Volume 1, Chapter 161: "With me here, no one can touch her."

On the way to the hospital, Xu Zhi sat in the passenger seat, gazing out the car window.

Liang Jinmo stepped on the brake at a red light at the intersection and could not help turning his head to look at her.

Her profile was very quiet, yet her brows were knitted in a slight frown, making it impossible to guess her mood.

He remembered that just moments ago, when he told her about the permanent sequelae Liang Muzhi's hand had suffered, she had first been stunned for a few seconds. After listening to his words, her expression had remained unusually flat, and she had only said, "Then let's go over and take a look."

He lowered his gaze, pondered for a few seconds, and called out to her: "Zhi."

Xu Zhi turned her head to look at him.

He asked: "Are you afraid?"

Xu Zhi smiled faintly. "I am no longer the person I used to be, and I am not that afraid of trouble anymore."

Liang Jinmo said: "At that time, you pushed him for my sake. The responsibility for this matter lies with me."

Knowing that he was trying to ease her mind, Xu Zhi said, "I really am not afraid. Since I did it, I will take responsibility. Besides, Liang Muzhi was just looking for trouble back then. Let's go see what they have to say first."

Liang Jinmo fell silent, looking straight ahead as he drove. Although he could not tell what she was thinking, he could distinctly sense that ever since she heard the news, she had remained unnaturally, almost eerily, quiet.

If it wasn't out of fear, then what was the reason?

He was unwilling to dwell on it further.

When the two arrived at the hospital, they went straight to the ward.

The atmosphere in the VIP ward was somewhat heavy; Liang Zhenguo, Fu Wanwen, and Liang Muzhi were all present.

Seeing Liang Jinmo and Xu Zhi arrive, Liang Zhenguo first dismissed the private nurse.

When he turned back around, Fu Wanwen had long since stood up from the sofa in a fit of rage, shouting at Xu Zhi: "How could you do this to Muzhi... You grew up together! His hand was already injured, yet you still pushed him! That's a bone fracture! Do you want to ruin his hand for good?!"

Fu Wanwen's voice was raised, making it sound somewhat piercing. Xu Zhi clenched her fists tightly, standing in place with a slightly stiff body.

Standing just a few paces away from the hospital bed, she took no further steps forward and glanced at Liang Muzhi on the bed.

He no longer resembled the high-spirited young master of her memories. Now, sitting on the hospital bed, his appearance was withered and haggard, his complexion pale, even his lips ashen. Dark stubble covered his chin, and his entire person appeared unkempt and thoroughly desolate.

She no longer loved him, but seeing him in such a down-and-out state still dealt her a certain shock.

He raised his eyes, but then lowered them again to avoid her gaze, turning his head to call out to Fu Wanwen: "Mom, stop arguing."

Tears were almost welling in Fu Wanwen's eyes. "And you still won't let me hold her accountable! You're always shielding her! If I hadn't gone to check the surveillance footage myself, I wouldn't have known..."

Originally, upon hearing fragments of gossip from the nurses, she had assumed Liang Jinmo was the one who had caused the secondary injury to Liang Muzhi's hand. Liang Zhenguo had remained indifferent, but she was unwilling to let it go and had gone to check the surveillance herself, never expecting that the culprit would be Xu Zhi.

Over the past two days, aside from an infection, Liang Muzhi had developed severe complications. The doctors estimated that his hand would never again be able to perform high-intensity tasks or actions requiring a high degree of dexterity.

And that was his right hand.

Liang Muzhi looked ashen and lifeless, neither arguing nor making a fuss, but Fu Wanwen could not accept it.

Liang Zhenguo had originally thought the hand would heal properly. Now that this situation had arisen, it was completely unexpected, and his thoughts were in disarray. After all, this was his own son, and the matter was exceedingly troublesome for him.

Xu Zhi knew the severity of the matter. Liang Muzhi was the young master of the Liang family, someone surrounded by stars holding the moon. Now, with such sequelae left in his right hand, it meant his future life would have far fewer possibilities.

Not to mention how much he loved racing.

She had never expected that single push of hers would lead to such an outcome. She withdrew her gaze from Liang Muzhi, took a deep breath, and finally spoke: "What do you want?"

Fu Wanwen was momentarily stunned, and then disbelief washed over her. "You're asking us what we want? Shouldn't you, the person who caused the injury, be the one to show an attitude first? How can you still be so righteous after harming Muzhi?!"

