Clack-clack-clack…

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the long hallway.

The woman in high heels rushed towards the door of the ward, but before she could open it, she was blocked by two bodyguards. Taking off her sunglasses, she said furiously, “Why are you two blocking me? Don’t you know who I am?!”

“Miss Lina!” the two bodyguards shouted in shock as they recognised her.

“Since you know me, then why are you still daring to block my way? What do you mean by this?” Lin Na glared at the two bodyguards.

“Boss told us that no one should disturb Madam’s rest.”

Lin Na gritted her teeth and asked, “Aren’t you mistaken? Since when am I not allowed to see my mother?!”

The two guards looked at her helplessly, yet neither of them had the slightest intention to move aside.

Idiots! Imbeciles! Lin Na swore inwardly. She pulled out her phone, searched for a familiar number, and dialled.

“Nana,” a rich and magnetic voice greeted her through the phone.

“Where are you?” Lin Na asked with a lowered voice, unable to conceal her anger.

There was a brief pause over the phone before she heard, “You went to the hospital?”

“What do you mean by arranging for two people to stand guard in front of the ward? Since when was I barred from visiting my mother?”

Lin Na drew in a deep breath as she raised her hand, tucking the hair that was blocking her vision behind her ear. Her brows were tightly knitted while she waited for an answer from the other side of the phone.

“Mum doesn’t want to see anyone right now. That includes you, and me…”

“What happened to her?” Lin Na started impatiently pacing.

“Nana, you don’t have to worry; Mum isn’t sick. If you want to know what’s going on, then come home, and I'll tell you.”

Lin Na cursed under her breath before she hung up, lifted her head to glance at the ward, and then glare at the two bodyguards. After putting her sunglasses back on, she hurriedly walked away.

An hour or more later, she finally reached a house in the suburbs.

When she entered the house, Lin Na heard the faint sounds of a piano. Without changing her heels to a pair of indoor slippers, she went straight to the piano room and furiously slammed the door open. Seeing that the figure inside was still calmly playing a little song, the suppressed rage in her heart was immediately reignited.

“Lin Yan, do you even have a heart?!” Lin Na screamed.

Upon hearing Lin Na’s scream, a pair of slender hands played a few more finishing notes before stopping and gently resting on the piano keys.

The person sitting in front of the piano turned his head and looked straight at Lin Na.

Being looked at in this way, Lin Na found that she couldn’t calm down, and on the verge of losing all self-control, she shouted, “You’re always like this! When Jiaoyang had her accident, you were so indifferent. Ok, so she had nothing to do with you; her liking you was her own business. But, now even Mum is in the hospital, and you’re still in the mood to play the piano?!!”

When Lin Na had mentioned the name ‘Jiaoyang’, the hands resting on the piano keys had trembled slightly.

“Are you done yet?” Lin Yan’s expression remained unchanged as he indifferently asked.

Lin Na choked back her words, noticing that this man was still as expressionless as an ancient well without a ripple. She ran out of breath, and as if she’d abruptly become powerless, she leaned against the door frame. Gathering what little strength remained, she frustratedly roared, “Aren’t you going to tell me something? Spit it out already!”

“Mum being admitted to hospital is related to Hugh’s current favourite.”

“Current favourite? That porn star Jennifer?” Lin Na’s brow furrowed as she tried to remember a few details. Hugh had recently seemed to be intimate with that witchy woman, and she’d accidentally run into the two in the elevator.

For information’s sake, it should be mentioned that Hugh was their father. Their biological father. However, only Lin Yan was acknowledged and recognised as the third generation heir of the Bruno Family. She was just Lin Na; an illegitimate daughter.

All the males of the Bruno Family were distinguished and outstanding, which naturally included Hugh. They were never to develop any genuine emotions, but since they were famous for being handsome and wealthy, they were willing to be quite generous with their female partner. Therefore, many women were willing to have a one night stand with a Bruno Family male. Hugh had also inherited the Bruno Family’s scumbag male attitude. He was utterly unfaithful, and he would keep and pamper the woman he’d taken a fancy to until he lost interest, when he would then just give them money to break up and part ways as smoothly as possible. Moreover, he was still unmarried. But, even if he had a bunch of illegitimate children, that couldn’t shake his decision to remain single.

Relatively speaking, only Lin Na’s mother was somewhat different to Hugh. She could be said to be the only woman who’d managed to last for several decades without being dumped. And, because it was her, Hugh had decided to bring Lin Yan home to be acknowledged by the family. From these points, it was enough to prove that his feelings for Lin Na’s mother were different when compared to the other women. However, this was only relatively speaking; he was still a distinguished and outstanding man who liked to hunt for novelties.

Things would eventually end up crumbling because of his debauchery. All the women that Hugh took a fancy to had been beautiful women without a family background. Bruno men were not only handsome and wealthy, they also had a particular characteristic; narcissism. They liked to think that all of the women they were with would be unable to ever part with them. So, if Hugh dated women without backgrounds, the theory was that money would be enough to make them disappear. Hugh was afraid that women with a wealthy family background would use their status to pester him, and that it would be troublesome to deal with them later. But this time, Hugh’s current favourite was a woman with influence. Hugh never would have imagined that the little princess of the Este Family would join the entertainment industry, and then go down the path of eroticism!

