Free Web NovelChapter 54: Chapter 54; Lu Shaohan
Part of the sleeve had stuck lightly against the wound where fresh blood had seeped through the bandage again, and when the fabric shifted, a sharp pulse of pain traveled through her arm.
A faint crease appeared between her brows before disappearing almost immediately, though Lu Shaohan noticed anyway.
"You should have stayed in the room," he said evenly.
"And let the Zhang family pressure your grandfather publicly?" Su Wan asked calmly. "That would have gone really well." He didn’t answer, because she wasn’t wrong.
The loosened sleeve finally slipped enough for the stained bandage beneath to become fully visible.
Blood had spread through part of the gauze from the strain downstairs, darker now where the fabric had tightened against the reopened wound. Lu Shaohan’s expression hardened slightly at the sight. "You pushed yourself too far."
Su Wan leaned back against the headboard, exhaustion beginning to show more clearly now that the confrontation had ended. "I didn’t have much choice."
"You always have a choice."
That finally drew a quiet laugh from her—soft, tired, not mocking. "You really believe that?" she asked.
The question lingered briefly between them, because both of them understood something uncomfortable now: most choices inside the Lu family were conditional, especially for people trapped inside succession struggles.
Lu Shaohan remained silent as he carefully removed the loosened bandage, his fingers brushing briefly against the skin near the wound, steady enough not to worsen the injury despite the tension still lingering between them.
Su Wan watched him quietly for a moment before speaking again. "You should go back."
His gaze remained on the wound. "Why?"
"Because your family is probably panicking." A faint pause followed before she added calmly, "And because half of them now think I’m trying to take control of the Lu family." That nearly drew a reaction from him, but instead, Lu Shaohan reached toward the medical supplies placed near the bedside earlier that moment after her discharge from the hospital.
"You asked for shares publicly," he said while opening fresh bandages. "What exactly did you expect them to think?"
Su Wan’s gaze shifted briefly toward the windows where the wind continued moving against the glass outside. "I expected them to become afraid. Really afraid..." The answer came simply and directly.
Yes, before they think of attacking her they should reevaluate the consequences.
Lu Shaohan’s hands paused for the briefest moment before continuing again, because fear inside powerful families changed behavior faster than trust ever could.
Fresh antiseptic touched the wound, drawing a sharper sting through her arm. Su Wan’s fingers tightened faintly against the bedsheet beneath her, though she didn’t make a sound.
"You didn’t hesitate downstairs," he observed quietly. free𝑤ebnovel.com
"No."
"Even with Old Master Lu watching."
Su Wan looked back at him steadily. "If I hesitated," she said calmly, "they would’ve torn me apart." The room fell silent again except for the wind outside.
Lu Shaohan secured the fresh bandage carefully before finally stepping back slightly, and only then did Su Wan realize how close he had been standing the entire time—close enough that she could still feel the lingering warmth of his hands against her skin where he had touched her arm moments earlier.
The realization unsettled her slightly, not emotionally but strategically, because closeness complicated things.
Lu Shaohan seemed to notice the shift in her expression as well. His gaze remained on her for several long seconds before he finally spoke again. "You handled the Zhang family well." The acknowledgment caught her off guard more than she expected, because Lu Shaohan was not someone who praised people lightly.
Su Wan studied him carefully. "That sounded reluctant."
"It was." A faint smile touched her lips despite herself, but his expression darkened again almost immediately afterward. "You also escalated the situation." The atmosphere cooled again. "There’s a difference between stabilizing a problem and cornering people publicly," he said evenly. "You made enemies today."
Su Wan’s smile faded slowly. "No," she replied quietly. "They were already enemies."
The silence lingered after her quiet response. Lu Shaohan looked at her for several moments without answering.
Wind pressed softly against the windows, the faint sound of branches shifting outside blending into the heavy quiet inside the room.
The confrontation in that main Hall was over, but the tension it created had not disappeared; it had only settled deeper.
Su Wan leaned carefully against the headboard, exhaustion beginning to show now that she no longer needed to hold herself together through sheer force.
The fresh bandage around her arm remained clean for the moment, though the dull pain beneath it had never truly faded.
Neither of them spoke again immediately, because there was too much left unresolved.
The Zhang family had retreated, not surrendered.
The pregnancies remained hanging over the Lu family. The stolen biological material still pointed toward something far larger hidden beneath the surface. And somewhere beyond the residence, someone was still moving against them with careful precision.
Lu Shaohan finally straightened beside the bed. His gaze rested on her briefly, thoughtful in a way that revealed more than his expression usually allowed. "You should rest," he said quietly—not cold, not gentle, but certain.
Su Wan looked at him calmly. "You should go and calm your family down."
A faint shift crossed his expression. "They’ll survive a few hours." The answer almost sounded dry.
She watched him turn toward the door, his composure returning fully as he walked away. But something between them had changed.
Before today, he had watched her like a problem that needed controlling; now he was beginning to look at her like someone standing inside the same war beside him. And that was far more dangerous.
At the door, he paused briefly. "Don’t leave the room unless necessary." The warning beneath the words was unmistakable—not because of the family in the main Hall, but because of everything neither of them could fully see yet.
Su Wan held his gaze for a moment before nodding once. Then Lu Shaohan left. The door closed quietly behind him, and the silence that remained afterward felt heavier than before.
