Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Han Chuan's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in my ears. I stared at him blankly, as if I didn't recognize the man in front of me. Pay the price? What was he going to do? My heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I couldn't breathe.

"Hanchuan, calm down. We have already lost our child and we can't lose you again!" I grabbed his hand. His hand was icy cold and my tears couldn't stop flowing.

He fell silent, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed, like a sharp knife that was broken. He sat dejectedly on the chair, covering his face with his hands, sobbing in pain.

My heart felt like it was torn apart. I wanted so much to bear the pain for him, but I was powerless.

Lin Xiao rushed over after hearing the news, and her eyes turned red when she saw us like this. She hugged me and patted my back gently, but her words of comfort were like a stone, weighing heavily on my heart.

The mysterious ally who had been silent all this time also came over at this time. He patted Bai Hanchuan on the shoulder and said in a heavy tone: "It's not your fault that the children left. Don't let hatred blind your eyes."

His words were like a faint light, trying to illuminate the darkness in our hearts, but we were already stuck in the quagmire, unable to extricate ourselves.

"No, it's my fault. If I hadn't taken them to that damn playground, if I had discovered Li Hua's conspiracy earlier, my children wouldn't have..." Bai Hanchuan roared in pain, his voice hoarse, and my heart was torn apart again and again with his words.

We all know that we lost this lawsuit, and we lost completely. Li Hua used his power and money to bribe everyone and turned black into white. We became the target of public criticism and were called irresponsible parents by others.

I looked at this man who was once full of vigor and vitality but now was in a state of decadence. My heart was broken. I knew that the failure of this lawsuit was a fatal blow to him. He always believed that he had failed to protect the children and that he had killed them.

"Hanchuan, look at me, look at me!" I held his face and forced him to look at me. "This is not your fault. We still have to live on. For the sake of our children and ourselves, we must live well!"

My voice is trembling and my heart is bleeding, but I must be strong. I must support this family and support this man who has collapsed in front of me.

He looked at me with empty, unfocused eyes, like a puppet without a soul. My heart sank again.

"Hanchuan, say something, tell me what you want to do?" I shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

He finally responded. He grabbed my hand, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Jinli, I want..." Hanchuan's eyes scared me. There was a kind of determination and a madness of burning everything down. He held my hand tighter and tighter, as if he wanted to rub me into his bones and blood.

"Jinli, I want..." He paused, took a deep breath, and said in a cold tone, "I want Li Hua to pay the price. I want him to have a taste of losing everything!"

His words were like a fire, igniting the anger and hatred that had been suppressed in my heart for a long time. Yes, why should we endure such pain? Why can Li Hua get away with it?

However, reason told me not to act rashly. Li Hua is now in control of everything, and confronting him head-on is like hitting a rock with an egg.

"Hanchuan, calm down! We can't..."

Before I could finish my words, he interrupted me, "Jinli, believe me, I will make him pay the price!"

His eyes were firm and his tone was resolute, and I knew he had made up his mind.

In the next few days, Hanchuan locked himself in his study and didn't see anyone. I vaguely knew that he was planning something, but I didn't dare to ask because I was afraid of hearing the answer.

The situation at the planting base was getting worse and worse, and the employees were panicking, and some began to resign. They were all ordinary people with elderly parents and young children, and no one wanted to be involved in this dispute.

Lin Xiao comes to accompany me every day. She helps me deal with the affairs of the base and comforts me. However, her eyes are also full of worry.

"Jinli, Brother Hanchuan..." She hesitated to speak. I knew what she wanted to ask, but I didn't know how to answer.

"He's fine, he just needs some time to calm down." I forced a smile, not wanting to make her worry.

"Jinli, you don't have to lie to me. I know you are worried about Brother Hanchuan, and I am worried about him too. However, he has shut himself off now, and we have no idea what he is thinking or what he is going to do."

Lin Xiao's words pierced my heart like a needle. Yes, there is now an invisible wall between Hanchuan and me. I can't get close to him, nor can I understand him.

One day, I was sorting documents in the office when suddenly, the secretary ran in in a panic.

"Boss Mu, it's bad, Li Hua is here with his men!"

My heart was shaken, and a sense of foreboding came over me. What was he doing here? Was he here to show off his power?

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down, "Let him in."

Li Hua swaggered in with several bodyguards, with a victorious smile on his face and eyes full of contempt and ridicule.

"Mr. Mu, long time no see. How have you been recently?" "Li Hua, what do you want?" I looked at him coldly, suppressing the anger in my heart.

