Madam, Please Behave
Chapter 366: A Desperate Reality (2)

“Stop dreaming!”

The moment Li Chongming asked his question, Chu Fang—holding the baby—shouted back at him.

Her face was filled with disgust, as if just looking at him made her sick.

“How could someone like you have a child? Don’t you know what kind of condition you have? You’ll be alone for the rest of your pathetic life.”

Her words hit him hard. Li Chongming’s eyes widened as he stared at Chu Fang.

Suddenly, her expression changed.

From her elevated stance, that mocking smirk curled at the corner of her lips—clearly visible to him.

She spoke, pausing between each word.

“I was never pregnant. That was all a lie. And this… isn’t your child.”

“Can’t handle the truth? That’s hilarious. Someone like you… actually dreaming of having a child of your own?”

“Shut up… I said shut up!”

He lunged.

Springing from the ground, Li Chongming flung his arms toward Chu Fang.

But the scene shifted again.

Chu Fang, the baby she held—vanished instantly before his eyes.

His arms didn’t grasp at empty air, though.

A tall figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Before Li Chongming could figure out what was happening, his hands were firmly restrained.

He jerked his head up.

Staring back at him was a cold, expressionless face—

“Liu… Liu Changqing!”

It was Liu Changqing.

With an icy stare and an unflinching grip, Liu Changqing held his wrists tightly.

The moment Li Chongming realized who had seized him, he panicked and began struggling furiously. He couldn’t bear to face this man.

Thrashing around, he shouted over and over—

“Let me go! Let me go, d*mn it!”

“Li Chongming.”

His struggles were in vain.

He heard Liu Changqing’s voice. When he looked back at him, he realized Liu Changqing no longer had that blank expression.

Now, he looked at him the way one might look at a stray dog—eyes filled with scorn.

Then, he let go.

Liu Changqing looked down at him and sneered.

“You’re pathetic… Your parents died in an accident back in high school. You thought you'd found happiness in marriage, but soon after, you found out you were infertile… Is that what made you turn out like this?”

“No… I’m not sick…”

“You are sick. And you’ve never been cured. You were born without the ability to reproduce. As a man, you’re physically defective. Over the years, that twisted you. So all you cared about was money—because you had nothing else. From the start, you hated Li Wanran. Because she gave her first time to me… and she even gave birth to two of my kids.”

“Shut up… I didn’t… I’m not sick—I’m not!!”

His tone had turned manic.

As his memories sharpened, Li Chongming yanked at his own hair. But no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t feel a thing.

Liu Changqing’s voice kept echoing in his ears, dripping with ridicule.

Li Chongming looked horrified.

Desperate to escape, he spun around and ran.

He ran harder than he ever had in his life.

Only after what felt like forever did he finally dare to glance behind him.

And there—Liu Changqing still stood, right where he was.

Silent now.

His hand raised—slowly tightening into a fist.

Li Chongming instantly understood what was coming. He tried to run again, but Liu Changqing wasn’t going to let him this time.

A brutal kick to the back sent him crashing to the ground.

Then, the punches came raining down.

He threw up his arms to shield his face. Even though he couldn’t feel pain—he was terrified.

Screaming, begging for mercy.

But Liu Changqing didn’t stop.

The beating went on and on…

Until suddenly, Liu Changqing was gone.

It took Li Chongming a long while before he dared to move his arms.

When he opened his eyes, Liu Changqing had vanished.

Relief surged through him.

Lying flat on the ground, Li Chongming gasped for air.

He didn’t know how much time passed.

Then—he heard it.

The sharp, rhythmic clack of high heels on the floor.

He didn’t get up.

He turned his head toward the sound—and saw a pair of black high heels.

His eyes followed upward…

And met the face of Li Wanran.

Stunned, he stared.

Then scrambled toward her, dragging himself across the floor until he reached her feet.

He wrapped his arms around her legs and pleaded desperately.

