The Marriage Trap

It was the early hours of the morning, all was silent, and the loud voices of a few people in the empty hospital ward area woke up the patients in the next room, some of whom poked their heads out to glance over.

This group, with some injured and some not to be trifled with, the annoyed person gave a glare and returned to their ward.

Bai Jinyuan reached out to pull Song Yang back, her eyes signaling him to stop asking further questions.

"Sister Zheng, you're seriously injured, you should go rest in the ward. We'll stay here to watch over Shen Chaoxi," she said.

At that moment, Zheng Juanjuan was also running a low fever. The doctor had arranged for her to be hospitalized for observation overnight. Despite feeling dizzy after all this trouble, she still shook her head in refusal.

After all, the child was hers, and she couldn't rely entirely on others.

"Teacher Bai, please go back, you all have work to attend to. Don't let this delay you! Xixi's uncle will be here soon, our family will take care of her," she insisted.

While they were politely declining each other's offers, two nurses came out of the ward pushing a treatment cart.

After clarifying who the family members were, the nurses relayed some information.

Zheng Juanjuan and Bai Jinyuan entered the ward first.

When Shang Jianghan finished smoking a cigarette and went back in, he saw that Shen Chaoxi was awake, propped up in bed.

The two incandescent tubes in the ward were lit, the dazzling light reflecting on her still pale face as if coated with a white halo, making the bruises on her overly fair skin all the more striking!

The girl was no longer in her wet clothes, and the slightly oversized pink and white hospital gown made her slender frame seem even more delicate and fragile.

Shang Jianghan's gaze shifted from her face to her left hand, where the soft white fingers bore numerous scratch marks. A catheter was attached to her wrist, with transparent liquid drip by drip entering the faint blue veins that were barely visible.

Such frail limbs in such a tranquil pose, no one would probably associate her with someone who could beat six burly men into retreating in disarray.

At that moment, Shen Chaoxi was softly comforting Zheng Juanjuan, who was wiping away her tears when a tall, imposing shadow loomed over her.

She looked up, unsurprised already knowing who it was, and curved the corners of her mouth in greeting. Her uplifted eyes trembled slightly, resuming a flirtatious demeanor.

Shang Jianghan's dark eyes remained calm, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

"Teacher Shang, thank you for bringing me here. I'm fine now. You and Teacher Bai should head back. Be careful on the road," she said.

Shen Chaoxi's words were meant as a polite gesture, but to Shang Jianghan, they sounded quite uncomfortable.

He thought to himself, heartless little thing!

Cutting off the bridge after crossing the river?

Do you think it's easy to bail someone out from the police station?

Afterward, Shang Jianghan looked towards Bai Jinyuan.

"Auntie, you go back first, I'll stay here with my second brother overnight. The police station will be sending someone tomorrow," he said.

Shen Chaoxi, who had been about to look away, turned her gaze back to Shang Jianghan; she had been groggy and not thinking clearly, aware that it was Bai Jinyuan who came to the police station to vouch for her, and also knew whose broad, warm arm she had collapsed against.

What she had overlooked was whether the process of her release from the police station had been proper.

"Won't there be any trouble?" Bai Jinyuan stood up and asked, not because she was worried that they couldn't handle the situation, but she didn't want to see the members of the Yao Family looking terrified.

"Not at all!" Shang Jianghan said with unshaken composure.

Once Bai Jinyuan left, Zheng Juanjuan and Yao Dima were asked to go to their own ward, and the ward finally quieted down.

Song Yang had arranged for a caregiver for Shen Chaoxi's side, and Yao Yuan stayed for a while before heading to the old lady's ward. They were still keeping everything from the old lady, not wanting to raise her suspicions.

Shang Jianghan lay on the hard single bed in the doctor's office, sleepless.

It was only now that he began to piece together many things.

Back in Yuncheng, the girl who saved him left without giving her name, and it was only after asking around that he learned she was the daughter of the Shen Family.

Zhong Shuoxi brought back the news that this Miss Shen was an illegitimate daughter.

In the high society circles of Shangjing, anyone who knew a little about Shang Jianghan knew that what he detested most in life was those who trespassed into others' marriages, and this aversion extended to their children.

So, when Zhong Shuoxi brought this news, his desire to find her waned, and he left everything to Zhong Shuoxi to handle.

That day, when he arrived at No. 1 Middle School, he was already late. He took a stroll along the tree-lined path by the edge of the sports field, gazing at the rows of neatly standing students, his head throbbing from the scorching sun, and Shang Jianghan regretted making the trip.

Just as he was about to leave, a glance at the very corner of the formation revealed a slender, tall figure.

That day, confined by his injured left eye, he relied on the light from his right eye to remember the figure who left with ease, flinging a black backpack over their shoulder.

Driven by this curiosity, Shang Jianghan moved closer.

He discovered that the figure was indeed the girl who had saved him and caused him endless shock.

Why did he find this girl shocking? That goes back to their second encounter.

In early July, Lianzhong had an acquisition case, and Shang Qichao insisted that he attend, with the location set on the second floor of the Baiye Club.

Amidst the clinking glasses and complimenting voices from all directions, Shang Jianghan felt exceedingly vexed. He had grown up in an environment where money and desire predominated over all, with wealth and status taking the lead.

At this point, the Shang family already stood unshakeably at the pinnacle of the pyramid!

After three rounds of drinks, a group of old men began to indulge themselves, spitting saliva and filling the air with an unbearable stench. Shang Jianghan stepped out of the private room using a phone call as an excuse.

After hanging up, his fingers, not easily reaching for the cigarette case, tapped out a cigarette and lit it for himself.

In front of Shang Qichao and Bai Jinyu, he seldom allowed himself such indulgences, always taking things in moderation, including smoking, but now his craving for a cigarette was strong, compelling him to take a satisfying drag.

The group inside the private room wouldn't conclude their activities before midnight, and Shang Jianghan knew there was a protruding balcony at the end of the corridor on the third floor, where he could view the massive billboard of their own Lianzhong Department Store right across.

A ring with a vacuum design had lately dominated the jewelry industry, and Lianzhong had its exclusive dealership.

Shang Jianghan walked casually up the stairs, one hand in his pocket, while unbuttoning two buttons on his white shirt with the other.

The third floor of the Baiye Club was divided into two sections, one designed as a disco and the other as a luxurious comfort area, with mostly young people playing here.

Shang Jianghan, along with Song Yang and Zhong Shuoxi, were regulars here, celebrated like stars.

Today, Shang Jianghan wasn't here to play, nor did he have the interest; hence, after exiting the fire escape, he directly turned into the balcony at the end of the hallway.

As Shang Jianghan approached, the noisy sounds of frolicking reached him.

"Spend some time with your brother, and you'll earn more than cleaning for a year!"

"Exactly! Not every girl gets noticed by the young master of the Bai Family. You're lucky tonight!"

"Stop pretending, aren't you out here to make money too? Who wouldn't take the cash rather than deal with these bastards?"

...

Such familiar, teasing voices were most common here.