Chapter 45 Liao Feng's Collapse
After signing, he returned to the stage. Li Mingyuan, Song Xuexi, Ruan Yuexin and others immediately came up to him, and Ruan Xingfeng saw his sister at a glance.
The fatigue and high pressure of the past few days seemed to dissipate in an instant. He almost ran over and hugged Ruan Yuexin tightly in his arms, his voice choked with excitement:
"Sister! I did it! We really did it!"
At this moment, he was no longer the mastermind, but more like a big boy reporting his achievements to his family. Ruan Yuexin's eyes instantly reddened. She hugged her brother back, patting him gently on the back, her voice gentle and full of pride: "Yeah! Brother, you're the best! I knew you could do it!"
"That's amazing, Xingfeng," a voice laced with laughter came. Song Xuexi, who had been lazily leaning against the doorframe, straightened up and clapped her hands, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
Li Mingyuan also came over and stood beside Ruan Xingfeng like a pleased elder. His tone was gentle but full of power: "You did a great job."
Ruan Xingfeng let go of his sister, turned to Li Mingyuan, and solemnly extended his hand to shake his hand: "Brother Li, thank you. Without your help and support, I would not have been able to get to this point so quickly." His gratitude was beyond words.
Li Mingyuan smiled and shook his hand back, but his question turned to the more serious future: "It's all your own fault. So, what are your plans next?" His eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone, though light, carried weight. "What do you want to do with those two? Do you have the confidence to defeat them?"
Song Xuexi understood immediately, her eyes sharpening. Ruan Yuexin, standing beside them, looked at them in bewilderment.
Ruan Xingfeng's face still held the joy of victory, but his eyes had become sharp and determined. He replied with a smile, but his tone left no room for doubt: "Yes, there is! The position of the head of state should have been replaced long ago."
He paused, his tone becoming slightly more relaxed, as if he were discussing a trivial matter: "As for Liao Chen... I'll hand him over to Liao Feng, he'll handle it himself."
As soon as the words fell——
"Liao Chen?!" Song Xuexi's voice suddenly rose, interrupting Ruan Xingfeng. The laziness and admiration on her face instantly vanished, replaced by a look of extreme shock and incredible sharpness. She stepped forward, staring at Ruan Xingfeng with a sharp gaze:
"You just said... Liao Chen? He's still alive?!"
Her reaction was so intense that the air around them seemed to freeze. Li Mingyuan frowned slightly, and Ruan Yuexin was startled and subconsciously leaned closer to her brother.
Ruan Xingfeng hadn't expected her reaction to be so strong. After a pause, he nodded in confirmation, "Yes, he's still alive. And... he seems to be colluding with the leader. He was behind many of the previous things..."
"Impossible!" Song Xuexi flatly denied it, her face even turning pale. It was the reaction of someone whose absolute knowledge had been overturned. "I saw him fall into the glacier with my own eyes! There's no way he could have survived in that situation! Are you sure you didn't recognize the wrong person?!"
Ruan Xingfeng's eyes did not waver in the face of Song Xuexi's fierce denial.
He shook his head firmly, took a step forward, stood in front of her, even lowered his eyes slightly, and prepared to bear all the anger with an attitude that was frank and almost cruel.
"He's really alive." Ruan Xingfeng's tone was calm but unquestionable. "On his neck... there's that tiger claw scar you left. It's incredibly clear."
Then, without waiting for Song Xuexi to refute again, he began to speak in a clear, fast and unreserved manner.
It will start from the initial misleading information received from the head of state and "Liao Chen", to how to plan at the wedding, how to cut off his own deer antlers to make Liao Feng feel guilty in order to obtain resources, and then to the encounter with Li Mingyuan and learning the truth.
Until today, the goal has been achieved... all the plans, all the deceptions, all the calculations have been revealed.
He didn't say a word to defend himself, but simply stated the facts. Every word was like a cold stone, hitting Song Xuexi's heart.
