that's not what I meant..." The moment she spoke, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably again. Jiang Yi looked at her reproachfully. "Stop crying. Our son is still in surgery. Crying at a time like this is bad luck." Chu Tang had no mind to listen to their bickering. For Chu Tang, every minute and every second stretched on endlessly, each moment pure torment. Self-blame, regret, nervousness, fear—all kinds of emotions wrapped tightly around her, pressing down on her chest until it felt suffocating. Her heart ached, and even breathing became difficult. It felt like the suffocating sensation of a drowning person on the verge of death. ... Time passed minute by minute. The sun gradually sank in the west. After a long and agonizing wait, the doors to the emergency room finally opened. Lin Yueying was the first to rush forward and ask the doctor about the situation. "Doctor, how is my son?" The others also gathered around. Chu Tang's hands trembled with nervousness, her palms breaking out in cold sweat. Her heart was filled with both hope and fear. The doctor removed his mask, and a relaxed smile appeared on his weary face. "The patient is out of danger." Hearing these words, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Chu Tang's nerves, which had been taut all afternoon, finally relaxed somewhat. Jiang Shixu was transferred from the emergency room to the ICU. The doctor said he would need to be observed in the ICU for a few more days to prevent post-operative infection. With the heavy weight lifted from his heart, Elder Jiang began to carefully piece together the events of the day. He looked at Jiang Yi with a stern gaze. "How did that woman get into the estate? The security at the estate is extremely tight. She shouldn't have been able to get in without an invitation. Have they found out?" It was only then that Jiang Yi remembered the many calls that had come in on his phone that afternoon. He had been too frantic to answer them at the time. "I'll ask how the investigation is going." After making a phone call, Jiang Yi spoke. "She came in as Gu Tingchen's plus-one. They checked the surveillance footage. She was wearing a mask at the time, saying she had a cold. Since the Third Young Master of the Gu family personally brought her in, the security at the gate didn't feel comfortable asking her to remove her mask." "The Gu family?" Elder Jiang frowned. Jiang Yi replied, "The Gu family's explanation is that Gu Tingchen has been abroad for all these years and only returned to the country this year. He didn't know about that woman's pursuit of Shixu." Elder Jiang's eyes turned cold. "That's a seamless explanation, but this matter definitely isn't that simple. Keep digging." "Yes." Ruan Shaodong was furious. Just moments ago, Jiang Shixu had still been in critical condition during surgery, so he hadn't been able to vent his anger. Now that the man was out of danger, he no longer held back. Ruan Shaodong's voice rose several notches. "What's the deal with that woman who's been pursuing Shixu? Our child never provoked her. First she kidnaps, then she stabs someone—this is absolutely lawless!" After a moment of silence, Elder Jiang turned his sharp gaze toward Ruan Chutang. "Tang girl, what happened on the rooftop? How did Shixu get hurt?" Chu Tang lowered her head. "It's all my fault." Lin Yueying abruptly looked at her. "Tangtang, what do you mean by that?" Chu Tang recounted the events exactly as they had happened. Elder Mrs. Jiang's tone was reproachful. "So Shixu took that knife for you?" Chu Tang pressed her lips tightly together. "Yes." The old lady said with displeasure, "Chutang, you were far too impulsive. We had already called the police, and there were bodyguards at the estate. Couldn't you have waited a little longer? If you hadn't acted so rashly, Shixu wouldn't have been hurt for no reason." "I'm sorry, Elder Mrs. Jiang. It's all my fault." Chu Tang spoke with difficulty, hanging her head even lower. Elder Mrs. Jiang pressed on relentlessly. "You haven't even married into the family yet, and you've already caused such a huge disaster." Ruan Shaodong's face darkened. "Elder Mrs. Jiang, what do you mean by that? This is clearly a romantic entanglement caused by your Shixu. My daughter is the victim here. Are you blaming her?" Ruan Shaodong said coldly, "Easy for you to say. Wait a little longer, wait a little longer—that person kidnapped my youngest daughter. She had a knife to her throat and threatened that if Chutang didn't come, she would kill Jiaojiao. You're being awfully glib from your comfortable position." "Bodyguards?" Ruan Shaodong let out a mocking laugh. "Since you mention bodyguards, I'd like to ask you—are the Jiang family's bodyguards just for show? In broad daylight, they let a woman kidnap Jiaojiao that easily. Were your bodyguards sent to rescue people or to collect corpses? Jiaojiao is Chu Tang's own sister. Under those circumstances, her eagerness to save her became her fault?" Ruan Shaodong was genuinely furious. Not only had the engagement ceremony been ruined, but his younger daughter had been kidnapped, and his elder daughter had nearly been killed while trying to rescue her. They were clearly the victims, yet in the end, they were the ones being blamed and accused. There was no such twisted logic in this world! He didn't give anyone else a chance to speak and immediately pressed Elder Mrs. Jiang: "You blame Chu Tang for acting impulsively. If it had been your son who was kidnapped today, with a knife at his throat, would you still be this calm?" "Don't tell me that Shixu took a knife for Chu Tang—are you implying that the knife should have been plunged into my daughter instead?" "How strange. The culprit is right there, yet you're here blaming my daughter. She's also a victim. Does your Jiang family believe in 'victim blaming'?" Elder Jiang coughed twice. "Ahem, ahem." "Shaodong, don't get so worked up. This really isn't Tang girl's fault." The old man swept a sharp, cold gaze toward Elder Mrs. Jiang. "What kind of things are you saying? How can you be so unreasonable?" Hearing this, Elder Mrs. Jiang was so angry she could barely contain herself. Her chest heaved violently. "Fine, fine, fine. So now you're blaming me too. I won't argue with any of you anymore!" With that, she turned and left. "Shaodong, don't be too angry either. What happened was indeed our negligence." Elder Jiang was still being reasonable. Ruan Shaodong calmed himself down and said coldly, "Since Shixu is fine now, I'll be heading home. My Jiaojiao was frightened, so I'll go back to check on her." Elder Jiang nodded and said to Jiang Yi, "Ayi, go see Shaodong off." Chu Tang wanted to go check on Jiang Shixu, but Ruan Shaodong said coldly, "Chu Tang, come home with me. Don't wait until Shixu's condition changes later and they blame you again." At those words, the faces of the Jiang family members all changed. What Elder Mrs. Jiang had just said had indeed chilled the Ruan family to the bone, and they had nothing to say in response. Chu Tang turned to look, her expression troubled. "Dad..."