Chapter 94

Li Ye took a deep breath and cleared his slightly dizzy head. "It's getting late. Are you full? Let's go if you're full."

"Are you full, Li Lu? And... are you alright now?"

An Yue pointed to her head, indicating that she was a little drunk. Based on her understanding of Li Ye, even if Li Ye refused to drink anymore, after just a few drinks, Li Ye's alcohol tolerance should have reached its limit.

"Uh, that's a bit much for today, but I can still walk. Waiter, the bill, please."

"That lady has already paid the bill," the waiter said respectfully. Li Ye was even more certain that Xu Jing had some kind of scheme. Since she had already paid the bill, she definitely didn't intend to come back.

Li Ye had only one guess in his mind. Unfortunately, Xu Jing, that old fox, had calculated everything, but she never expected that his alcohol tolerance had increased so much and that he was no longer so easy to get drunk.

“Let’s go. Shall we take a taxi?” Li Ye draped his light jacket over his arm and turned to An Yue.

"Yeah, I'll take a taxi. I didn't drive today either."

After the two left the restaurant, Li Ye realized that the location was indeed quite secluded. Outside was a wall of bushes taller than a person, and at the end was another shrub, albeit sparser, providing excellent concealment. No wonder Xu Jing chose this place; if you forgot this was the southern part of the city, the ambiance here was definitely no less than in the city center.

At this moment, the surroundings were completely quiet, and only the sound of the two people's footsteps could be heard. The density of this residential area was very low, and some light could be faintly felt, but it was not clear. A breeze blew, and Li Ye smelled the first hint of autumn this year.

After emerging from the bush wall, there was a crossroads where several small roads converged, then turned off after a short distance. Li Ye looked in all directions and found that there were no cars on the road. It seemed that he would have to walk a little further before he could find a taxi.

"Is the main road over there?"

The wind blew, but instead of making him more alert, Li Ye felt even more intoxicated. The direction Li Ye pointed in was the opposite side of the road they had come from. There were no cars or people around, and Li Ye planned to cross the intersection directly.

"Yes, it's over there." An Yue quickly grabbed Li Ye's sleeve and followed her forward.

Just then, a deafening engine roar suddenly rang out. Li Ye instinctively looked towards the source of the sound and saw a yellow light shining on a wall to her right. Without thinking, she grabbed An Yue and leaped forward, rolling several times on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, a car sped past where they had just been standing, making a series of loud bangs as its front crashed through the wall of the nearby residential area and seemed to hit some obstacle inside before coming to a stop.

As soon as the car stopped, flames leaped onto the vehicle, turning the entire intersection a fiery red. Li Ye was both shocked and astonished. He glanced at An Yue, who was slumped on the ground beside him. The girl's face was expressionless, but her body was trembling.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, no..."

An Yue stared blankly at the towering flames in the distance. She hadn't expected that the "minor car accident" Xu Jing had mentioned would be like this. If they had really been hit, she and Li Ye would have been doomed.

Before long, people started arriving one after another, and soon more and more people arrived. Someone called the police, and soon police cars and firefighters arrived, filling the quiet place with all sorts of noise.

Not wanting to cause trouble, the two took advantage of the chaos to move to the side, and no one could tell that they had almost been hit by the car. Li Ye stood under the shade of a tree, thinking about everything in detail, and then looked at An Yue's relieved expression, knowing that things were not so simple.

"An Yue, you, you, you're still here." Zhao Junyi didn't know why he was here, but when he saw An Yue, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ah, you...aren't you...?" An Yue hesitated, looking at Zhao Junyi and then at the firelight, unable to say anything coherent.

"Wasn't Mr. Zhao supposed to be the driver?"

Upon hearing Li Ye's cold voice, Zhao Junyi nearly fell over. He had been too hasty and hadn't noticed Li Ye standing in the shadows at all. Now, faced with Li Ye's question, he blurted out:

How did you know?!

"Idiots, I've never seen anyone as stupid as you. You've all wasted your brains." After being terrified and sweating profusely, the blush on Li Ye's face had completely faded, leaving only a pale face and an expression that looked like it could drop ice crystals.

An Yue had never seen Li Ye like this before. Perhaps she had something to hide, or perhaps she thought what Li Ye said was true. It was rare for her not to refute others when they called her an idiot.

Zhao Junyi dared not say anything more, after all, he was the one who wanted to run over Li Ye with his car.

"So who is the driver?" Li Ye continued to ask.

"Yes, yes, young master of the Xu family."

After saying this, Zhao Junyi felt even colder. He originally wanted to get close to the Xu family, a powerful and influential family. Now that he didn't know what had happened to the eldest son of the Xu family, he was just glad that Xu Jing didn't retaliate against him. What other powerful family could he rely on?

