RMM -Chapter 302 When the Dust Settles, All Returns to Tranquility

Over the next few days, Zhou Yunzhen remained like this. Though she said nothing more, she was tense every moment of every day, brimming with wariness. Even the doctors were at a loss.

Worried about his daughter, Zhou Tingzhang stayed in the ward almost every day, keeping watch over her, afraid that the moment he stepped away she would start talking nonsense again.

Yet no matter how careful one was, there were always moments of oversight. Whenever Zhou Tingzhang left the room, Zhou Yunzhen would begin to hear voices, see images, even glimpse scenes from that day reflected in the window—as if the incident had completely surrounded her, leaving her no way to escape.

Once or twice—Zhou Yunzhen was already on the verge of madness. One time, as she sat dazed, a voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.

“Miss Zhou, do you remember me? I’ve missed you so much.”

She turned her head and, in horror, recognized the man who had suddenly appeared—it was the very man from that day. Even if he were reduced to ashes, she would still recognize him.

“Ah… don’t come any closer!”

Terrified, Zhou Yunzhen rolled off the bed. Her parched, peeling lips split as she screamed and scrambled backward.

“Don’t be like that, Miss Zhou. Have you forgotten me? We’ve slept together—you were really wild. How about we do it again? I promise I’ll serve you real good!”

The man leered as he pressed closer and closer. The door had already been shut.

“No! Someone, help! Dad—!”

Trembling, Zhou Yunzhen screamed as she retreated, until her back hit the window. There was nowhere left to go. She could only watch helplessly as he drew nearer.

She couldn’t let him succeed. She couldn’t let him touch her!

That was the only thought in her mind. Yet to her horror, she realized there was nowhere left to flee—she was cornered.

“Miss Zhou—”

“Don’t come any closer!” Zhou Yunzhen cut him off, her dry eyes darting wildly about. When she saw the open window, her eyes lit up. Without a second thought, she turned and jumped.

“Miss Zhou!”

Seeing her leap out, the man cried out in shock, his face turning pale.

“What do we do? She jumped! What do we do? I told you we shouldn’t have come—”

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He had forced Zhou Yunzhen into jumping. If the police caught him, how could he possibly survive?

“What are you panicking for? It’s the second floor, not the twentieth.”

As he was about to run, a man’s voice came from behind. He recognized it—the same person who had forced him to come here to scare Zhou Yunzhen. And now this had happened—she’d been frightened into jumping.

“You’ve ruined me! Satisfied now? Get out of my way—I’m leaving!”

All he wanted was to get away as fast as possible. He didn’t know how the woman was, but either way, this was no place to linger.

“With guts like that, you still dare to run around? Get lost—最好逃出 B City as fast as you can. If her father finds you, your life will really be over. Heh.”

The speaker was the same man who had previously delivered a package to Zhou Yunzhen. Leaning casually against the wall, he watched the thug with leisure, sounding quite pleased.

“I’ll leave today… and you’re never to contact me again!”

The thug was in a panic. Even without the reminder, he would naturally flee B City. Just thinking about that woman’s father—and this man’s methods—made him shiver. How could he possibly stay?

No matter what, staying alive came first. If her father learned that he’d driven his daughter to jump, even three lives wouldn’t be enough to endure his torment.

“Get lost—and don’t get caught.”

The young man waved him off with a frown. Only after the thug scurried away did he glance at the open window. From here he could hear the commotion below—no doubt people were startled by Zhou Yunzhen’s sudden fall.

He curled his lips into a reckless smile and turned to leave.

Though it was only the second floor, Zhou Yunzhen had jumped without a second thought and was badly injured nonetheless.

Her head was bleeding, several bones were fractured, and she lost consciousness the moment she hit the ground.

Fortunately, this was a hospital, and the garden below was crowded. She was discovered immediately, and in an instant people surrounded her; others ran to fetch doctors.

By the time Zhou Tingzhang rushed over, her wounds had already been roughly treated. She was still unconscious, her leg in a cast.

Seeing his daughter covered in injuries, scarcely a spot unhurt, Zhou Tingzhang finally broke down.

This iron-willed man, who had never shed a tear even on the battlefield, could no longer hold back as he looked at his daughter. Tears shimmered in his eyes; his lips were pressed tight, afraid that if he loosened them even slightly, the sob stuck in his throat would spill out.

He was at his wit’s end. His daughter’s condition hadn’t improved—it had worsened. Before, she had merely spoken nonsense; her mental state was poor, but her life wasn’t in danger. Now… now she had jumped.

What couldn’t she bear anymore? Did she really want to die that badly? Couldn’t she think of him? He was old now—he could no longer withstand any more shocks…

Zhou Tingzhang looked as if he had aged ten years overnight.

Given Zhou Yunzhen’s recent jittery behavior, no one suspected anything about the jump. Everyone believed she had simply lost the will to live.

And indeed—these days she had been terrified by the intermittent voices, photos, and videos, like someone completely deranged. At times, if anyone approached her, she would lunge at them, clawing and screaming, “Don’t come near me, I was wrong, please let me go,” and the like. With reactions this extreme, no one dared get close—only Zhou Tingzhang stayed by her side. But he couldn’t be with her every second, and so her “symptoms” grew worse.

The doctors were helpless. What could they do with a highly uncooperative, jittery patient with “persecutory delusions”?