Xu Zhi tried to reason with her. "If you watched the surveillance footage, you should know that the one who started the trouble was neither me nor Brother Jinmo, but Liang Muzhi."

Hearing this, Liang Muzhi looked up at her.

Xu Zhi stood there, her spine straight, her chin slightly lifted, her expression calm and her gaze resolute.

For some reason, at that moment, he was reminded of their childhood, of the time the two of them were at home and accidentally smashed old Master Liang's antique vase.

Xu Zhi had been terrified back then, even crying. Not only was the vase extremely expensive, but it was also irreplaceable, and she was afraid of being scolded by the adults.

He, on the other hand, had not been afraid at all. When the scolding came later, he had stood in front of her to shield her.

She had stood behind him, still timid, tugging at the corner of his clothes with her small hand.

Back then, he had thought her cowardly and timid.

Right now, he seemed even worse off than that vase back then. Half his right hand was crippled; he could no longer race, he couldn't do things like rock climbing anymore, and he couldn't even perform heavy physical labor...

Yet she seemed to feel nothing at all.

Standing there confronting Fu Wanwen, she showed not the slightest bit of cowardice or fear, nor would she hide behind Liang Jinmo.

He suddenly thought: *I was wrong. This isn't my little Zhi at all.*

How could his little Zhi remain indifferent to the harm he had suffered, and how could she argue so righteously after hurting him like this?

Fu Wanwen was consumed by fury, pointing at the tip of Xu Zhi's nose and cursing: "How can you people still think you're in the right after hurting someone? No matter what Muzhi did, look at the two of you—aren't you both standing here safe and sound? The only one who is hurt is Muzhi! Don't even think about getting off scot-free!"

"That's why I asked," Xu Zhi looked at her, repeating, "what do you want?"

"You... you..." Fu Wanwen was dizzy with anger at her attitude. "Don't you even have an apology?!"

Fu Wanwen was truly angered to the core, her lips trembling. "I know you harbor resentment because Muzhi left you behind during the engagement, but let's be reasonable—his crimes didn't warrant this! You grew up together; don't you feel anything at all? His hand was injured by you like this, and this is your attitude? Is there any justice left?!"

Xu Zhi's fingers curled slightly. That Liang Muzhi was injured like this was an accident; she had to admit that she had been caught completely off guard by this unexpected turn of events. She was silent for a moment, then spoke again, her tone finally softening a fraction as she patiently explained to Fu Wanwen: "I truly didn't know he was injured at the time, otherwise I would have been more careful. He should have known his own condition clearly—knowing he was injured, why did he still provoke me?"

Hearing this, Liang Muzhi stared at her dead-eyed, yet she did not even spare him a single glance.

Was she blaming him? Clearly, he was the victim here.

Liang Zhenguo frowned and said in a deep voice: "No matter what, Muzhi's hand was indeed injured by you, and that is a fact. Xu Zhi, I will discipline Muzhi for his problems, but you are his sister-in-law now. This shouldn't be the way you two resolve issues in the future. Do you know how many rumors about our Liang family are circulating again because of that scene you caused at the hospital?"

What Liang Zhenguo cared about above all else was the reputation of the Liang family. Hearing this, Liang Muzhi felt a growing chill in his chest.

He didn't see the point of today's meeting. He had originally thought that with his hand in this state, Xu Zhi would at least feel a shred of remorse.

He hadn't wanted much... he had only hoped she could show him a little mercy.

Yet, she was even stingier than that, begrudging him even a single glance.

He lowered his head, his mind an absolute blank, feeling like a complete clown.

At this moment, Liang Jinmo spoke up: "She pushed Liang Muzhi to help me. Dwelling on it now is meaningless. You might as well just spell out how you actually want to resolve this issue."

The ward fell silent.

Precisely because they didn't know what else could be done, Fu Wanwen had spent all this time doing nothing but curse; she simply couldn't accept that her previously healthy son suddenly found himself unable to do so many things with his hand.

Holding back her tears, she looked at Xu Zhi and gritted her teeth: "Apologize, or else... or else..."

She wanted to threaten her with taking it to court, but what good would a lawsuit do? Even if she won, it would only amount to financial compensation. That wasn't what she wanted; it was far from enough.

She dropped a harsh threat: "I will make sure your hand is crippled too!"

Yes, she wanted to cripple Xu Zhi's hand; only that could dispel the hatred in her heart. She glared viciously at Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but Liang Jinmo stepped sideways, directly blocking her in front of him. With a cold and stern expression, he confronted Fu Wanwen: "With me here, no one touches her."