Chapter 442: Shattered

Chapter 442: Chapter 442: Shattered

As soon as she stepped out of the office, Lin Ruoxi's expression was devoid of any emotion. Her steps were heavy, lacking the usual sharpness and authority she carried in the company. Occasionally, employees passing by would greet her respectfully, intimidated by her usual demeanor, but none noticed anything amiss.

Yang Chen followed silently, knowing that words were useless at this moment. He trailed her all the way down to the parking lot, to the spot where Lin Ruoxi's car was parked. Lin Ruoxi fumbled in her jacket pocket, realizing she was searching the wrong one, then switched to the other pocket to pull out the keys to her Bentley.

Her hand was still trembling, betraying her inner turmoil despite her outward calm. It took her several attempts before she managed to unlock the car door. As she reached for the car door handle, Yang Chen couldn't bear to watch any longer. He stepped forward and grabbed her hand. UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

Lin Ruoxi turned her head, her eyes vacant as she looked at Yang Chen.

"Don't drive. In your current state, driving is as good as suicide," Yang Chen said firmly.

Lin Ruoxi ignored him and reached with her other hand to open the door.

"Did you hear me? I'm talking to you!" Yang Chen said, his voice rising in frustration. He pulled her away from the car, gripping her shoulders and shaking her gently but firmly.

Lin Ruoxi's head bobbed back and forth with the shaking, but she made no sound, her body limp like a soulless puppet. Yang Chen's heart sank as he saw the dead look in her eyes—she had the gaze of someone who had given up on life.

This was the sign of someone on the brink of collapse, held together only by her rigid, even twisted, mental fortitude. Lin Ruoxi's character was too introverted; throughout her life, she had rarely expressed her emotions openly. No matter how turbulent the storm, she would bury it deep inside, continuously suppressing and repressing rather than releasing it.

At this moment, Lin Ruoxi was clearly at the edge of a breakdown, held back only by her inner, albeit distorted, resilience.

"I won't let you do anything foolish," Yang Chen said with determination.

Before Lin Ruoxi could attempt to open the door again, Yang Chen struck a precise point on the back of her neck, causing her to faint instantly and collapse into his arms.

Seeing no one around, Yang Chen picked Lin Ruoxi up and carried her to his car, gently laying her down on the back seat.

Lin Ruoxi's face remained serene, like the tranquil surface of a clear lake, beautiful and mesmerizing. But Yang Chen knew that when she awoke, it might signal the onset of something even more terrifying.

A minute later, Yang Chen was driving them home.

Not long after Yang Chen left with Lin Ruoxi, Ning Guodong also got into his car to return home.

Ning Guodong's face was clouded with anger, looking like he could erupt at any moment. This made the assistant sitting in the front passenger seat very nervous, afraid to speak.

Suddenly, Ning Guodong handed the document folder he had been holding to the assistant. "Send this to all the influential magazines and newspapers in the country. Get it published as widely as possible, the bigger the spread, the better."

The assistant took the folder nervously, opening it and carefully examining its contents. When he saw the key details, his face turned pale.

"Do you know something?" Yang Chen's gaze was calm as he looked at Aunt Wang and Guo Xuehua.

Aunt Wang sighed, looking at the unconscious Lin Ruoxi on the bed, and shook her head. "Young master, you must have guessed it. I indeed know about this matter, but I thought I would never have to speak of it in my lifetime. I didn't expect someone to uncover this past so soon. Yes, Master Kun is indeed not the young lady's biological father. Master Kun was born with a hidden illness and couldn't have children."

Yang Chen thought to himself that it was indeed the case. He had found it strange before. Since Lin Kun spent almost all his money on women, why didn't he have any illegitimate children? If he disliked his legitimate daughter so much, why didn't he have a child with someone he liked?

Now it made sense. It wasn't that Lin Kun didn't want children; he simply couldn't have any.

Lin Kun's obsession with women might not have been due to genuine affection. It was likely his way of proving that he was a normal man, not someone who could do the act but produce no results—a half-eunuch.

This also explained why Lin Kun had such a beautiful wife like Xue Zijing, but their relationship was strained.

Lin Kun knew he couldn't have children, but Xue Zijing got pregnant and gave birth to Lin Ruoxi. This was a blatant slap in Lin Kun's face.

What puzzled Yang Chen was why Lin Kun's mother, the old chairman, who surely knew about Lin Kun's condition, didn't prevent Xue Zijing from giving birth to another man's child. Moreover, she raised Lin Ruoxi with care and handed over the business empire she had built to Lin Ruoxi, rather than to her own son, Lin Kun.

At the same time, why didn't Lin Kun reveal the truth? Was it just to save face and not let the world know about his infertility? Or was there another reason?

Too many mysteries overwhelmed Yang Chen.

"Aunt Wang—"

Suddenly, Lin Ruoxi, lying on the bed, opened her eyes, tears already welling up in them. Slowly, she sat up, looking at Aunt Wang with teary eyes.

"Aunt Wang, why are you only telling me now? Do you know how cruel this is to me?"

"Miss, I..." Aunt Wang was at a loss for words. She felt that no matter what she said, it couldn't make up for the pain Lin Ruoxi was feeling. She could only stand there, mouth open, unable to speak.

Lin Ruoxi let out a sorrowful laugh, like a withering lily, its poignant beauty heartbreaking.

"No wonder that man hated me since I was a child, never willing to hold me, never treating me well. He always looked down on my mother and constantly sought out other women for debauchery. No matter what I did or how well I treated him, he never saw me as his daughter. No wonder he could be so cruel, easily beating and scolding me, even going so far as to kidnap me and try to kill me."

As Lin Ruoxi spoke, her tears fell like broken pearls, staining the bed sheets with patches of sorrow.

"I always wondered how there could be parents who could be so indifferent to their own flesh and blood, how a father could want to kill his own daughter. It turns out that from the very beginning, I was wrong. My mistake was thinking I was his daughter. In his eyes, I was just a bastard child, the result of his wife's affair with another man—a reminder of his infertility, a living testament to his humiliation. He had every reason to hate me. I, who took the inheritance that should have been his, tormented him by merely existing in front of him for so many years. I should probably thank him for his mercy, for not strangling me to death when I was a child. Isn't that right, Aunt Wang?"

Lin Ruoxi lifted her head, her eyes like autumn waters, her face stern. Her smile, as beautiful as a flower, seemed as fragile as a mirage, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.