Chapter 41 I did it, but I can't even say anything?! ...

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin's eyes widened instantly, and his face turned bright red. Although he was flustered, he still felt that these people were deliberately bluffing him.

Pei Yumin didn't lay a hand on him; he no longer cared about making him suffer any more physical pain.

Lu Lin retorted defiantly, "You have no evidence! Why are you arresting me!"

Tang Suichen laughed out loud: "If I dare to let you go back, I'm not afraid you'll run away again."

Lu Lin's heart sank. He instinctively felt that he had completely fallen into a trap and could no longer escape: "What do you mean?"

He was indeed thinking that once he left this door, he would take the opportunity to run as far away as possible, hide for a few days, and then come back. Anyway, Pei Yumin was only guessing and had no substantial evidence. So what if they sent him in? He would be released in a few hours.

But seeing Tang Suichen's confident look, his earlier confidence immediately waned.

Tang Suichen smiled without saying a word, and took out his phone in front of him to call the person whose contact name was "Xiaoyi".

The other end answered quickly; before Tang Suichen could speak, his grinning voice came through: "Brother."

Just one sound was enough to make Lu Lin's legs go weak and his whole body instantly covered in cold sweat.

He was very familiar with that voice; he had received a lot of "care" from the owner of that voice during this period.

He almost thought he was going to never come back, but the last time he went out, the two people who had been following him suddenly disappeared. He thought that God was helping him escape.

He was excited the whole way back. He even thought that after escaping this time, everything from the past would become a thing of the past.

He knew his family had swindled a lot of money from Lu Shangyan. If he could get his hands on that money and return some to that man, he would have a chance to make a comeback.

He always felt that his previous business failure was not his fault, but rather a matter of bad luck. But this time, when he ran out, he felt that his luck had turned around, and he would soon rise to prominence.

But now, hearing that person's voice and seeing Tang Suichen's disdainful eyes, he suddenly realized that all of this might be an illusion, and he had long since become a lamb to the slaughter on someone else's plate!

A look of despair appeared on his face, and his gaze toward Tang Suichen grew increasingly panicked.

Tang Suichen ignored him and only said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Where are you now? Have you finished the tasks I assigned you?"

"Brother, don't you trust me with this?" Xiao Yi smiled brightly, her words full of affection: "You've given me so much pocket money, if I don't do my job well for you, wouldn't I be letting you down?"

"Besides, I'll need your help a lot in the future."

Tang Suichen knew what he meant by those words: "Send the evidence of his crimes to Chong County before 4 p.m. today. You'll get your share of the benefits."

"Xiao Yi" immediately responded without hesitation, picked up her things and walked out: "I remember that Lu Lin is from Chong County, right? But it seems to be quite far from here. Aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill? Wouldn't it be simpler to deal with him here? He's here, you can kill him if you want, but if you go to that small place, it might be much more complicated to do it."

"It's nothing," Tang Suichen said. "It's just that his family is quite difficult to deal with. They cheated one of my friends out of a lot of money, and he wants to take this opportunity to get it all back."

“This happened a long time ago, so it’s difficult to investigate. I’m afraid he’ll run away, so I want to get some evidence of his crimes and keep an eye on him for a few more days to make the investigation easier.”

“I’m good at collecting money!” The other party immediately perked up: “I’ve been going crazy at home lately, but how about you let me help you collect debts? I can also have some fun while I’m at it.”

Lu Lin's lips trembled, but his voice roared, "We can't let him come!"

He would be skinned alive if he were under "Xiao Yi's" command, let alone his mother?

And his so-called uncles and aunts, if it weren't for money, they probably would have completely fallen out over that incident many years ago!

If they find out now that he owes so much money, they might put all the blame on him and choose to abandon him for the sake of the bigger picture!

He would never let such a thing happen: "My mother didn't do anything wrong, why are you treating her like this!"

Pei Yumin held Lu Shangyan, whose eyes were vacant, and settled him on the steps. Then he sat down next to him, put his arm around Lu Shangyan's shoulder, and let him lean on him.

Upon hearing this, he glared at her fiercely: "She really didn't do anything wrong?!"

Lu Lin immediately fell silent: "I'm the one who owes you money, not my mother. If you want money, just take care of yourselves!"

As long as his mother is safe, she and his uncles and aunts will always be in the same boat. They will always help each other and will not always try to push one of them out.

But at this moment, he was already full of flaws. In front of these people, his anger became a joke. No matter how hard he tried to make amends, he only made people think that he was stupid and incompetent to the point of being laughable!

The person on the other end recognized Lu Lin's voice, which carried a hint of sarcasm: "Brother, are you with him now?"

"It's been a while since I've seen him, and I miss him a little. But it's okay, I'll be able to see him this afternoon."

