Chapter 9 Can't Go On

• "If you're not busy, come over!"
• Ye Qinghan turned his head and glanced at Lin Qiang. "I'm leaving first!"
• "Okay, bye!"
• Lin Qiang waved his hand and waited until Ye Qinghan's BMW disappeared into the traffic before returning to the clinic.
• In the following days, Lin Qiang treated patients while studying the contents recorded in the jade pendant.
• With the improvement of his medical skills, business at the clinic gradually improved.
• And when Ye Qinghan wasn't busy, she would come to the small clinic for dinner in the evenings.
• However, their relationship still didn't progress much. After half a month of being together, they hadn't even held hands.
• Li Lu would also appear from time to time, standing from a distance, taking a glance at Lin Xiaoyu before leaving.
• Occasionally, she would also buy clothes and snacks and stuff them through the crack in the clinic's door.
• It seemed that she really just wanted to make up for the years of owing her daughter.
• Lin Qiang also tacitly accepted Li Lu's actions, as long as she didn't cross the line.
• As for other aspects, he never even thought about the possibility of reconciling with Li Lu.
• One day, just as Lin Qiang had sent his daughter onto the bus, his phone rang.
• "Hello?"
• Seeing an unfamiliar number, Lin Qiang was puzzled for a moment before answering the call.
• "Lin... Lin Qiang... I'm in pain... I'm coughing up blood... Please save me!"
• From the other end of the phone came Li Lu's intermittent voice.
• She sounded extremely weak, not like she was pretending.
• "Where are you? I'll come over."
• Lin Qiang asked.
• After all, she was Xiaoyu's biological mother. Lin Qiang couldn't just stand by and watch her die.
• "I sent you the location on WeChat..."
• After saying that, the voice on the other end of the phone abruptly stopped.
• "Hello, Li Lu?"
• Lin Qiang's heart skipped a beat, quickly removing Li Lu from his blacklist on WeChat.
• After opening the location, he grabbed his medical kit and hailed a taxi.
• Before long, Lin Qiang arrived at the door of the hotel room where Li Lu was staying.
• Seeing that the door was slightly ajar, he pushed it open and walked in.
• The room was in a mess, with empty bottles scattered all over the floor, and faint sounds of Li Lu crying could be heard.
• "Li Lu, what's wrong with you?"
• Lin Qiang turned on the lights. Li Lu was lying on the bed, wearing a silk nightgown, her face pale and haggard.
• Her voluptuous figure was faintly discernible beneath the thin nightgown.
• However, Lin Qiang's attention was focused on the tissue that Li Lu was clutching, stained with bright red blood.
• Furrowing his brows, he held Li Lu's wrist.
• She had a high fever and internal bleeding, most likely caused by a torn respiratory tract from coughing.
• "Li Lu, what happened to you?"
• Lin Qiang felt a bit uneasy.
• There was a time when he cherished this woman so much!
• "I... I can't go on anymore!"
• Tears welled up in Li Lu's eyes.
• "Let me treat you first, and then we can talk later!"
• Lin Qiang also wanted to know what had happened to Li Lu.
• Facing his former first love and his daughter's mother, Lin Qiang couldn't be heartless.
• However, this concern had nothing to do with romantic feelings between a man and a woman.
• It was simply the purest form of compassion.
• Soon, Lin Qiang took out a silver needle and began acupuncture on Li Lu.
• He also used some mysterious power from the jade pendant, which he called "true qi."
• Martial arts experts who reached a certain level of cultivation could also generate "true qi."
• However, Lin Qiang had never encountered martial arts experts, so he didn't know if their "true qi" was the same as his.
• Soon, as the silver needle pierced her skin, Li Lu's complexion slowly returned from pale to rosy.
• "Rest well for a couple of days, and you should be fine!"
• After removing the silver needle, Lin Qiang tidied up the messy bottles on the floor before looking at Li Lu and asking, "Where's your man?"
• "Sob... We broke up a long time ago..."
• Li Lu burst into tears again, choking as she said, "Lin Qiang, I know you hate me for betraying you and Xiaoyu. But you don't know the true situation back then!"
• "The true situation? What do you mean?"
• Lin Qiang furrowed his brows.
• "I was forced by Zhao Hu (Big Gold Chain). He's wealthy and has a group of brothers in the underworld. If I didn't go with him, he would harm Xiaoyu and destroy your clinic.
• I had no choice. I couldn't tell you, so I could only follow him, compromising and living in constant fear. Moreover, he's an alcoholic and abusive. Look, these cigarette burns are from him.
• If I dared to resist, he would hurt Xiaoyu. Lin Qiang, tell me, what should I do?"
• As Li Lu spoke with a sobbing voice, she pulled down the neckline of her nightgown.
• Sure enough, there were several cigarette burns on her fair shoulders.
• "What's the use of telling me all this now?"
• Lin Qiang sighed.
• "Lin Qiang, I know I'm no longer worthy of you. Besides, you have your own woman now. But I don't want you to hate me forever and see me as a promiscuous woman!"
• Wiping away her tears, Li Lu said.
• "Let it go, the past is in the past. It's been so many years, and I've moved on. In the future, be more discerning when choosing a man!"
• Lin Qiang didn't completely believe Li Lu's words.
• If she really was forced by Big Gold Chain, then why didn't she say a word to stop him when he was being beaten while fighting for custody of Xiaoyu?
• Even a few words in his defense would have sufficed.
• Lin Qiang still couldn't forget Li Lu's indifferent expression when he was beaten bloody.
• However, whether it was true or false, it didn't matter anymore.
• With a sigh, Lin Qiang picked up his medical kit and walked out of the room.
• "Lin Qiang..."
• Li Lu called out.
• But Lin Qiang, who had reached the door, didn't turn back.
• "I refuse to accept this, I refuse..."
• Li Lu grabbed her hair and shouted hysterically, "I won't have a good life, and no one else will either!"