"You'd better inform your sugar daddy. Look at the state of that car. Do you think the driver is even alive?"

After saying this, Li Ye didn't even look at An Yue and strode towards the main road.

...

After returning home, Li Ye immediately called Xu Wanyi and said, "Wanyi, buy the next available flight back to Haixi. Something terrible might have happened to your family."

"What's the meaning?"

Xu Wanyi was completely confused. I just left today and I'm back again. What big thing could have happened?

"Your brother was in a car accident, and the chances of him surviving are slim. I reckon your mom will call you soon." Hearing this, Xu Wanyi wasn't too surprised. As long as that drug addict didn't harm others, he was fine; he could die anytime.

"But how do you know?"

“I was there at the time.”

For a fleeting moment, Xu Wanyi felt as if her soul had left her body, and her tone suddenly became urgent: "Are you alright?"

“I’m fine, I’m home now. No matter what, come back first, this will probably be big news.”

"Um."

Xu Wanyi barely slept that night. First, she received a call from Xu Jing, and as Li Ye had said, "Xu Xianming died on the spot." Then she rushed to catch a flight and finally landed in Haixi at seven in the morning. As soon as she reached the exit, she saw Li Ye's pale face. She hugged Li Ye tightly and looked at him carefully for a while. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. "It's good that you're alright."

"Okay, let's go back first, then see how things go, and then make further plans."

Li Ye knew that it was impossible for Xu Wanyi not to feel any sadness, after all, they were siblings who had grown up together since childhood. But she wasn't exactly heartbroken either, mainly because Xu Xuanming was such a terrible person and treated his sister exceptionally badly.

Therefore, at this moment, neither taking the initiative nor refusing is the best response they can give to Xu Xianming's death.

The two got into the car, and Li Ye explained the gist of the matter. Although it had only been a day since they last met, it felt like an eternity, and they both felt like they had survived a disaster.

"But why would my mom invite you and An Yue separately? Has she watched too many TV dramas? Does she actually believe in 'forced marriage' scenarios?" Xu Wanyi asked.

“No, I think your mother wants to relive what happened ten years ago.” Li Ye casually voiced Xu Wanyi’s biggest question.

"What's the meaning?"

"Wanyi, I know you've always wanted to understand why I left ten years ago, but I've never formally explained it to you. I think it's time now, and I hope you can... well, try to listen calmly. Of course, you can also choose not to listen; after all, it's all in the past."

"No, I want to hear it, you tell me." Xu Wanyi didn't know what Li Ye wanted to tell her, but she still decided to listen. This was a very important part of her history with Li Ye.

"Do you remember the night before I left, we had a huge fight? I've forgotten why, but it was really bad, and you slammed the door and left."

"Yes, I remember." Xu Wanyi had a deep impression of that argument, and she always believed that part of the reason Li Ye left was that argument.

"After you left, I went out too. I wandered around and ended up in a bar, where I met a female student. I got drunk, and then..."

Xu Wanyi clenched her hands tightly. She had imagined many scenarios, including Li Ye's infidelity, but those were just assumptions. It was different from hearing her say it herself. She thought she could accept any outcome, but when she heard those words, she couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness and sorrow in her heart.

“No, Wanyi, it’s not what you think.” Li Ye noticed Xu Wanyi’s body movements.

"However, I know that was wrong. I kissed that girl, but I was really drunk. I swear I didn't mean to."

Xu Wanyi felt a little relieved, but she wasn't about to let Li Ye off the hook. "So you think that as long as you don't sleep with someone else, it doesn't count as cheating, or that kissing someone else doesn't count?"

"No, no, I don't think any of them are possible. I was really drunk, I don't even remember what that person looked like. And, there will absolutely not be a next time, I promise."

"Alright, stop swearing and making promises. I know something must have happened that night. If it hadn't, you probably would have slept with someone, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so afraid to tell me."

...Li Ye was too scared to speak. He really shouldn't have called An Yue and Zhao Junyi idiots. They were punished for it so soon. Miss Xu was too smart. She only said one sentence, but Miss Xu saw ten things from one.

Seeing Li Ye's pitiful appearance, Xu Wan decided not to make things difficult for her for now, considering that she had just been in a car accident. They could settle the score later.

"Go on."

"After the girl and I came out, just like last night, a car suddenly drove up. I only remember being pushed out by someone, and I don't know anything else."

"A car accident? You don't mean you suspect my mom was involved last time...?"

"Yes, I think there's no doubt about it, it must be. Because after the car accident, when I woke up in the hospital, the doctor told me that the girl who came to the hospital with me had her leg amputated."