A smiling face instantly appeared in Lu Lin's mind. Xiao Yi's face looked younger than her actual age, and she always had a simple and harmless appearance when talking to people.

But at this moment he knew in his heart that this "Xiao Yi" was ruthless and vicious, and once he got entangled with him, he would be doomed forever!

Tang Suichen hung up the phone and warned Lu Lin, "Even if you run now, you won't get far. I know every place you go, and I can catch you anytime I want."

Lu Lin's arms, which had been tense, relaxed. He had originally planned to take advantage of the fact that these people weren't paying attention to push aside the two people next to him and carry them away, but after hearing these words, he had no such idea.

If he hadn't made that call to "Xiaoyi," he felt there would still be a chance for things to turn around, but now it's all over, completely over!

-

At first, he and Xiaoyi had a few drinks together outside. Xiaoyi wore designer clothes and spent money like water, and he only felt envious at the time.

When he met Xiao Yi again later, many people respectfully called him "Brother Yi" along the way, and he began to feel jealous.

He couldn't understand why so many people fawned over and flattered someone who looked so fair and delicate.

After years of hard work, he still hadn't achieved anything, which made him envious. That day, he had a dream in which the person called "Brother" became him.

So the first thing he did after waking up was to find Xiaoyi and ask him if he knew any ways to make money. Xiaoyi was very warm and sincere to him, and even took out 100,000 yuan of his own money to give him to invest in business.

However, Xiao Yi was going to another city soon, and for the sake of that 100,000 yuan and his future wealth and glory, he immediately followed.

In the early stages, he essentially got something for nothing, spending no money at all. After the money was invested, he did nothing but eat and drink with "Xiao Yi," spending his days supposedly socializing with the big boss.

He was drunk and disoriented every day, and after half a month, he received 200,000 yuan in a daze.

In one week, he earned 100,000.

Without a second thought, he plugged all his lines into the scheme. He earned more and more, and his appetite grew bigger and bigger. He drank alcohol like water every day, living a life of debauchery and decadence.

But sometimes when he sobers up and sees the amount in his bank account, he'll laugh and go back to drinking and having fun.

He might wake up on his last day to find that the millions in his account have vanished overnight, leaving him with a huge debt.

With interest compounding, he has now lost count of how many zeros are left after the debt.

Xiao Yi seemed to have become a different person after that. Although she still had that smiling face, there were two poisonous swords hidden behind those smiling eyes!

He would feel like he was dying the moment his eyes fell on him!

He didn't know what "Xiao Yi" had given him; all he knew was that if he didn't obey, he might not survive.

He thought he had finally escaped, and didn't even dare to linger outside, fleeing back overnight.

In Chong County, he felt absolutely safe.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shangyan got to know this group of formidable and troublesome people at some point!

And Xiaoyi followed after them.

He slumped to the ground, bent his legs, buried his head between his knees, and weakly clutched his hair with both hands.

Seeing that Lu Shangyan was in a bad mood, Pei Yumin wanted to take him away from here first: "Chenzi, I'm leaving the rest to you."

Tang Suichen glanced at Lu Shangyan, who was still in a daze, and felt even more that Lu Lin was no good. He wished he could kill him on the spot with a shovel!

But he held back. After all, he had only been married for a short time, and he wanted to be an obedient baby who wouldn't need Song Yuxin to clean up his messes.

So he just gritted his teeth and nodded: "You guys go back to the hotel first. I'll let you know when Xiaoyi arrives. Anyway, we can't do anything without the evidence right now."

With him personally overseeing the situation, Pei Yumin felt reassured and helped Lu Shangyan up again. However, after taking only a few steps outside, Lu Shangyan suddenly turned back, and with a final burst of strength, retreated again: "No, I can't leave!"

“You need to rest now.” Pei Yumin’s lips brushed against his soft hair, and his gentle voice comforted him: “It’s okay, there are so many people watching him, he can’t run away.”

"Tang Suichen and Zhao Jian are both here. They will let you know immediately if anything happens, so don't worry."

"Tonight will definitely be very busy. You need to take advantage of this time to eat and get a good night's sleep to replenish your energy. Otherwise, how will you fight those people to the end tonight?"

Lu Shangyan still refused to leave, so Pei Yumin simply held his face in her hands and made him look at her.

His eyes were firm: "Don't worry, I won't lie to you."

Lu Shangyan slowly turned his eyes, finally regaining some energy. Pei Yumin took the opportunity to bring him into the car.

Lu Shangyan remained silent the entire way. Pei Yumin tried everything to talk to him, but he didn't even make a move. In the end, Pei Yumin gave up and decided to let him rest.

Lu Shangyan didn't want to eat, so he took Lu Shangyan for a walk around the city. Lu Shangyan became more and more tired and almost fell asleep before he took him back to the hotel.