He walked to my desk, picked up a document, and flipped through it nonchalantly. "Mr. Mu, don't be so nervous. I'm just here to see an old friend."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Bai Hanchuan walked in from outside. His face was gloomy and he stared at Li Hua fiercely. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Li Hua put down the document, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Hanchuan, you are still so impulsive, no wonder you are played around by others."

"You!" Bai Hanchuan clenched his fists and was about to rush forward, and I quickly pulled him back.

"Hanchuan, calm down!" I advised in a low voice. Now is not the time to act on impulse.

Li Hua looked at us, his smile growing even more smug. "Why? Are you two planning to team up against me? It's a pity that you no longer have this chance."

As he spoke, he took out a document from his pocket and threw it on the table. "Take a look. This is a court summons. Your planting base has been sealed."

My heart sank suddenly, and a chill of despair instantly spread throughout my body.

"Impossible!" Bai Hanchuan grabbed the subpoena and examined it carefully. His hands trembled slightly and his face was frighteningly pale.

Li Hua walked to the window and looked at the bleak scenery outside. There was a hint of emotion in his tone, "Hanchuan, I told you a long time ago that you have no chance of winning against me. Now, what else do you want to say?"

Bai Hanchuan didn't say anything. He fell weakly into the chair, his eyes empty, as if he had lost his soul.

Seeing my once high-spirited husband become like this, my heart aches as if it were being cut by a knife.

After Li Hua left, Bai Hanchuan and I were speechless. The room was completely silent. We didn't know what to do or where to go. Li Hua's power was too great. He was like a mountain, pressing us down so hard that we couldn't breathe.

"Hanchuan, we..." I choked, but didn't know what to say.

"Stop talking, Jinli, let me be alone for a while." He closed his eyes and covered his forehead in pain.

That night, none of us slept. I looked out the window at the night, my heart filled with despair and helplessness. We were like people trapped in a dark abyss, unable to see a ray of light or find any way out.

Just when we were about to give up, an unexpected person showed up.

Late at night, a dark shadow appeared silently in our room.

"Who?" I exclaimed and sat up immediately.

"It's me." A low voice came from the dark shadow.

I turned on the bedside lamp and saw who it was. I was stunned. "You are...?"

The person who came was the retired gardening master whom I met by chance in the flower market before.

"I know you are in a difficult situation now, but I can help you." He looked at us with a firm gaze, "I have found evidence of Li Hua's crime."

I looked up suddenly, a glimmer of hope in my eyes, "Really?"

He nodded, "But I need you to hold on for a while longer..."

Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden and urgent knock on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

The three of us immediately became alert and exchanged glances...

"Who?" I asked in a low voice, my heart beating wildly in my chest. Bai Hanchuan rushed to the door and looked out through the peephole.

"It's Lin Xiao." He whispered, with a hint of doubt in his tone, "What is she doing here so late?"

I felt even more uneasy. Lin Xiao was the most dedicated employee at our planting base and never visited us late at night without reason. Could it be that something had gone wrong at the base again?

Bai Hanchuan opened the door and Lin Xiao was standing outside the door with a panicked look on his face. He was stunned when he saw us and the strangers in the room.

"Mr. Mu, Mr. Bai, who is this..." she asked hesitantly, her eyes lingering on the mysterious ally for a few seconds.

"An elder came to check on us." I explained briefly, pulled Lin Xiao into the room, and closed the door. "What happened so late?"

"Li Hua...he sent people to surround the base, saying that he wanted to..." Lin Xiao took a deep breath, as if trying to calm down, "he said that he wanted to enforce the court's decision."

My heart instantly sank to the bottom. It seemed that Li Hua was determined to force us into a dead end. When the mysterious ally heard Lin Xiao's words, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. He walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and observed the movement outside.

"It seems that I must act quickly." He lowered the curtains, turned to us and said in a firm tone, "Do you believe me?"

Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other. His eyes were full of bloodshot, obviously he hadn't slept all night, and he was struggling and hesitating. Li Hua's relentless pressure had left us with nowhere to go. Should we really place our last hope on this stranger old man?

"I need time." Bai Hanchuan's voice was hoarse and tired.

The mysterious ally nodded without saying anything else. He took out a note from his pocket and put it on the table. "This is my contact information. If you change your mind, you can come to me anytime." After that, he pushed open the door and disappeared into the night.

Bai Hanchuan and I looked at his departing back. The room was silent, except for the piece of paper with the strange number on it, which seemed to be silently calling us... I slowly reached out my hand and my fingertips touched the piece of paper. The words of the mysterious ally kept echoing in my mind, and I felt mixed emotions.

Bai Hanchuan held my hand tightly, his hand was cold and strong, as if to pass on strength to me. I raised my head and looked into his eyes, which were full of fatigue and pain, but also flashed a glimmer of hope.

"us……"