The heartless beauty is addicted to being licked by a seemingly obedient and loyal dog.

Harsh words spread through the lobby, like a bucket of dirty water with ice crystals, poured down unexpectedly.

Not only Song Yunxi, but even Shen Chonglu, who was standing by and had nothing to do with it, had a dark look on his face and his heart skipped a beat.

He had been active in North America for many years and had seen countless scenes in both the underworld and legitimate society, but perhaps because he was too well protected by his family, he had never encountered such disgusting and shady things.

Who would have thought that such maggots, living in the gutter, would lure people in under the guise of saving their lives, only to play this despicable game of feigning compliance while cutting off their escape route?

This is simply trampling people's hopes into the mud.

Shen Chonglu cursed the Lu family and the mansion a thousand times in his heart. Before he could react, he saw Song Yunqi, who was leaning against the soft chair, suddenly stand up.

Because of his hasty movements, the young man swayed slightly, a terrifying aura flashing in his eyes. He took two steps to the middle-aged man and raised his hand—

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

A crisp, loud slap echoed through the lobby.

Song Yunxi used all her strength, shaking her until her palms were red and burning. The manager's cheeks swelled up instantly, blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, and he was left dizzy and disoriented.

"Yunqi! Does your hand hurt?"

Fearing that Song Yunqi's intense emotional fluctuations might harm his health, Shen Chonglu quickly stepped forward, took his hand, and examined it carefully, while also giving a wink to the bodyguard behind him.

The bodyguards immediately understood and swarmed forward, gagging the men like dead dogs and dragging them straight to a side room in the backyard for disposal.

After a few screams, the hall returned to calm.

Shen Chonglu pulled the trembling young man into his arms, clumsily patting Song Yunqi's back to help him catch his breath.

"Alright, alright, it's not worth getting upset over these scumbags..."

Song Yunqi was feeling distressed and needed an outlet for her emotions, so she threw herself into the man's broad embrace, her breathing becoming rapid.

He gripped the other man's suit collar tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, yet he stubbornly bit his lower lip and remained silent.

Extreme anger and guilt churned in his chest. The young man looked up, and a thin layer of moisture unusually gathered in his cold, clear eyes, shimmering with a heartbreaking light in the sunlight.

But he is ultimately a strong-willed person.

The tear welled up in her eyes for only half a second before she forcefully suppressed it, her eyes regaining their coldness and resolve.

Song Yunqi pushed Shen Chonglu away, turned around and rushed out without stopping, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Quick! Find out which hospital Su Shen's mother visited before. It might still be in time to go there..."

Despite saying that, his fingers tightened tightly inside his sleeve.

In reality, everyone knows that it's highly likely that it's too late.

Su Shen was trapped in the Pink Mansion for more than three months, which was nearly a hundred days and nights.

Without subsequent funding and without the consent of family members, a seriously ill woman would likely be deprived of treatment in a cold and unfamiliar hospital and would probably have her medication discontinued long ago.

Shen Chonglu dared not delay in the slightest and immediately ordered his men to investigate.

The call came back in just three minutes.

"Young Master Shen, we've found it."

"Mr. Su's mother is named Zhang Fengzhu, 44 years old. She was indeed treated at a private hospital in Dongcheng District, Shanghai three months ago, and was later transferred to the intensive care unit..."

After giving the name of the hospital, Shen Chonglu's expression grew increasingly grim.

"Let's go! To the East District!"

The two hurriedly got into the car, which sped along the wide streets of the city, honking its horns in its wake, heading straight for its destination.

Throughout the journey, the atmosphere in the carriage was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Song Yunqi turned her head to look at the street scene rushing past outside the window, her thin lips pressed into a straight line.

Shen Chonglu held his hand tightly beside him, continuously transmitting warmth from his palm. He tried to comfort him several times, but in the end, he could only sigh.

Half an hour later, the car came to a steady stop in front of the emergency building of Dongcheng Private Hospital.

Even before Shen Chonglu could help her up, Song Yunqi pushed open the car door and rushed into the lobby. The man quickly opened his umbrella and chased after her, carefully protecting the young woman and blocking the flow of people around them.

The dean and the head of the archives department had already received notification from the Shen family and were waiting anxiously at the door of the VIP archives room.