But after Lu Shangyan lay down, he became energetic again, staring wide-eyed and unwilling to sleep. His eyes were wet, but not a single tear fell.

Pei Yumin felt sorry for him. Without asking Lu Shangyan's permission again, he took a shower and lay down next to Lu Shangyan. During this time, Lu Shangyan's gaze kept silently following his figure.

Lu Shangyan watched as Pei Yumin lay down on his bed. He opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something, but then forgot what he wanted to say. He only knew that Pei Yumin smelled very nice and that his chest felt warm.

Lu Shangyan felt that the current environment was very safe, and then his eyelids became heavy, and he actually fell asleep with a lot of worries on his mind.

He had many nightmares, in which he saw his parents, who hadn't appeared in his dreams for a long time. His mother's face was devoid of smiles, and his father sternly scolded him: Why did you raise their enemies for so many years! Why didn't you investigate their cause of death all these years!

He kept having the same dream and hearing the same words over and over again. When he woke up, the curtains were drawn tightly, the room was pitch black, and he was covered in cold sweat.

He sniffed, and with trembling hands, picked up his phone and made a call to Pei Yumin.

The call didn't go through, but footsteps soon came from outside. Then, Pei Yumin arrived, looking travel-worn. Their eyes met, and he gave her a warm hug: "What's wrong, Shangshang, my darling? I'm here."

He originally wanted to tell Lu Shangyan not to cry, but seeing his red and swollen eyes, he pressed his head down onto his shoulder and said, "Cry if you want to, I'm here for you."

Lu Shangyan just leaned on his shoulder. When he came to his senses, his face was covered with tears, his vision blurred, and he couldn't see anything clearly.

He felt that he hadn't shed enough tears in the past few days, and that he was too vulnerable in front of Pei Yumin.

But he just couldn't control himself.

He, covered in sharp thorns, met Pei Yumin, who had full wings, and rested briefly in his arms.

From then on, the spikes gradually softened, revealing the long-unhealed scars hidden beneath.

But the scar only appeared in front of him for a second before it was gently licked and gradually healed.

Pei Yumin told him, "No matter how big the problem is, I'll cover for you."

Lu Shangyan had been out in the sun for half a day, hadn't had a drop of water, and had cried all his tears, so he let go of her hand, stood up, and went to the side to drink some water.

His condition was much more normal than before, which frightened Pei Yumin so much that he dared not speak for a moment, for fear that his voice would frighten Lu Shangyan.

After all, Lu Shangyan's current behavior was too abnormal. He even poured himself another glass of water and handed it to Lu Shangyan after finishing his own.

Pei Yumin dared not refuse and drank half a cup under his gaze.

Lu Shangyan sat down next to him again: "If the murderer who killed my parents really is Lu Lin, then haven't I been pretty useless all these years? I was clearly suspicious of them, but I couldn't do anything and even gave them so much money."

At first, he only suspected that after his parents were rescued, his uncle and aunt refused to pay for their medical expenses, which delayed their treatment. Only today did he realize that the so-called murderer Ye Xu was innocent. The real murderer was hiding right next to him and had squeezed all the money his parents had left him!

Pei Yumin knew what he was thinking: "You just didn't know they could be this shameless. From beginning to end, this is not your fault. You are one of the victims."

"Besides, you've already done a great job on your own. You've protected your parents' old house, grown up healthy, fulfilled their wishes, and gotten into a good university. They're the ones who forced you to give them money. If you don't, the house will be gone, you won't be able to go to university, and your parents will be even more heartbroken."

Lu Shangyan's hands were trembling again. He wanted to hide them so that Pei Yumin wouldn't see them, but just a second before he could turn his back, Pei Yumin grabbed his palm.

After he felt the warmth, he realized how cold his fingers were.

Pei Yumin squeezed his palm: "Blame those scumbags."

"I'll help you get your money back. It won't be you giving it to them; instead, you'll plan ahead and wait until they're bleeding you dry more than ten years later to deliver a fatal blow!"

Lu Shangyan pursed his lips, knowing that Pei Yumin was trying to persuade him. If it weren't for Tang Suichen and Pei Yumin helping him this time, he would probably have been kept in the dark for the rest of his life, and would have to do whatever they asked for forever, throwing money into their bottomless pit. But for a moment, he felt much better.

When he went back with Pei Yumin last time, he gave each of them two thousand yuan. He thought that this was the last money he would ever give, and he would never give it to anyone again.

But looking back now, if Pei Yumin hadn't completely broken ties with that group, he probably would have gone back to his old ways and continued sending them money every month when those aunties came knocking on his door again. Perhaps the old house wouldn't have been able to stay.