Although Bruno men were highly narcissistic, it was precisely that narcissism that was their ultimate resource. Hugh was currently a middle-aged man, nearly fifty years old, but his handsome and tall appearance hadn’t reduced in the slightest. Instead, it increased his appeal by adding a maturity to his figure, resulting in the ability to easily attract so many beautiful young girls.

Jennifer was one among many who’d fallen into his tender trap. Since she’d been raised as a princess, she’d always gotten what she wanted. Therefore, she now possessed a rotten character, and it was easy for her to trample over other people. After she’d found out that there was a foreign woman who’d accompanied Hugh for over twenty years, she’d immediately brought a group of people over to attack Lin Na’s mother.

“After that? Did she hit Mum?!” Lin Na was gnashing her teeth in rage, wishing she could tear Jennifer to pieces with her bare hands.

“No,” Lin Yan’s voice was flat. “But, she did something worse. Mum couldn’t endure it, and now she refuses to see anyone. I went to see her, but she threw things at me until I left.”

Lin Na’s eyes widened in surprise. Her mother was usually the most graceful person on the planet. Moreover, ever since they were children, their mother had never raised her voice or criticised Lin Yan, let alone throw things at him.

“What did that b*tch do to Mum?”

“It’s better if you don’t know.” Lin Yan’s expression became somewhat elusive.

“Why can’t I know?! Don’t always make decisions for me, okay?! What did Jennifer do to make Mum so upset. Don’t tell me she…”

Thinking of all the possibilities, Lin Na’s face turned instantly pale.

“Hugh arrived in time, so no irreparable harm occurred. But, before that, Jennifer managed to shave Mum’s hair.”

Shaving her hair…

Lin Na was shocked. She knew how much her mother cherished her beautiful hair.

“B*tch!” Lin Na cursed in hatred.

“How did Hugh handle this?”

The corner of Lin Yan’s mouth raised into a faint smile filled with ridicule. “For him, lost hair can grow back. After all is said and done, there was no other damage.”

Thinking back, she realised that she hadn’t seen Hugh at the hospital. And, since the bodyguards by the ward were Lin Yan’s men, Lin Na could easily guess what kind of attitude that asshole father of hers had.

“All you men of the Bruno family are scum!”

“Please remove your classification of ‘all’,” Lin Yan said as he looked up.

“Why should I remove it? I purposely included you! Since you disliked Jiaoyang, you should’ve just said it clearly. If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have returned to China, and she wouldn’t have been in an accident!” When she said the last part, Lin Na’s eyes reddened, and she lifted her foot to kick the door and vent her anger. Then, she turned and walked away.

Lin Yan lowered his eyes. His fingers that had initially been placed on the piano keys were now slowly clenching into fists.

Dislike her? It would’ve been easier if he really did dislike her…

Lin Na sat back in the car, kicked off her heels, and looked out the front in a daze as she hugged her knees.

“Lina, where do you want to go next?” her assistant, Sudan, turned her head around from the front and asked.

Lin Na sighed heavily and said, “Return to the company.”

“The National Supermodel program team just contacted me and asked when you’d have the time to go again. They want to invite you to be the final judge,” Sudan said.

“Never!” Lin Na promptly rejected without thinking twice. She was currently in a supremely bad mood. Where would she dig up the proper disposition to participate in that stupid program?

“Alright. I’ll tell them that you rejected their offer..”

Lin Na leaned her head against the back of the seat and said, “I have something that I need to do for the next few days, so clear my itinerary.”

“Okay.” Sudan nodded.

Lin Na turned to look at the unceasing blur of trees outside the window, her heart feeling empty.

While the sound of breathing in the car was audible, the sudden cacophony of a phone ringing broke the silence.

Lin Na glanced at her phone, hesitating for a second before answering the call.

“Lina, you’re back?”

“Mmh.”

“I’ll be returning tomorrow, so let’s meet up later, ok?”

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to. I’m going to London, but I’ll be back in a few days,” Lin Na calmly refused.

“London? Are you going to Gordian Hospital to visit Sheng Jiaoyang?” The man’s voice on the other side of the phone was a little disappointed.

Lin Na pursed her lips before replying, “Yes.”

Listening to her answer, the person on the phone seemed to laugh at himself.

“Okay, I understand. In your heart, I’ll never be better than Sheng Jiaoyang. Before her accident, you’d cancel our dates to accompany her with just one call from her. If we were both sick at the same time, you rushed to take care of her, yet you asked me to look for my housekeeper. Now that she isn’t waking up, you still refuse to see me for her.”

“Lina, do you really love me?”

The call then disconnected.

Lin Na blankly stared at her phone screen, her eyes gradually growing watery.

How could she not like him? Initially, she’d pursued him due to Little Sun’s encouragement, but what he’d said was right; in her heart, Sheng Jiaoyang was indeed the most important person to her.

Everyone said that she had homosexual tendencies because of how she prioritised her sister over her boyfriend, but they didn’t know anything. She had a gentle and kind mother. However, all of her mother’s attention was always placed on Lin Yan, so she’d been living at boarding schools since elementary school. At that time, no one had realised that she’d had a fever reaching over 39 degrees, and if Sheng Jiaoyang hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t be alive today.

Was it so bad that she cared for Sheng Jiaoyang, someone who meant the world to her?

If she could, she would rather have been the person who’d had an accident instead.