Seeing Song Yunxi and Shen Chonglu approaching menacingly, the old dean wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and tremblingly handed over a thick paper medical record and transfer record.

"President Song... Young Master Shen... the Ms. Zhang Fengzhu you two are looking for..."

The old dean hesitated, avoiding eye contact with the two men.

"Speak!" Shen Chonglu roared.

The other party shuddered in fright and could only grit his teeth and say, "Ms. Zhang's condition was already very bad when she was brought in."

"There was indeed an advance payment at the beginning of the hospitalization, but the funds were exhausted three and a half months ago."

"Our hospital cannot contact the emergency contact person listed on the form; the phone goes unanswered..."

"Ms. Zhang was suffering from severe cardiopulmonary failure. On the third day after she stopped taking medication and was under observation... two and a half months ago, late at night, her condition suddenly deteriorated, and she passed away despite all efforts to save her."

Song Yunxi's body swayed violently, and her vision went black.

Shen Chonglu reacted quickly and helped him up from behind.

The air conditioning in the archives was blowing cold air, and the cold air felt like icy needles on my face.

The old hospital director shakily flipped through the file, the handwriting on it was very fresh, recording the circumstances of Su Shen's mother's admission to the hospital.

"When Ms. Zhang was brought in, she was just over forty years old. She should have been in her prime, but her body was full of ailments caused by years of hard work."

"In her final days, she became somewhat delirious, repeatedly muttering the name Su Shen... Every morning when she woke up, the first thing she would ask the nurse was, 'Has my little Shen come today? Is he too busy with work?'"

"Because she has a heart condition and can't handle stress, the nurse didn't dare tell her about the unpaid medication and could only give vague answers."

"Later on, she didn't even have the strength to get out of bed, but she still forced herself to sit up and stuffed a crumpled hundred-yuan note from under her pillow into the caregiver's hand, begging them to help her make a phone call to her son."

"But that number has been disconnected for a long time. No matter how I dial, it's just an automated message saying no one is answering."

"She seemed to realize something too. She didn't sleep a wink the night before she left. She struggled to change into her most presentable clothes and stared quietly at the door of the ward, her eyes still wet with dried tears."

"Ms. Zhang probably couldn't understand until her death why her son, who had always been sensible and considerate, suddenly lost contact with her and never came to see her again."

People leave this world carrying resentment and regrets, their eyes still open when they die.

This unadorned, straightforward statement landed heavily in the lobby.

Song Yunqi's thin body trembled violently, her fingernails digging deep into the fabric of Shen Chonglu's shirt, turning her fingertips white.

The image of Su Shen, covered in wounds yet smiling pitifully at her, flashed before her eyes when they first met.

"No matter what kind of person comes in, how ugly they are, or how vicious their methods are, I will cooperate obediently."

"As long as my mother can keep receiving her medication in the hospital, I'll let them do whatever they want with my life."

The young man struggled in the dirtiest and muddiest abyss of the Pink Mansion, his spine was broken and his dignity trampled, yet he still gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

His only thought that kept him going was that his humiliation and sacrifice could ensure his mother could have a comfortable life and receive proper treatment in the hospital.

He believed that by enduring all kinds of torture, he was paving a way for his mother to survive.

Little did he know that on those nights when he was wantonly trampled on in the mansion and could not die, his own mother, only forty-four years old, was lying on a cold hospital bed, suffering from illness due to lack of medication, and passing away with regret in endless loneliness, despair and longing.

The mother and son were only a few dozen kilometers apart, yet they were cruelly torn apart by this meticulously crafted and vicious scam.

One woman, tormented and desperate, clings to the belief that her mother is alive; the other, waiting in despair, believes her son has abandoned her.

"Yunqi, stop thinking about it... stop thinking about it."

Shen Chonglu held the cold-bodied young man in his arms very tightly, kissing the top of his head again and again, trying to use his body heat to dispel the heavy sorrow emanating from him.

He didn't know how to comfort the grieving young man. He was usually very eloquent, but when faced with this situation, he felt that every word he said was too thin, too light, without weight or warmth.

"Let's go pick her up."

Song Yunqi spoke mechanically, her voice very soft, her eyes filled with endless sorrow and coldness.

"Go to the funeral home and pick up Auntie... We can't leave her alone in that place."