"Lin Nuan!" Lu Jinnan clenched his jaw, speaking in a deep voice that wasn't as authoritative as how he usually sounded. "This is not Xiao Bei's fault… come at me if you need to vent your anger!"
Lin Nuan felt as if her tears had gushed into her throat, immense hatred in her heart. "You two are brothers indeed! A murderer elder brother, a rapist younger brother! The Lu family has excellent genetics!"
"Xiao Nuan, listen to Xiao Bei's explanation first." Fu Huai'an had one hand on Lin Nuan's shoulder and reached out with the other to grab her wrist that had been held back by Lu Jinnan. Lu Jinnan released her wrist…
Fu Huai'an had been observing Lu Jinbei's expression and felt that Lu Jinbei didn't look like he was someone who would rape Bai Xiaonian.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have looked so shocked when he heard about the injury to her vagina and torn vaginal membrane.
"I have no idea! I just… forced her to reconcile with me. I turned around and left because I was angry. I didn't… I really didn't!" Lu Jinbei was like a helpless kid. He turned his head to look at his older brother, then at Fu Huai'an, then finally back at Lin Nuan, before saying with a lumpy throat, "Lin Nuan, we've known each other for a long time now. If I really did it, I would own up to it. But it really wasn't me! I regretted leaving her there alone after I drove off, but by the time I drove back there, all I saw was my brother holding on to a bloodied Xiao Nian, saying… saying…"
Lu Jinbei choked on his words and cocked his head sideways to look at Lu Jinnan.
Lu Jinnan had an awful expression on his face. He clenched his fists tightly and gazed at the teary-faced Lin Nuan. "It was me! I was the one who took Bai Xiaonian by force…"
Lin Nuan raised her hand and slapped Lu Jinnan across the face, causing his head to jerk sideways—it wasn't hard to see how much strength had gone into that slap. It was so hard that Lin Nuan's palm went numb and burning hot.
Lu Jinbei looked both shocked and panicked. He looked at his own older brother… with reddened eyes and violently trembling eyelashes.
Lu Jinbei had always felt reliant on his older brother Lu Jinnan; he always told everything to him…
He had loved Bai Xiaonian for so many years and had confided in Lu Jinnan how apologetic he had been feeling towards her. He refused to believe his own brother would rape his beloved woman. Since they were young, so long as he, Lu Jinbei, liked something, Lu Jinnan would do his best to give it to him!
Regarding Bai Xiaonian, Lu Jinbei had even told Lu Jinnan that while he had let her slip by once, he was certain that Bai Xiaonian was the woman he loved the most in this lifetime. He had said that other than Bai Xiaonian, he wouldn't want any other woman!
So why would his older brother snatch the woman he loved by force?
Lu Jinbei's lips trembled. There were several times he wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. He suppressed the overwhelming emotions in his heart, even looking upon this as Lu Jinnan's attempt to shoulder the crime for him. But he really didn't rape Bai Xiaonian!
Lu Jinbei finally spoke, wanting to explain, "Brother, I didn't do it. You don't have to shield me…"
It wasn't only Lu Jinbei, even Lin Nuan thought that Lu Jinnan was doing this to shield Lu Jinbei. She thought that was why he stood out and admitted that it was him who raped Bai Xiaonian.
After all, Lu Jinbei was an outstanding youth with a clean criminal record, whereas Lu Jinnan was once a murderer suspect, so it was easy for onlookers to feel like…. he wouldn't mind another smudge on his record to protect his younger brother.
Fu Huai'an gazed at Lu Jinnan's dark eyes, clearly surprised.
Fu Huai'an had known Lu Jinnan for many years and knew Lu Jinnan's nature very well. How was it possible that Lu Jinnan had raped Bai Xiaonian?
Even when Lu Jinnan was set up by someone and ate that thing that nearly took his life, he didn't touch the women who were locked up with him, so why would he suddenly do something like that to Lin Nuan's good friend Bai Xiaonian?