He always thought that because he wanted to give his child a home and a stable life, he had to live for himself now, and it was because of the child in his womb that he had the courage to completely say goodbye to the past.

But now it seems that his so-called courage was negligible. If it weren't for Pei Yumin, even if he had taken that step, he would have been scared back down by everything.

It was Pei Yumin behind him who pushed him onto that path from which there was no turning back.

Lu Shangyan turned to look at Pei Yumin: "I just dreamt about my parents. In the dream, they said that I had raised an enemy for so many years and that I was useless."

Pei Yumin covered his ears: "It's all fake. You were just scared by that bastard Lu Lin today. You'll be fine in a while."

"You're so outstanding now, they'd be happy for you, how could they possibly criticize you?"

Lu Shangyan lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. Since he didn't say anything, Pei Yumin didn't dare to ask.

The two stood side by side in silence for a long time, so long that Pei Yumin unconsciously softened his breathing.

Lu Shangyan was thirsty again, so he drank the half-glass of water that Pei Yumin had just finished drinking in one gulp: "Did Tang Suichen contact you just now?"

Pei Yumin understood who he was asking and explained, "You know that Chong County is a bit far away. Tang Suichen was asking too much of us. Xiaoyi probably won't arrive until after five o'clock."

Lu Shangyan blinked his sore eyes: "It's okay, anyway you won't let Lu Lin get away, right?"

"Of course!" Pei Yumin immediately assured him, "Not only will he not be able to escape today, but he will not be able to escape in the future either! And all your uncles and aunts will have to pay the price for what they have done."

Lu Shangyan remained silent for a moment before saying, "You've been very good to me."

Pei Yumin answered frankly, "Of course I want to be good to you, because I like you."

Lu Shangyan's eyelids twitched, and Pei Yumin said again, "You know, you said it on the train, you know I like you."

Lu Shangyan said, "I feel like I'm taking advantage of your affection to get you to help me deal with my troubles."

"This isn't exploitation, it's my own choice." Pei Yumin sighed and said in a seemingly relaxed tone, "I'd love for you to use me more, but you always won't let me help you with many things, so I can only find things I can do to help you. Otherwise, my future boyfriend would seem too useless."

“If I want to become your family, I need to find a way to be someone you can rely on. I’m pursuing you, so I need to show my sincerity to move you, instead of just saying nice things to make you soften your heart.”

But Lu Shangyan didn't realize it: "Aren't you just saying nice things right now?"

Judging from his tone, Pei Yumin knew that he was much more stable now and dared to coax Lu Shangyan in his previous way, acting cute and spoiled: "I did it and you won't let me say it!"

Lu Shangyan's lips curled up: "Thank you, I know."

"You have to know this!" Pei Yumin shook his arm a few times, "Because only in this way will you fall for me, and then we can walk down the aisle together!"

Seeing that the conversation was getting further and further off track, Lu Shangyan turned his head away and said, "I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

“It’s okay, take your time to think it over,” Pei Yumin said. “Anyway, I’ve decided on you for the rest of my life. If you’re not willing, I’ll keep waiting.”

Lu Shangyan frowned slightly: "Let's talk properly after everything is over."

Pei Yumin's heart was in his throat, but he still pretended to be calm: "Fine, you can talk however you want."

Lu Shangyan checked the time: "Are Tang Suichen and the others still at the old house?"

Pei Yumin shook his head: "Not long after we left, he brought Lu Lin back. He's in the police station now. Zhao Jian and Tang Suichen are also at the hotel. I was in the next room when you called me just now."

Tang Suichen slept in the next room.

Lu Shangyan asked again, "What did he say? Can he confirm that the child from back then was Lu Lin?"

Pei Yumin replied, "When Lu Lin was a child, he had a black mole the size of a fingernail on his face. The melanin was very deep, so when it was surgically removed, it left a scar that has not been completely removed to this day. The drunk man said that the child he saw at the time also had a black mole the size of a fingernail on his left cheek."

"You also said that after the incident, Lu Lin and his mother did not show up until after your parents' funeral. They only came back then, probably to have Lu Lin's mole removed, because that mole was direct evidence."

"Furthermore, they must have told others that the child is you because you are their son, and it is perfectly normal for you to go out with them. At the time, you said you knew nothing about it, which probably meant they didn't want you to appear, fearing that things would be exposed. But they have always claimed that you witnessed your parents' death and were so shocked that you had a high fever."

It's true that I was extremely frightened, and it's true that I saw both my parents die, but I didn't witness it with my own eyes.

They saw that Lu Shangyan was young and could change the established facts at will, and they tried every means to hide it for so many years.

Lu Shangyan clenched his fist: "I'm going to find them right now!"

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Author's Note: Pei Yumin: Confessing My Love Amidst the Chaos Part 2 - My Wife Still Didn't Agree [Crying]