Chapter 43 The Strongest Backing

Li Mingyuan looked at the boy in front of him who was almost on the verge of collapse. His always clear and bright deer eyes were now filled with shock, pain and incredible confusion.

It was as if the whole world was shattered into pieces before him that could not be pieced together, and he couldn't help but feel a real pain in his heart.

He stood up and walked to Ruan Xingfeng. Instead of comforting him in a condescending manner, he slowly squatted down. This action made him and Ruan Xingfeng look at each other at eye level.

Reducing the feeling of oppression, his warm hand gently held Ruan Xingfeng's cold and slightly trembling hand.

His voice was as gentle as the melting snow in spring, and it had a soothing power:

"Xingfeng," he changed to a more intimate name, "I don't know what exactly happened between you and him, and why you came to this icy and snowy place alone. But the video from the wedding that day... I know it wasn't done by Liao Feng."

He paused, observing Ruan Xingfeng's reaction, his tone becoming more certain and gentle. "Now that I think about it, that was probably your plan, right? Was it because... you knew the so-called 'truth' before? Who did you learn it from? Was it that 'Liao Chen', or... someone higher up?"

Li Mingyuan's mind was incredibly sharp, and he pieced the fragments together almost instantly. He didn't accuse or feel surprised, only a sense of clarity and understanding.

He squeezed Ruan Xingfeng's hand slightly, looking at him sincerely. "Would you like to... tell me your plan? Perhaps I can help you distinguish which ones are traps and which ones are the right path to take. It's too hard for you to bear this truth and pressure alone."

These words, like a precise key, instantly hit Ruan Xingfeng's most vulnerable and helpless heart.

He has been bearing it all alone: ​​the fear of discovering the "truth", the struggle of planning revenge, the tension of executing the plan, and now the huge emptiness and guilt after the collapse of his beliefs.

He had no one to talk to. Although Fu Hangxing and the others supported him, they could not truly understand the darkness and complexity at the center of this vortex.

At this moment, Li Mingyuan, a man who was inextricably linked to past grievances but seemed so transparent and gentle, saw through his plan at a glance and extended his hand to him.

Ruan Xingfeng's lips twitched. The immense grievance, fear, and the urge to find an outlet almost made him confess everything. But his remaining rationality held him back.

How much should I tell him? Can I trust him completely? What is his relationship with Liao Feng, the leader, and Liao Chen?

The desire to trust and the instinct of caution fought fiercely in his mind.

He looked into Li Mingyuan's gentle eyes that seemed to see through everything. Finally, he spoke in a dry and hoarse voice, selectively revealing a part of his words, which was also a test:

"It was... the Führer. And that... 'Liao Chen'. They showed me the 'evidence'..." He said with difficulty, "The wedding... was done by me. I thought... I thought he was lying to me and hurting everyone... I..."

He couldn't continue, the huge guilt overwhelmed him again.

But he didn't reveal his entire plan, didn't mention his collaboration with the leader, and didn't reveal his intention to use Liao Feng's resources. He kept the most core secret tightly in his hand.

He was waiting, waiting for Li Mingyuan's reaction to judge whether this was a life-saving piece of driftwood or another more gentle trap.

"You hate me, don't you?" Li Mingyuan's question came unexpectedly, and his actions were beyond Ruan Xingfeng's expectations.

He was shorter than Ruan Xingfeng and his figure was more graceful, but at this moment, he found strength from nowhere and easily picked up the stunned Ruan Xingfeng and carried him sideways!

Ruan Xingfeng's mind went blank in an instant, completely frozen. All the shock, guilt, and confusion were interrupted by the sudden feeling of weightlessness.

It was not until he was gently but unquestionably placed on the soft big bed in the guest room that he suddenly came to his senses, propped himself up, and looked at Li Mingyuan with an expression of extreme shock and confusion.

Li Mingyuan ignored his astonished look. He stood beside the bed, his tone calm, even with a little guiding gentleness, as if the shocking action just now was not done by him.

He did not ask about the heavy plan, but cleverly led the topic to another emotional vortex that was also entangled with Ruan Xingfeng.

