Lu Yanting was pushed away, but he wasn't angry. He got up and sat against the headboard.
He casually took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, picked out one, and started smoking.
"Xu Jingyan, Hua Xiao, Han Feng, and I have been playing together since we were young. Our families have frequent business dealings, and we also visit each other a lot in private. Our friendship has been rooted since childhood, and our relationship has always been very deep."
Lu Yanting narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze piercing through the swirling smoke as he looked into the distance. After speaking, he took another deep drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke swirl in his nose and mouth for a long time before slowly exhaling.
"One afternoon when I was fifteen, on my way home from school..."
Lu Yanting's voice unconsciously lowered, his speech slowed, and his gaze became increasingly distant, as if he had traveled through time and returned to that innocent and youthful period.
That day, the Hua family's car was parked at the school gate early in the morning. Fifteen-year-old Hua Xiao, with his agile figure, strode to the car in a few steps.
He turned around and waved vigorously to Lu Yanting and Xu Jingyan, who were not far behind him. His face was full of youthful vigor as he shouted, "Yanting, Jingyan, I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow!" His voice was clear and loud, full of youthful energy.
Xu Jingyan stood beside Lu Yanting, smiling and waving goodbye to Hua Xiao.
Fifteen-year-old Lu Yanting already had a tall and straight figure, and his face had the coldness unique to young people. He simply nodded slightly with a faint expression.
After the Hua family's car drove away, Xu Jingyan turned to look at Lu Yanting and asked softly, "Yanting, can I come to your house to do my homework? I still have a few difficult problems that I can't figure out, and I'd like to ask you for help."
After a moment's thought, Lu Yanting finally nodded slightly.
When Xu Jingyan saw that he agreed, a sweet smile appeared on her lips, and she hurriedly said, "Then I'll tell my driver that he doesn't need to come. I'll go back with you in the Lu family's car."
"Um."
Lu Yanting glanced at her and nodded.
A moment later, a black sedan slowly drove toward the school gate, and Xu Jingyan saw the license plate from afar.
"Yan Ting! The car is here!"
Xu Jingyan was overjoyed and walked briskly towards the car with Lu Yanting.
However, just as they were about to reach the car, Lu Yanting suddenly stopped, his keen intuition instantly sensing something was amiss.
In the past, it was always his family's driver, Uncle Yan, who would pick him up and drop him off, but today, the person sitting in the driver's seat was not Uncle Yan.
The man gripped the steering wheel tightly, a noticeable scar on his thumb. He wore a baseball cap with dark sunglasses underneath, obscuring his face. His unfamiliar figure exuded an unsettling aura.
He had seen the family's driver and bodyguards before, but he had no recollection of the man in front of him.
Lu Yanting's heart suddenly raced, a strong sense of crisis surged into his heart. Without thinking, he abruptly reached out and grabbed Xu Jingyan, then turned to run.
But the people inside the car seemed to have sensed something was amiss. The car door was suddenly flung open, and several men dressed in black filed out, their gleaming daggers flashing menacingly in the afterglow, stinging the eyes.
Xu Jingyan and Lu Yanting were both stunned by this sudden turn of events, their eyes widening in disbelief.
"Lu Yanting, the young master of the Lu family, right?" the man in the baseball cap asked.
"What are you going to do?" Lu Yanting asked.
"It's nothing. I haven't had a good time with President Lu lately. I just wanted to invite the young master of the Lu family to our home as a guest!"
After the man finished speaking, his eyes turned cold. He raised his hand, and the scar on his tiger's mouth looked like a pair of ferocious eyes, staring intently at Lu Yanting.
With a wave of his hand, the man sent a group of men in black rushing toward Lu Yanting like wolves pouncing on their prey.
Lu Yanting grabbed Xu Jingyan and tried to run away, but Xu Jingyan suddenly twisted her ankle and fell to the ground.
Several men in black immediately gave chase.
Seeing the situation was dire, Xu Jingyan immediately pushed Lu Yanting away, shouting, "Yanting! Run! Don't worry about me!"
Lu Yanting was unwilling to abandon her and escape alone, so he tried to pull her along with him. But in that chaotic moment, a man in black suddenly swung his knife at Lu Yanting.
Xu Jingyan reacted swiftly, blocking Lu Yanting's path. The sharp blade pierced her abdomen, and blood gushed out instantly, staining her clothes red.
Xu Jingyan's eyes widened instantly, her face filled with pain and terror, and her body slowly collapsed.
The man in black glanced at the dagger in his hand, then at Xu Jingyan lying on the ground, and was clearly stunned for a moment.
"Jingyan!"
Lu Yanting roared, his eyes bloodshot, trying to reach out to help her, but he was surrounded by men in black.
At this critical moment, the sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached, piercing the sky. Hearing this, the men in black panicked and scattered like birds.
However, this may have been a well-trained gang, or someone might have been pulling strings behind the scenes. After the scheme was exposed, the group simply disappeared without a trace, as if they had vanished into thin air.
Although Xu Jingyan was rushed to the hospital and survived this ordeal, her health was severely compromised. Her once rosy cheeks became pale and thin, and she was often bedridden due to illness.
The Lu family felt guilty and, in order to make up for this debt, they took great care of her and protected her. The elders in the family often inquired about her well-being and tried their best to meet all her needs.
After that, Lu Yanting knew he owed Xu Jingyan a life, so he was always willing to grant her every request.
After hearing this, Qiu Mang took a deep breath. "So, Xu Jingyan saved you."
Lu Yanting looked at her and said, "Do you understand now? Xu Jingyan is not my girlfriend."
Qiu Mang nodded, but then suddenly remembered something and asked, "So, you'll give Xu Jingyan anything she wants? If she wants to marry you..."
Qiu Mang was halfway through her sentence when she realized she had overstepped her bounds.
Lu Yanting didn't speak, but slowly exhaled smoke, which quickly blurred his expression.
But Qiu Mang had already guessed his answer and said, "Don't worry, that's between you two. I won't interfere. However, I have one request. If you agree to it, I will accept your previous proposal."
What are the requirements?
Qiu Mang pursed her lips. "If you and Xu Jingyan decide to be together, please tell me in advance. Then we can end this relationship beforehand. I don't want to hurt Miss Xu."
Lu Yanting frowned as he looked at her, and after a long while, he nodded.
"By the way, someone called you last night, but I saw you were sleeping, so I just turned off your phone," Lu Yanting said calmly.
"Oh, right, I didn't go home all night. Sister Nan must be worried sick and looking for me everywhere."
Qiu Mang raised her hand and rubbed her somewhat dazed head before belatedly realizing what had happened.
As soon as she finished speaking, she reached for her phone and pressed the power button. The screen lit up instantly, and more than a dozen missed call notifications appeared on the screen.
Qiu Mang casually scrolled through the calls, and as expected, most of them were from Shi Nan and Zhao Xiaoya. But what surprised her was that the latest missed call was from her old neighbor, Aunt Zhang.
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