Once, a doctor suggested to Zhou Tingzhang that she be sent to a sanatorium or similar facility—but before he could finish, Zhou Tingzhang exploded, roaring, “Are you saying my daughter is crazy? You’re the crazy one! My daughter isn’t sick—she’ll get better! You want to send her to a mental hospital?!”

With Zhou Tingzhang making such a scene, what could the doctors do? Fine—since the family refused to leave, they would continue hospitalization. After all, the man was powerful and influential.

But the hospital never expected Zhou Yunzhen to jump. This crossed the line. A patient jumping from the hospital was a terrible look—if word got out that patients were being treated into jumping, who would dare come here?

They’d said she had mental issues—no one believed it. Look what happened: delay after delay, and a disaster followed. Luckily there was no death, or the hospital’s reputation would be ruined.

This time, the hospital couldn’t ignore it. A department director was sent to speak very tactfully, suggesting that perhaps Zhou Yunzhen should be moved to a quieter place. Hospitals were crowded and noisy, full of germs—not ideal for recuperation.

How could Zhou Tingzhang fail to understand this was a polite eviction? This time, he didn’t lose his temper. What temper did he have left? He was exhausted from worrying about his daughter.

What could he say? Though he didn’t want to admit it… she really wasn’t suited for the hospital anymore. He nodded and agreed to discharge her as soon as possible, apologizing for the trouble caused.

As he spoke, the hard lines of his face were etched with bleak weariness, as if all hope had been drained away. Even the director felt sorry for him—but there was no choice. They couldn’t let her stay and cause something worse.

Zhou Tingzhang truly had no options left. His daughter’s condition worsened by the day. If he kept avoiding the truth, something even more terrible would happen.

Zhou Yunzhen remained unconscious for a long time. When she finally woke, her first reaction was to open her eyes wide and scan her surroundings in terror.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Tingzhang’s heart ached unbearably. He swallowed back the burning in his eyes and forced a smile. “Yunzhen, you’re awake? Does it still hurt? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Dad… he’s gone. He finally left. Did you see him? He came again—so disgusting. Dad, don’t leave me anymore, okay? I’m so scared… he’ll definitely come back…”

She laughed and cried at the same time, muttering incoherently. Zhou Tingzhang could hardly make sense of it, and didn’t press her. She’d been like this often—silent for long stretches, then bursting out with strange words. Even he, who had always refused to believe his daughter had mental problems, could no longer deny it.

“Mm. Daddy will stay with you. I won’t go anywhere.”

Looking at his haggard daughter, he could no longer smile. Turning his head away, he said, “Yunzhen, how about we go home today? We won’t stay in the hospital anymore.”

At the mention of going home, her eyes lit up immediately. “Okay, okay! Home—once we’re home, they won’t dare come looking for me again…”

That night, after she was given a sedative and fell into a deep sleep, Zhou Tingzhang drove her away from the hospital.

But he didn’t take her home. He headed for the outskirts, driving far into the night before finally arriving.

Qingyuan Sanatorium.

He brought Zhou Yunzhen here.

Nestled among hills and water, the sanatorium was quiet and elegant, well-equipped—seemingly very good. Yet no matter how good it looked, it was still a sanatorium.

Zhou Tingzhang had contacted the person in charge beforehand, so once he parked, several people came out to meet him.

They carefully escorted his daughter to the room he had chosen, and he stayed with her for a long while. Only when the sky began to pale with dawn did he slowly rise.

The staff repeatedly assured him they would take good care of Miss Zhou and report regularly on her condition. Only then did Zhou Tingzhang, eyes reddened, harden his heart and leave.

He was afraid that once she woke, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to go. But he had to be ruthless. In her state, he couldn’t afford to be careless. If anything happened to her, how could he go on living?

After returning, Zhou Tingzhang didn’t go to the military. He shut himself in his bedroom for an entire day. When he emerged, he looked haggard, his steps unsteady, his spirit dazed.

Three days later, the sanatorium called. They said Zhou Yunzhen had made a few scenes upon waking, but gradually her emotions stabilized. She hadn’t relapsed and could allow one or two people to approach her.

Hearing this, Zhou Tingzhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Amid the bitterness, he decided to visit her in a few days. Since she was doing better there, she could stay and enjoy the quiet—two years, at least.

As for Zhou Yunzhen at the sanatorium, she was now like a puppet. Told to do something, she did it. Silent all day, her eyes dull and lifeless. In an instant, “persecutory delusions” had become “autism.”

In truth, she was utterly despondent. She thought her father no longer wanted her—that he had cast her away here, abandoned by everyone.

Living like this—how was it any different from being dead?

This question occupied her thoughts the most. Days slipped by in this contemplation—one day, then another. She remained hollow and numb, a patient seemingly incurable for life.

One day, Xi Yuechen received a phone call.

The caller described Zhou Yunzhen’s current condition.

“A sanatorium? Not a bad place. Let her stay there a few more years.”

Xi Yuechen replied calmly, his expression unchanged—without a hint of surprise.

What was there to be surprised about? This had all been planned by him from the start.

And so Zhou Yunzhen’s story came to an end in such a tragic fashion—neither retribution nor pity mattered. Only those who begin well can end well. Take the wrong first step, cling too tightly to obsession, and you can only sink deeper.

There aren’t that many misfortunes in this world—most of them are simply self-inflicted.