“Wanran… I was wrong. I swear I won’t mess up again… Please, forgive me, just this once. I’m only thirty-five—I’m still young… I can’t go to prison. Right, right—get your mom—no, mom—have her hire a lawyer for me. The best one. I promise, after this, I’ll never mess up again. Please… We’ve known each other for so long, you liked me since high school, didn’t you? I’m begging you… Save me—I don’t want to go to jail…”

He clung to her like a drowning man grabbing his last lifeline.

By now, every fragmented memory had returned to his mind.

He knew it was over.

He had confessed the truth with his own mouth. The only path left for him was prison.

And Li Wanran was his last hope.

That desperate survival instinct made him grab at anything he could.

He didn’t stop talking the moment she appeared, begging non-stop.

Time slipped by.

Li Chongming begged and pleaded, his voice growing softer and weaker…

Until finally—he fell silent.

Slowly, he looked up.

Li Wanran’s beautiful eyes stared down at him—completely devoid of warmth.

That one glance made him shrink back.

Then she spoke.

Her tone was cold.

“Is this what you’ve been reduced to?”

“……”

“I won’t deny that I once liked you. But love isn’t everything. Our marriage left me disappointed. It bored me. When I was married to Liu Changqing… even though I didn’t feel emotionally fulfilled, at least I was satisfied physically. But with you… all I ever felt was your incompetence. Your shortcomings.”

“……”

“Li Chongming. You’re pathetic.”

“……”

With those words, she vanished.

The moment she disappeared, Li Chongming lost all strength and collapsed to the floor.

Face down.

Like a corpse.

He didn’t move.

He didn’t try to get up.

Just lay there, still.

And then—he started laughing.

A bitter, broken, hopeless laugh.

Soft at first… then louder and louder.

“Haha… hahahahahaha!!”

Li Chongming finally understood.

It was just a dream—

A nightmare born of his deepest fears.

His laughter echoed in the empty space.

Darkness.

In that moment, all light vanished from Li Chongming’s world.

And then—the entire space began to crumble.

As the dream collapsed, so did he.

Falling—

Into an endless abyss of black.

His consciousness snapped back to his body.

Li Chongming sat bolt upright in the hospital bed.

He sucked in fresh air, gasping with wide, frantic eyes, drinking it in greedily.

It took a long time for him to calm down.

Finally, he turned his head, looking at his surroundings.

A strange place. A hospital room. An IV in his arm.

And that’s when he realized—where he was.

His mind kicked into gear.

He remembered everything.

He couldn’t stay here.

Panicked, he looked around. It was nighttime.

Li Chongming struggled to get out of bed.

Pain shot through his body.

He’d been injured when Chu Fang pushed him down the stairs during their fight over the recorder.

No broken bones, but he was still badly hurt.

Still—he moved.

Every movement sent sharp pain coursing through him.

But his will to survive overpowered all of it.

Without hesitation, he ripped the IV needle from his arm. Blood spilled freely—he didn’t care.

Not even bothering to put on slippers—

His bare feet hit the cold floor. The chill and the pain told him one thing:

This wasn’t a dream.

Li Chongming forced himself to move.

Dragging his broken body, step by agonizing step, toward the hospital room’s door.

His pace was slow.

He knew—

If he could just get out of here…

If he could just make it out of the country…

Everything… would be fine.

He’d start a new life somewhere else.

Not spend the rest of it behind bars.

Closer… closer…

He crept toward the door. What should have been a short walk felt endless.

Finally—he reached it.

Panting, he raised his hand.

Grasped the door handle.

If he opened this door—

If he escaped this place—

If he left this country—

That thought filled his mind as he pressed down the handle.

The door opened.

He pulled it wide and stepped through, dragging his injured leg forward—

One step… then another…

A smile crept onto his face.

He was going to make it.

He… was about to be free.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Before he could enjoy that feeling, a voice called out from his left.

He froze.

His legs stopped moving.

His neck creaked as it turned, like rusted metal.

He looked left—

And saw…

An Yancheng, leaning against the wall, watching him curiously.