"You hate me because I'm Liao Feng's ex, right?" He directly pointed out the grudge that had always existed between the two of them but had never been made public.

This sentence, like a precise needle, instantly pierced another swollen emotional abscess in Ruan Xingfeng's heart.

The tense nerves, the pressure of the past few days, the feeling of collapse after learning the truth, and the long-standing complex knot in the heart towards the person in front of him, all found a seemingly "safe" outlet at this moment.

Ruan Xingfeng suddenly raised his head, his eyes instantly red, not because of grievance, but because of some kind of anger that was spoken to his heart's content and long-suppressed grievances.

"Yes! I really do hate you!" He practically growled, his voice choked with sobs. His upbringing and restraint vanished as his emotions exploded. "I hate that you suddenly came back when he and I were in the middle of a cold war! I hate that you kissed and flirted with him even though you knew I existed! All of you! You all said that he and I weren't officially in a relationship during that time, so he wasn't cheating..."

His voice grew louder and louder, his emotions agitated, as if he wanted to pour out all his resentment and pain: "But to me! In my heart! He and I were together back then! Your self-righteous, condescending 'adult worldview' is disgusting to me! It's just an excuse!"

He finally roared out the jealousy and resentment that he had hidden deep in his heart and didn't even want to admit to himself, and it wasn't just towards Li Mingyuan.

It is also an accusation against Liao Feng's ambiguous attitude and the "it's nothing" attitude of the people around him.

Li Mingyuan listened quietly, without rebuttal or explanation, just quietly acting as a receiver of emotions.

He knew that what Ruan Xingfeng needed at the moment was not to debate who was right or wrong, but to vent.

Only by venting these negative emotions can he have space to accommodate the heavier and more terrifying truths just now.

After Ruan Xingfeng finished yelling, his chest heaved violently, and he finally couldn't hold back his tears and fell.

He was not crying for love, but was feeling sad and angry for himself who once believed sincerely but was torn to pieces by countless lies and complicated situations.

At this moment, he was no longer the mastermind, but more like a child who had suffered great injustice and finally dared to cry.

Li Mingyuan looked at him with complicated eyes, and finally just sighed softly and handed him a tissue.

Li Mingyuan's voice was low and calm, as if he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him but was undeniably true. He didn't evade the question, but instead, with an almost brutal honesty, he absorbed all of Ruan Xingfeng's emotional outburst.

"You'll feel better if you cry," he whispered, not retracting his hand that held out the tissue, as if offering silent support. "Xingfeng, I apologize for that. I apologize for the hurt and distress my actions have caused you."

He paused, looking at Ruan Xingfeng frankly, his tone still clear and firm: "But I don't think I'm wrong. At least, when it comes to my own feelings and past, I'm not wrong."

Ruan Xingfeng's eyes were red, and she looked at him in surprise, as if she had not expected him to react like this.

Li Mingyuan sighed softly, his eyes drifting to the falling snow outside the window, as if gazing at a distant memory. "I've been with him for so long, through our best years. Of course, I'd be resigned to seeing it end so suddenly. And he... I think he'd be the same way."

There was no nostalgia in his tone, only the calm analysis of a past event: "Perhaps at that time, we no longer loved each other. But the reluctance to give up was at work, like a kind of inertia, pushing us to cling to some shadow of the past, to prove something."

He looked at Ruan Xingfeng again, his eyes clear and transparent. "So, I kissed him. Two or three times. But I can tell you clearly that at that moment, there was no heartbeat, no ambiguity or feeling of rekindled love."

He even laughed softly, self-deprecatingly: "It's weird, right? When I was kissing him, I was thinking about... even someone else."

"That day, for us, it wasn't like a rekindled love, but more like... a formal farewell to our youth." Li Mingyuan's voice softened with relief. "Eighteen-year-old Liao Feng loved eighteen-year-old Li Mingyuan. They truly loved each other. That relationship was real and beautiful."

"But," he emphasized, his tone incredibly clear, "28-year-old Li Mingyuan no longer loves 28-year-old Liao Feng. I think the same is true for him. The people we kiss goodbye to aren't the present, but the memories of the two young men we can never go back to."

