Chapter 444

Yan's eyes turned to ice.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as her nails dug deep into her palms.

"Jian Bai." She enunciated each word with lethal precision. "Dare to lay a finger on my children, and you'll regret it."

The air froze instantly.

Jian Bai's face paled as he frantically raised his hands. "Yan, you've got it all wrong!"

His Adam's apple bobbed nervously. "I'm their uncle. How could I ever hurt them?"

A cold laugh escaped Yan's lips.

She knew this act all too well.

"I just wanted you to know," Jian Bai took a shaky breath, "no matter what happens, I'll always stand behind you."

Red veins surfaced in his eyes. "All these years... I owe you so much."

Yan turned her face away.

Dappled shadows from the window danced across her profile.

"Don't you find this pathetic?" Her whisper carried the chill of winter.

Jian Bai's chest heaved violently.

Suddenly, he pulled a document from his inner suit pocket.

"These are share transfer agreements for three Lu Corporation subsidiaries." His hands shook slightly. "Consider it... compensation."

Yan narrowed her eyes.

"Finally showing your true colors?" Her mocking laugh cut through the room. "All this theater just for that blood jade?"

The papers slipped from Jian Bai's grip and hit the floor with a slap.

"That's not—" His voice cracked. "I only—"

"Enough!" Yan shot to her feet. "I'm done with the Lu family's games."

She looked down at him with icy disdain. "The moment you abandoned me, we became strangers."

Jian Bai suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Yan!" His eyes reddened. "Give me one chance—"

She wrenched her arm free with brutal force.

"Mr. Lu," she smiled bitterly, "save the performance."

As she turned, the sound of shattering glass erupted behind her.

"I'll wait." Jian Bai's voice strained through clenched teeth. "Until the day you forgive me."

Yan paused mid-step.

"Then wait." She didn't look back. "Until the next lifetime."