Chapter 0261

"If it weren't for An Jian, I wouldn’t have survived this long."

Uncle Fu fell silent, feeling the weight of Granny Wang’s suffering over the years.

"Then do you hate me now? Or… do you still love me?"

"No, I don’t hate you. As An Jian grew up, I realized there are better things in this world worth striving for. Slowly, the resentment faded. It was all just fate."

"When the hatred faded, so did the love."

Uncle Fu never expected such an answer.

So, from beginning to end, it wasn’t a misunderstanding—just that the two of them were never meant to be.

Perhaps if he had taken her away by force back then, none of this would have happened.

Now he understood—Granny Wang wasn’t heartless. She had loved him once.

"Dahua, I’m sorry. I know it’s too late for words, but I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Just then, cheerful laughter rang out from the hospital room.

"No need. I’ve grown used to being alone all these years. Let’s just go in and see the child first."

As Granny Wang stood up to open the door, Uncle Fu quickly spoke again.

"Dahua, I have one more question."

"Go on."

"Am I a heartless man?"

Wang Dahua paused, then finally shook her head.

"No. This outcome was my choice. If I’d chosen differently, things might not have been any better."

With that, she pushed open the door. Uncle Fu sighed and followed.

The bad news was that Granny Wang still hadn’t forgiven him. The good news? At least he didn’t have to kill himself.

"Grandma, I missed you so much!"

Wang Anjian’s face lit up at the sight of Wang Dahua.

"Grandma missed you too, dear. Young Master Lin, thank you. You should go rest now—we won’t trouble you with An Jian anymore."

Lin Ran considered this, then stood up. He exchanged a glance with Uncle Fu before leaving the room alone.

This moment belonged to the three of them.

Suddenly, a familiar sensation prickled at his senses. Lin Ran turned to look out the window.

Those eyes just now… they felt so familiar.

Blue?

He glanced back at Wang Anjian, lying in the hospital bed—his gaze pure and innocent, a bright smile directed at Lin Ran.

Something felt off, but Lin Ran couldn’t pinpoint what.

Ever since returning to this world, his intuition had been unnervingly accurate.

Take Wang Anjian, for example. They must have crossed paths before—no one could like another person so instantly without even speaking.

If that were possible, it’d only be superficial attraction. But that couldn’t be the case between him and Wang Anjian.

Which meant there was only one explanation.

No matter how shocking the truth might be.

"Little Black…"

After Lin Ran left, Granny Wang stayed with little Anjian while Uncle Fu remained standing in the back, silent for a long, long time.

"Grandma, who is this grandpa?"

Wang Anjian tilted his head in confusion at the unfamiliar man staring at him.

"Him? He’s just… a stranger, dear."

Uncle Fu stiffened, his heart sinking.

But there was still time. He knew he couldn’t win Granny Wang back overnight.

Silently, he swore to himself—he would make up for this regret.

Zhang Laifu could be a warrior of pure love too, just like Young Master Lin and the young miss.

On his way back to the estate, Lin Ran found Luo Yao in a frenzy.

She hadn’t followed him to the hospital for two reasons: first, she couldn’t be bothered with such matters, and second, she had more pressing business to handle.

With Lin Ran away, Luo Yao seized the chance to settle two things at once.

Inside the estate’s secret chamber, over a dozen people were imprisoned—Luo Tangji’s so-called disciples.

In truth, each of them was highly skilled, though they were all castoffs from that place.

Normally, rejects like them wouldn’t be alive, but Luo Tangji had secretly saved and raised them, turning them into her personal weapons.

In the Luo family, no one was selfless—those who were didn’t survive long.

"You have three chances. Tell me everything you know, and you’ll keep your lives."

These people weren’t afraid of torture—they’d endured more suffering than most in their lives.

"Traitor. We were just Luo Tangji’s blades. Now that she’s dead, we’re no threat to you. Let us go, and we’ll tell you everything."

"But if you plan to kill us, remember—we’ve crawled out of graves before."

Some of them knew Luo Yao—some had fought alongside her, others against her. A few had even been "killed" by her hand.

"Two chances left." Luo Yao’s voice was ice.

The room fell dead silent. Precisely because they’d survived hell, they valued life even more.

Every one of them wanted to live. And Luo Yao’s ruthlessness? They’d witnessed it since childhood.

"If we talk, will you let us go? Or keep us locked up forever?"

Luo Yao had only promised their lives—nothing more. Someone had caught the loophole.

If she kept her word but imprisoned them for life, death would be preferable.

"Alive" could mean blind, deaf, or limbless—still technically alive.

"One chance left."

Just as someone else tried to speak, their leader shouted:

"We’ll talk! Luo Tangji teamed up with Luo Wushuang. They planned this ambush together—Luo Tangji was supposed to stall you, while Luo Wushuang mobilized us to storm the estate and capture Lin Ran. If Luo Tangji succeeded, they’d take control of the Luo family. If she failed, we’d use Lin Ran as leverage against you."

"Our original plan was for Luo Tangji to hold you off for at least a full day. We never expected you’d return so soon. And we still don’t know why Luo Wushuang never gave the order to strike—otherwise, you wouldn’t have caught us."

Luo Yao narrowed her eyes. So, Luo Wushuang was involved after all.

"Fine. Since you’re about to die, I’ll answer your question. Luo Wushuang wanted to play both sides—unfortunately for you… heh." She smirked. "Men, send them to meet Luo Tangji."

The prisoners’ eyes widened. "You backstabbing snake! You’re breaking your word?"

Luo Yao’s voice dripped venom. "You know me—I am a backstabbing snake. Why wouldn’t I be selfish?"

"Besides, if our positions were reversed… would you have spared me?"