These words, like a cool breeze, blew away the jealousy and confusion about his "ex" in Ruan Xingfeng's heart.

He suddenly realized that he had been fighting against a "phantom", while Li Mingyuan and Liao Feng had already put a slightly embarrassing but extremely real end to that past in their adult way.

The "ambiguity" he hated turned out to be just a sad funeral of youth, not a long-planned provocation against him.

This realization instantly made his anger and grievance lose its focus, replaced by a complex, indescribable feeling of emptiness. The existence he had always regarded as a huge threat had already dissipated on its own.

Li Mingyuan saw his eyes gradually calm down, knowing that his words had worked. He gently put the tissue into Ruan Xingfeng's hand.

"So, don't waste your energy hating a shadow that has already passed." His tone became serious and concerned again. "What you need to see clearly now is the real person in front of you who wants to hurt you. For example, the person who told you the wrong 'truth'."

He cleverly brought the topic back to the core danger, reminding Ruan Xingfeng that the real enemy was hiding in darker places.

Ruan Xingfeng looked into Li Mingyuan's clear and honest eyes, and listened to his calm and thorough analysis of his past relationship with Liao Feng. The tense string of vigilance against Li Mingyuan in his heart loosened quietly.

The pent-up emotions were finally released, and instead of blaming him, the other party offered understanding and explanation from a mature perspective that transcended love and hatred. This frankness broke down Ruan Xingfeng's last psychological defenses.

He took a deep breath, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and finally revealed the heavy plan that originally existed only between him and his roommate.

This includes how to use Liao Feng's guilt to obtain resources, how to flatter the head of state, how to establish bases overseas, and the ultimate goal of gaining a real "safe tent" for herbivores.

Li Mingyuan listened quietly, the expression on his face gradually changed from calmness at first to surprise, and finally even showed undisguised surprise and admiration.

Although he is a carnivore and comes from a top wealthy family, his worldview is not black and white, and he does not completely agree with some of the cruel rules of his own people.

He was deeply moved by the courage, wisdom and almost idealistic responsibility contained in Ruan Xingfeng's plan.

"Excellent!" Li Mingyuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, his eyes twinkling. "Xingfeng, you're truly ambitious! This is one of the most remarkable plans I've ever heard of!"

His affirmation was like a warm current, pouring into Ruan Xingfeng's cold heart. Li Mingyuan leaned forward, his tone becoming clearer and more powerful, pointing him in the right direction:

"In that case, let go of your meaningless hatred towards Liao Feng. At least, let go of the hatred that's based on lies. You were deceived and hurt him, so it's normal to feel guilty, but wallowing in guilt is meaningless."

His thinking was clear: "The best way to make amends isn't to apologize, but to take action. Since you feel you owe him, then help him eliminate these two real enemies, the Leader and Liao Chen! This will not only help him avenge himself, but also clear obstacles for you, and ultimately help you achieve your great goal!"

At this moment, in Ruan Xingfeng's eyes, Li Mingyuan's image was completely subverted.

If before, he was the "ex" who made him jealous, disgusted, and felt like a thorn in his throat, then now, he is more like a wise guide, a powerful ally, a hand that pushes away the thick fog in front of him and allows him to see the way forward again.

His support, unlike the passionate support of Fu Hangxing and others, carries a weight that comes from a higher perspective and is more thoughtful.

"I will help you." Li Mingyuan's voice was gentle but powerful. "Although I can't intervene directly, I still have some connections and resources in Elfe, and I can provide you with the information and convenience you need. I can assure you that if you mention my name at any time, anywhere, no one will dare to move. I also believe that in the future you will be someone everyone respects and fears."

Ruan Xingfeng looked at him with mixed feelings. On his lonely journey in Elf, he suddenly had such a reliable companion.

More and more people are helping him, from his passionate and loyal roommates in the dormitory, to other forces in the country that may be persuaded, and now, to Li Mingyuan, a powerful nobleman with the Li family and deep international resources behind him.

He is no longer alone in facing the behemoth. Behind him, a force that cannot be underestimated is gathering, and Li Mingyuan has undoubtedly become one of his most powerful and reassuring supporters.