The Long-awaited Mr Han Chapter 1 - She Must Escape

Amidst the searing inferno, Lu Man lay prostrate on the ground, her gaze fixed upon her childhood sweetheart as he embraced her stepsister.

“Bitch!” Lu Man spat, her eyes burning with fury at the brazen pair before her.

“Elder sister, you’ve already served time in prison, and your future is bleak even upon release. Your mother is gone, and there’s no one left in this world who cares for you. What’s the point of clinging to life?”

“You two conspired to send me to prison, caused my mother’s death, and now you even seek my life!” Lu Man’s body felt utterly depleted, her eyes a furious scarlet.

“You deserve every bit of this,” He Zhengbai declared. “If you remain alive, you’ll undoubtedly expose us. I won’t allow you to shatter what we’ve built.”

“Rest in peace, Elder Sister. Father is aware of everything and has even prepared a fortuitous burial plot. He cherishes your contributions to the Lu family and will not neglect you even in death,” Lu Qi offered with a gentle tone.

Lu Man let out a choked, bloodshot laugh.

Her own father! And he would even extinguish his own daughter’s life for Lu Qi!

Her father and her childhood sweetheart, the two most significant men in her existence.

Yet, her father only recognized Lu Qi as his daughter, while her childhood sweetheart cherished Lu Qi as a prized possession, barely sparing her a thought.

And now, both of them desired her demise!

Spotting the glittering fragments of glass near her hand, Lu Man instinctively pressed her palm upon them. The searing agony coursing through her hand jolted her thoughts into clarity.

Gritting her teeth, Lu Man abruptly lunged toward Lu Qi.

A piercing shriek escaped Lu Qi as Lu Man forcefully shoved her down.

“Lu Man, release her!” He Zhengbai’s voice boomed as he moved to intervene.

Lu Man summoned her remaining strength, dragging Lu Qi into the encroaching flames, and bared her teeth to clamp down on Lu Qi’s ear.

A sharp, agonized cry erupted from Lu Qi.

With blood trickling from between Lu Man’s lips, she declared, “Since you wish for my death, you might as well perish with me!”

“No! Let me go! Brother He, save me!” Lu Qi shrieked in terror. But the inferno had already begun to consume them both.

As He Zhengbai lunged forward, a blazing wardrobe toppled, falling directly towards him.

Lu Man witnessed He Zhengbai’s face contort in sheer terror as he became pinned beneath the falling furniture.

Her own face flushed crimson in the reflection of the flames, Lu Man cursed under her breath, “You both deserve a gruesome end.”

Gathering the last vestiges of her strength, she pulled Lu Qi into the fiery embrace with her.

***

Galaxies swirled behind Lu Man’s eyelids as she awakened, a throbbing headache assaulting her senses. The sensation was akin to clawing her way out of hell, leaving her utterly bewildered by her surroundings.

She found herself in a hotel room. Sprawled on the carpet, a mere four to five feet from her position, was a man lying in a pool of his own blood.

This particular scene was unnervingly familiar to Lu Man, a scenario she had navigated once before.

However, that had been an eternity ago, almost as if it belonged to a different existence altogether.

Her past life…

A wave of confusion washed over Lu Man as fragmented memories of the incident surfaced. She should have perished in the inferno; how could she possibly be alive?

She lifted her hands, her right hand gripping a blood-stained table lamp. Startled, she flung it away instantly.

Yet, her arms and hands remained utterly unscathed, fair and unblemished, without a single mark.

Casting a second glance at the fallen man, his face confirmed her dawning realization: she had journeyed back, to the age of twenty-two.

In her previous existence, at this precise juncture, she was already serving as Lu Qi’s assistant. Lu Qi had burst onto the entertainment scene at the tender age of sixteen, and by twenty, she had ascended to the status of a renowned star.

Lu Man’s aspirations had never been to tread the path of showbiz, let alone to languish as an assistant. Her heart had yearned to become a fashion designer.

However, simply because the two-years-younger Lu Qi harbored a desire to act, Lu Qiyuan, Lu Man’s biological father, had established a film production company solely to further Lu Qi’s career. Fearing that the ‘innocent’ Lu Qi might falter amidst the cutthroat entertainment industry, he had peremptorily compelled his own daughter, Lu Man, then a student of fashion design, to abandon her studies and become Lu Qi’s aide. In truth, within the company, everyone recognized Lu Qi as the legitimate daughter of the Lu family, remaining oblivious to Lu Man’s own familial connection.

Ha! Despite being the true scion of the Lu family, Lu Qiyuan’s blood daughter, it was Lu Qi, who had merely been integrated into the Lu household through her mother’s remarriage, who was Dadi, showered with the treatment befitting the genuine heiress of the Lu empire.

Yet, she had never dwelled on such matters, for her mother’s illness demanded her attention. Had she departed in a fit of righteous anger, what would have become of her ailing mother?

The individual presently sprawled on the floor was none other than a renowned director. Lu Qi harbored aspirations of securing the leading female role in his film and had consequently convened in this hotel suite for discussions.

Considering the setting, what further discussion could possibly be necessary? The implications were clear.

Lu Qi understood this acutely, yet even Lu Qiyuan lacked the influence to petition this particular film director for a favor.

Despite the considerable wealth of the Lu family, their social standing still lagged behind.

Lu Qi had also summoned Lu Man to the meeting. However, before she could even utter a word, the director began making inappropriate advances, even suggesting Lu Man join in. At this juncture, Lu Qi resolved to leave Lu Man behind to 'entertain' the director, departing the scene first.

Naturally, Lu Man resisted, attempting to push Lu Qi away. In an effort to break free, Lu Qi seized the table lamp from the desk and struck Lu Man on the head with it, rendering her unconscious.

Regrettably, amidst her flailing with the lamp, she inadvertently grazed the director's neck with its sharp metal edge, prompting an immediate gush of blood.

As Lu Man glanced at her watch, she recalled that merely two minutes remained before the authorities would arrive to apprehend her.

It was at this precise moment that her life, once a dream, began to unravel into a nightmare.

She absolutely had to escape!

Just as Lu Man was preparing to exit through the window, her gaze fell upon the overturned table lamp lying beside her.

In her previous existence, Lu Qi had exploited the period of Lu Man's unconsciousness to meticulously erase her own fingerprints from the lamp, replacing them with Lu Man's.

Furthermore, in that prior timeline, Lu Man had not awakened nearly as soon. Even when the hotel staff breached the room, she remained deeply unconscious. The table lamp, found clutched in her grasp, became the damning evidence of her supposed assault on the director.

This time, however, Lu Man diligently wiped away any fingerprints from the table lamp. She then conducted a thorough sweep of the room, ensuring not a single strand of her hair remained present.

With less than a minute to spare, she successfully scaled out of the window.