Thrown Away by my Family, Cherished by my Enemy

Li Xiyan didn't know where they had taken her.

Pain throbbed through every inch of her body—her bullet wound, the bruises, the raw scrapes along her ribs—but it was distant, dulled by the hollowness spreading inside her.

She had been dragged through corridors, shoved into a car, the world blurring past her in streaks of light and shadow. But none of it registered.

Not the whispers of the men guarding her. Not the low hum of the engine. Not the faint sting of blood drying against her skin.

She felt like nothing.

Like a shell of herself, stripped bare, emptied out.

By the time they reached their destination, she was moving on autopilot.

Her feet carried her forward when they pushed her along, but she barely felt the cold tile beneath her steps.

And then—

The door shut.

Silence.

Li Xiyan blinked, her gaze dragging across the dimly lit space. Four walls. A single chair. No windows.

It was the second time she had been locked in a room like this.

The first time, she hadn't been alone.

Now—she was.

She exhaled slowly, her breath barely making a sound in the stillness. Her body ached, her wounds pulsed, but she made no move to check them.

What was the point?

She should have been afraid. Furious. Anything.

But there was nothing left in her.

Only that name—Yan Xiuran.

Echoing. Twisting. Wrapping around her like a chain she would never break.

It didn't matter what she had done. How much she had fought. How much she had bled.

In the end, they had still made her into their villain.

***

Shen Yuze's Estate. 

Inside the Shen Estate, the heavy tension lingering from the night had yet to fade.

The entire household had been thrown into disarray since Shen Rui's kidnapping, and even now, with her safely returned, the weight of the ordeal still hung in the air.

Inside the room, his mother—Old Madam Shen—remained seated by the bedside, her gaze fixed on her granddaughter.

She had refused to leave, unwilling to part from the child even for a moment.

Shen Yuze knew better than to argue with her.

His mother had been inconsolable since learning of Shen Rui's abduction, and even now, despite the relief of her return, the worry had not left her eyes.

Shen Yuze finally stepped out of his daughter's room, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. He exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers to his temples.

She was safe. Stabilized. Her fever had gone down, and she was finally asleep.

For the first time in nearly two days, his shoulders eased—if only slightly.

He had been running on nothing but sheer willpower, unable to rest, unable to think of anything else but finding her.

And now that she was here, exhaustion threatened to pull him under, but he forced himself to stay sharp.

There was still unfinished business.

A light knock on the side of the hallway broke the silence.

"President Shen," a voice called.

Shen Yuze turned, his sharp gaze landing on his assistant, Lin Ke, a man in his mid-thirties who had served him loyally for years.

Lin Ke stood straight, his expression composed but serious.

"I found something about the woman, Li Xiyan."

Shen Yuze raised a brow. His exhaustion didn't show, his demeanor as sharp and controlled as ever.

"And?"

Lin Ke hesitated, something unreadable flickering in his expression before he spoke. "More like—I found nothing at all."

Shen Yuze's eyes narrowed.

Lin Ke continued, his tone measured yet firm. "This person… she didn't exist until three years ago. There's no record of her before that—no birth certificate, no family registry, nothing. Officially, Li Xiyan appeared three years ago as a student at Sheng University. She stays in a dorm, works part-time, and keeps a low profile. But aside from that, there's no trace of her past."

The silence that followed was thick.

Shen Yuze's fingers curled slightly, his mind working through the information. Or rather, the lack of it.

No past. No history. A fabricated identity?

A scoff left his lips. "Sounds exactly like someone with something to hide."

Lin Ke pursed his lips before speaking carefully, "Even so, I don't believe she was working with the kidnappers."

Shen Yuze shot him a sharp look, but Lin Ke didn't waver.

"Think about it, President Shen," he reasoned. "If she was with them, why was she shot? Why did she look as though she had been through hell? The woman was barely standing when we found her. And if she was really their accomplice, why would she go through all that just to escape with Shen Rui in her arms?"

Shen Yuze's expression remained unreadable, but there was something cold behind his gaze.

"Belief means nothing without proof," he said flatly.

Lin Ke sighed but didn't argue further.

Instead, he adjusted his glasses before adding, "Even if you doubt her, are you planning to just let her bleed out? If you want answers from her, she won't last long in that state. The bullet wound alone should've already knocked her unconscious."

A tense pause.

Shen Yuze didn't respond immediately. His jaw tensed, his fingers curling at his sides.

Then, finally, he turned away.

"Send someone to treat her wounds later," he ordered coolly. Then, after a beat, his voice dropped lower, more decisive.

"I'll see her myself. I want to know exactly who this woman really is."