The beltshed harshly against Wang Ruo''an''s back. With each strike, a bloody red mark appeared on his plump, white body. His back was now in a ghastly state, and yet, with each blow, Wang Ruo''an''s body remained motionless, like a corpse.

    Apart from the agony etched on his face, his bloodshot eyes looked as if they were about to bleed.

    "How does it feel? Ruohan, isn''t it nice? I know this is your favorite. Didn''t you always love ying this game with me for no reason? Now you''re ill, but that''s alright, I haven''t forgotten how much you enjoyed this game back then. Don''t worry, I won''t let you die. You''ll live well, without a single issue. Look, haven''t I kept you well-fed and healthy?

    Isn''t it great like this? Everyone knows how virtuous and chaste I, Shang Kaiwen, am. Weren''t you most afraid of me talking to other men?

    Look at me now, surrounded solely by women, not a single man in sight. I''ve been so good to you. I love you this much, you should be really happy.

    Isn''t this what you wanted?

    Alright, I''ve had enough fun for today. I''ll make sure your wounds heal. After all, we still have a lifetime together as husband and wife. I can''t bear to lose you."

    Shang Kaiwen''s cheeky fingers brushed past Wang Ruo''an''s bloody back wounds, yet Wang Ruo''an remained unresponsive.

    No one knew what was going on in his mind.

    Shang Kaiwen tossed the belt aside, walked out the door, and nced at the doctor waiting outside.

    "Dr. Li, make sure to do a good job, not a single scar should be left. You know how much my husband loves perfection. Money is no issue, you understand what I mean!"

    Her sideways nce at Dr. Li was as cold and slippery as a viper, sending chills down his spine.

    He nodded hurriedly.

    "Yes! Yes, I understand, I understand."

    Shang Kaiwen disappeared.

    Dr. Li wiped the sweat from his brow.

    This life is unbearable. It used to be Wang Ruo''an, now it''s Shang Kaiwen. Though Wang Ruo''an was intimidating before, at least he seemed somewhat sane, somewhat human. But Shang Kaiwen now is aplete lunatic.

    Her gaze could devour a person. Dr. Li worried if he might end up dead someday without a trace.

    Entering the room, he looked at the wounds on Wang Ruo''an, his insides churning.

    Struggling to contain his nausea, he''d seen such wounds before, even on Shang Kaiwen, but this time Wang Ruo''an''s were much more severe.

    He made sure not to show any emotion, unsure if there were any cameras monitoring the room. He dared not, and couldn''t afford, to reveal any disgust or surprise towards what was happening here.

    Otherwise, death was certain.

    Knowing too muches with its pitfalls.

    Deathes swiftly.

    Once everything was bandaged, the door opened immediately. Two tall and robust women entered, moving Wang Ruo''an to the side. In just a few minutes, the room was cleaned up and neat, and Wang Ruo''any on the bed cleanly dressed. Apart from the agony in his eyes, no one knew Wang Ruo''an was now living a life worse than death, just a tool under someone else''s control.

    Dr. Li left with his medical kit, indifferent. The two caregivers softly closed the door behind them.

    Wang Ruo''any quietly alone, savoring his own agony.

    He gazed out the window, wondering if this was the so-called retribution.

    ......

    Shang Kaiwen sat in the study issuingmands. Now, she had control over all the manpower in the Wang Family. Uncle Qu was very pleased with her; her nephew had be a cripple, yet Shang Kaiwen refused to abandon him. Both families had tacitly epted her as the new head of the household.

    Although many resources of the Wang Family were not yet fully essible to Shang Kaiwen,

    the manpower, bodyguards, and such of the Wang Family were naturally at her disposal.

    These were things originally belonged to Wang Ruo''an.

    "I want detailed information on Bai Ju and Bai Yue, and keep them under 24-hour surveince. Don''t let them notice,"

    Shang Kaiwen instructed the bodyguards.

    The bodyguard nodded and turned to leave. They were employed by the Wang Family, and naturally would work for whoever paid them.

    Shang Kaiwen had not shorted them a single penny, and it didn''t matter to her whose orders they followed.

    Shang Kaiwen poured herself a drink and stood in front of the ss window, watching the blood-red sunset wash over the earth as if it were stained with blood.

    The gloom in her heart seemed to dissipate quite a bit.

    Life had been too stifling recently, and now, not only had she escaped from her cage, she had also gained everything she now had.

    A gratitude went out to Wang Ruo''an.

    Even a cripple could bring her all of this, and now she suddenly understood some of Wang Ruo''an''s mentality. After such a brutal venting, the heart was genuinely pleased. In one word, it was satisfying.

    It seems only birds of a feather flock together.

    Indeed, she and Wang Ruo''an were exactly the same kind of people.

    Everything in Wang Ruo''an''s hands now belonged to her.

    Bai Xiao, you just wait to enjoy the grand gift I''ve prepared for you.

    Sometimes she wondered, inexplicably, it seemed like from the very first time she and Bai Xiao met, there was no affinity. They seemed to be natural enemies.

    She would never forget those dreams.

    Dreams where Bai Xiao was like a dog at her feet.

    At her disposal.

    Now Bai Xiao waspletely different from that dream version, remembering that dream Bai Xiao being tortured by her to a life worse than death made her feel immensely happy.

    Bai Xiao, it''s soon.

    Very soon, everything will return to how it was.

    Shang Kaiwen didn''t know what gave her such confidence, she just felt she should be the one who held Bai Xiao''s life and death in her hands.

    But she just knew.

    ...

    Bai Xiao looked at the newspaper picture of Wang Ruo''an, paralyzed, appearing very clean and serene. Just the outward appearance showed a life offort and ease!

    Looking at Shang Kaiwen''s gentle and affectionate gaze, she seemed like a perfectly virtuous wife.

    Shang Kaiwen?

    What a joke!

    She didn''t miss, in Wang Ruo''an''s eyes, that hatred, was pure hatred.

    It seems Shang Kaiwen isn''t as covert about her actions as she thought. Now, she was apparently not even satisfied with Wang Ruo''an, it''s a shame for Wang Ruo''an in his current state, one wonders how Shang Kaiwen might deal with him.

    Bai Xiao thought maliciously, this scenario seemed just like that time with her olddy, her second uncle and his wife.

    Such eerie simrity.

    If she lent Wang Ruo''an a little help, who knows, maybe it could yield a simr oue.

    Looks like there''s a need to visit Wang Ruo''an.

    The enemy''s enemy is my friend.

    But making Wang Ruo''an suffer a bit more, that''s true pleasure.

    Wang Ruo''an isn''t a good guy anyway.

    But seeing Shang Kaiwen''s current methods, she seems to be on a path aligned with what Bai Xiao had set for her, with no turning back.

    People...

    Bai Xiao smiled wryly, snuggled in her cold bed, missing the warmth of her own hearth.

    When would her warm hearth return?

    This time it''s been a bit long.