“I’m here,” Zhuang Hua responded gently.

“Zhuang Hua, I’m begging you. You get on best with Xia Zhe, am I right, so please help me talk to him. I really can’t leave him. He clearly agreed to marry me!” Zheng Yuan’s eyes were filled with anticipation and pleading. Her hands trembled as she held on to Zhuang Hua, afraid that he would not agree to help her.

The gentleness in Zhuang Hua’s eyes turned into pity and heartache. He did not expect Zheng Yuan to go to this extent for Xia Zhe. She had always been able to get whatever she wanted since she was young and had a smooth path in life. Now, she was begging him to help her hold on to Xia Zhe.

Zhuang Hua did not know what to say. On one hand was a brother who had grown up and gone through thick and thin together with him. On the other hand was a close childhood friend. Both of them were dear to him and it was a tough call. Zhuang Hua frowned and did not know what to do.

Zheng Yuan noticed that Zhuang Hua had kept quiet. Her trembling hands grabbed on tightly to Zhuang Hua and she begged him in a choked voice, “Zhuang Hua! I beg you! Can you help me! Please!”

Zhuang Hua looked into Zheng Yuan’s eyes, and she looked back expectantly.

He had never seen Zheng Yuan like this, but there was nothing he could do. He said gently to Zheng Yuan, “Alright, I’ll talk to him later. Get up and come with me first.”

When Zheng Yuan heard Zhuang Hua asking her to leave with him, she hastily shook off his hand and backed away. She pointed at Zhuang Hua and Xia Zhe and said, “You’re all in cahoots! You’re all liars! Liars!”

“Zheng Yuan!” Zhuang Hua stood up and looked at Zheng Yuan. He extended his hand and said to her, “Can you come back with me and we can talk about the next steps later.”

Zheng Yuan looked at Zhuang Hua and shook her head slowly. Her tears had already all dried up due to the wind and she no longer had the strength to cry anymore. She could not even shout anymore and could only look silently at the cold man in front of her.

“Xia Zhe, you do love me. Why can’t you remember? Are you lying to me?” Zheng Yuan said hoarsely.

Xia Zhe shook his head. He did not know what to say seeing Zheng Yuan like this, but he saw what Zheng Yuan had done just now. She had almost harmed Qiao Mei and the child that Qiao Mei was carrying.

Based on this point alone, Xia Zhe did not want to tolerate her anymore nor could he tolerate her.

“Zheng Yuan, go back. Stop lying to yourself,” Xia Zhe said coldly.

“I’m not leaving! Don’t even think about chasing me away!” Zheng Yuan said angrily.

“I won’t chase you away. I will tell the superiors everything that happened today. Everyone will get punished, including me. None of us will get away with it.” Xia Zhe looked at Zheng Yuan and continued, “I will also report what you did to my pregnant wife.”

Zhuang Hua looked at Xia Zhe in shock and said, “Xia Zhe, are you crazy! You’ll ruin Zheng Yuan’s career like this!”

“I know, but she has to pay the price for her mistakes,” Xia Zhe said as he looked at Zhuang Hua.

Zhuang Hua looked at the person in front of him in disbelief. Was this still the same Xia Zhe who had gone onto the battlefield with him? The Xia Zhe in front of him was too indifferent.

“Xia Zhe, think carefully. She’s…” Before Zhuang Hua could finish speaking, Xia Zhe interrupted him.

“I’ve thought about it very carefully. If you also have a wife and a child whom you love deeply and they almost died at the hands of others, what would you think?” Xia Zhe asked Zhuang Hua in return.

Zhuang Hua was speechless for a moment. What Xia Zhe said made sense. He had no right to exonerate Zheng Yuan, nor did he have any right to make Xia Zhe put away his feelings. He was just a bystander in this situation.

“Hahahahahaha. Xia Zhe, I want her to die! She will die together with the child inside her! This way, you’ll be able to marry me! When the time comes, you can marry me and bring me home! Hahahahahaha!” Zheng Yuan waved her arms wildly as she kept drawing something in the air. She looked like she was in a trance and starting to lose her mind.

Zhuang Hua grabbed Zheng Yuan and said distressedly, “Zheng Yuan, let’s go. Can you come with me?”

Zheng Yuan shook her head and looked around before her gaze landed on Xia Zhe.

“Xia Zhe, you’d better protect her for the rest of her life. I’ll see how long you can protect her. One day, I’ll let you have a taste of losing your loved one.” Zheng Yuan looked at Xia Zhe fiercely. She already understood that Xia Zhe would never come back to her, but she would never let Qiao Mei off!

She would take back whatever others took from her!