Lu Jinnan brushed the corner of his lips with his thumb, then gazed up at Lin Nuan's eyes, which were brimming with hatred. "I'm not shielding Xiao Bei, I'm just owning up to what I did…"
Upon hearing these words, Lin Nuan lost all control of her emotions. She shrugged off the hands that Fu Huai'an had placed on her shoulders and started charging towards Lu Jinnan with that damaged bag of hers, aiming right for his face.
Lu Jinnan passively received the blow and took a step back. Lin Nuan howled, smashing the bag such that the other side of the strap snapped too. As she threw the strap, her entire body was shaking…
Lin Nuan's little square bag had a metallic edge outline; by now, Lu Jinnan's forehead already had a blood-streaked wound across it.
Fu Huai'an waited for Lin Nuan to finish venting, then took the still quivering Lin Nuan into his arms before questioning Lu Jinnan, "How did she fall off the building?"
Lu Jinnan had his lips pursed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
"I don't know. My car broke down about 300 meters away from the abandoned factory. After the incident… I went to retrieve some water for her to wash up, then I heard her shriek and immediately ran back there, only to see her lying on the ground…"
Lu Jinbei was unable to accept the fact that his older brother had raped his beloved woman. With an ashy visage, he seemed to have forgotten how to blink. When he spoke, his trembling voice was so soft it made a person's heart ache for him. "Brother, you really did that to Xiao Nian…"
"Sorry!" Lu Jinnan's fists were tightly clenched.
Lu Jinbei clenched his fists by his sides. He wanted to strangle Lu Jinnan's neck, pin him to the ground, and viciously wallop him!
But that was his older brother, the older brother who doted on him the most since they were little!
"Brother, Xiao Nian's mother was raped when she was following news back then, and because she couldn't take the humiliation, she jumped off a building…"
The coldness that Lu Jinnan deliberately tried to feign seemed to crack, shattering to smithereens in an instant.
The blood had completely drained from Lu Jinnan's face, and there wasn't a sign of life on that handsome face of his.
After they were done, Lu Jinnan couldn't tell that Bai Xiaonian had the desire to die. He only saw her wrapping herself firmly in his suit. Then she told him to retrieve some water because she wanted to clean herself up and said she didn't want to get pregnant.
Lu Jinnan wiped a spot clean and settled Bai Xiaonian properly before heading for his car to get her some water. In the interim, he had called his assistant, telling him to buy an outfit according to Bai Xiaonian's sizes and deliver it to the abandoned factory, and also to call him after he arrived.
He couldn't have imagined that by the time he returned, Bai Xiaonian would be lying in a pool of blood.
"Call the cops!" Lin Nuan turned her head to look at Fu Huai'an before repeating her words with determination, "Call the cops!"
Her voice was highly emotional, and even her gaze spoke of her determination to send Lu Jinnan to prison.
Fu Huai'an's brows furrowed. He glanced at Lu Jinnan before turning back to look at Lin Nuan again. "Xiao Nuan, Bai Xiaonian is a public figure, so if we call the cops, this matter will surely blow up all over town. Bai Xiaonian's father is still unwell, let's not even talk about what will happen after her father comes to know about this, just think about how she will be gossiped about behind her back in the future."
It wasn't like Lin Nuan was unaware of the close ties between Fu Huai'an and Lu Jinnan…
Now she was looking at Fu Huai'an with a highly emotional look in her eyes too. She broke down once again, pointing at Lu Jinnan as she asked, "You're going to defend this rapist?"
Seeing that Lin Nuan had already snapped, Fu Huai'an clutched both her shoulders and looked into her eyes, trying to talk sense into her. "Lin Nuan, be rational here! Bai Xiaonian has yet to wake up, so we still don't know what exactly happened! She's still in a life-and-death struggle now. What we can do is try our best to minimize the damage done to her."