"Are you overreacting again, feeling sorry for yourself and trying to raise money?" Xu Wanyi knew Li Ye's personality. "That person, is it Cen Ruotian's sister? Cen Ruoshi?"

"Hmm, how did you know?!" Taking advantage of the red light, Li Ye turned his head in surprise to look at Xu Wanyi. That person was indeed Cen Ruoshi.

“Cen Ruotian did approach me with the intention of avenging his sister back then, but unfortunately he eventually realized that the fault did not lie with me. Perhaps because of my payment for medical treatment and my care for Cen Ruoshi, it actually led to many of our business dealings.” Before Xu Wanyi could answer, Li Ye simply confessed.

"Later, as we got to know each other better, she probably discovered that I had a straightforward personality. Although I wasn't exactly a gentleman, I would never stab someone in the back. She would also make jokes from time to time, like telling me to give in to her or something. But the version I told others was that she was introduced to me by a government official."

"Attorney Li, I've seen people praise themselves, but I've never seen anyone so vain." Xu Wanyi couldn't help but laugh at Li Ye's indirect self-praise.

“Chairman Xu, I’m just stating the objective facts.” Li Ye shook his head, without any shame. “But coincidentally, your mother showed up not long after and asked me about my current difficulties.”

"So Xu Jing bought you out of me with a little money?" Li Ye was rebuffed by Xu Wanyi's words and continued to tremble.

Xu Wanyi was almost furious. She never imagined that the truth of what happened back then was like this, that she was actually defeated by the very thing she despised the most.

"Li Ye, look at me. Do I, Xu Wanyi, look like I'm broke? Where did your intelligence go? Or did you only grow taller but not smarter?"

"No, Miss Xu is incredibly wealthy, but I dare not tell you." Li Ye's voice was barely audible, and looking back now, she realized how incredibly stupid she had been.

Xu Wanyi sighed, truly unsure of what to do with the person in front of her.

"So...you think my mom wants to repeat the accident from ten years ago?"

“But why would my mom think you’re still buying into that stuff? Even if you do succeed, you’re rich now.”

“I think your mom thinks that you know the truth about what happened ten years ago, and that the fact that An Yue and I got drunk together, all of these things combined can make you leave me. Her goal is just to keep you away from women.”

Xu Wanyi didn't know what to say. First, she realized that Li Ye was brainless, and now she realized that Xu Jing had also degenerated.

“However, your mother originally hired Zhao Junyi as her driver, and Zhao Junyi himself admitted it, but for some reason, she changed him to Xu Xuanming.” A sharp glint flashed in Li Ye’s eyes. “He didn’t just want to cause a minor accident; he wanted to run me over and kill me.”

"It's good that he's dead. Good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. No one can be blamed." Xu Wanyi's last bit of brotherly affection for Xu Xuanming vanished completely in the last bastard thing Xu Xuanming did.

They remained silent the entire way home. Xu Wanyi entered first, blocking Li Ye from entering. "If you ever dare to kiss another woman...or man, or dare to drink alone with other people without telling me, don't ever set foot in this house again!"

Li Ye raised his hands in surrender: "I will only kiss one person in this life, and that person is Xu Wanyi."

...

Xu Shenzhao and Xu Jing were devastated and unable to care about anything. Xu Wanyi couldn't just leave everything to the company, since outsiders would think that a member of the Xu family had passed away and that some things should be done by the family.

So for the past few days, Xu Wanyi and Li Ye have been handling matters related to Xu Xuanming's death. First, the traffic police determined that Xu Xuanming's accident was a single-vehicle accident, then they discussed compensation with the community property management—he had damaged someone's wall and burned down an old tree, and then came the funeral.

The day of the funeral was a gloomy and rainy day. Many people came, and the Xu family stood in front of the mourning hall to greet the guests and thank them one by one.

After the funeral, Xu Shenzhao and Xu Jing walked up to Xu Wanyi and Li Ye.

"I'm going back to Australia. You can make your own decisions about everything in China." Xu Jing knew who the culprit was. One person had died, and she didn't want another one to get into trouble, so she simply left it to them.

"Wanyi, now that your elder brother is gone, the Leguang Group is counting on you. As for your personal matters, we are too old to interfere. We just hope you can find the happiness you desire." Xu Shenzhao looked much older these days, and his voice sounded weak and listless.

"yes."

After they finished speaking, they both left. Under the dim sky, the streetlights cast a weak glow, and the faint sound of chanting could be heard from somewhere.

Li Ye held an umbrella in one hand and had his arm around Xu Wanyi with the other.

"Thank you for choosing me, Wan Yi."

"Thank you for not giving up on me, Li Ye."

(over)