The expression on Song Xuexi's face changed from initial disbelief to shock, and then to a deep disappointment and unspeakable sadness. It was as if she was truly getting to know the two people in front of her for the first time.
She suddenly raised her head, her scarlet eyes looking at the silent Li Mingyuan beside her. Her voice was hoarse due to the extreme emotional impact: "So...you already knew about these things? You watched him torment Liao Feng like this, and you also helped him hide it?"
A clear trace of shame passed across Li Mingyuan's face, but he did not avoid it and nodded heavily: "Yes. When I found out, Xingfeng's plan was already halfway through. I... I thought that under the circumstances at the time, this was the only way to break the deadlock." His explanation seemed so pale at this moment.
"Heh... heh..." Song Xuexi laughed in anger. There was no warmth in her laughter, only bone-chilling coldness and anger. Her eyes were frighteningly red, and her gaze cut through Ruan Xingfeng and Li Mingyuan like a knife.
"What the hell does Liao Feng owe you?!" She practically gritted her teeth, squeezing out each word, her voice suppressed yet full of explosive power. "Ah?! Especially you! Ruan! Xing! Feng!"
She pointed at Ruan Xingfeng fiercely, "You're so fucking indiscriminate! You believe everything someone shows you! You did that at the wedding! You made a fool of him! When you stepped on his heart and crushed it, did you ever think about whether it hurt him?! Do you know what he became like afterwards?! He was almost crazy! He was almost ruined!"
Her whole body was trembling slightly, and she was obviously using great self-control to restrain herself from taking action on the spot. She felt extremely wronged and unworthy for Liao Feng!
Suddenly, as if she had thought of a more terrifying possibility, she turned her head abruptly, and her gaze pierced like an ice cone at Ruan Yuexin, who had been standing quietly and pale beside her.
Her eyes were icy cold, filled with a look of betrayal. Even her voice had lost its usual indolence, leaving only a cold tremor. "What about you? My 'good wife'. Do you know all this too? You agreed to a flash marriage with me...is it because of this? Is this part of your brother's plan?! To find the strongest 'amulet' for your family, for him?!"
Even though her tone was as cold as iron, if you listened carefully, you could still hear a faint fear of being confirmed deep within her. She hoped that Ruan Yuexin would deny it, and hoped that there was at least a hint of sincerity in their marriage.
Ruan Yuexin's face turned pale. She looked at her lover who seemed like a stranger and was in a rage, and then glanced at her silent brother beside her.
She took a deep breath, as if she had made some kind of decision, avoided Song Xuexi's scorching gaze, and nodded gently but clearly.
"Yes... I know." Her voice was soft, but it exploded in Song Xuexi's ears like thunder. "I know my brother's plan. Later, I learned from my brother that Mr. Liao Feng was wrongly accused. I also know... marrying you can protect the safety of my family to the greatest extent and also allow my brother to have no worries."
She admitted it! She actually admitted it!
At this moment, Song Xuexi felt that the whole world was quiet. All the sounds had left her, leaving only the dull pain of her heart being torn apart.
The marriage she thought was destined, the feelings she invested in, the first relationship she, Song Xuexi, truly wanted to cultivate... Turns out, from the beginning to the end, it was all a carefully planned exploitation! She was like a fool, toyed with in the palm of the hands of these brother and sister!
The huge disappointment, the humiliation of being used, and the anger towards Liao Feng reached a peak in an instant and completely overwhelmed her.
She looked at Ruan Yuexin, the coldness in her eyes gradually replaced by a despairing sadness. She nodded and said "OK" several times, her voice so soft that it was almost inaudible:
"Good...very good...Ruan Yuexin, Ruan Xingfeng...you two siblings are really great."
She stopped yelling, all her intense emotions seemingly fading into ashes. She simply gave Ruan Yuexin one last look, one filled with utter chill, endless disappointment, and sorrow. That one look seemed to sever all ties of friendship.
Then, she turned abruptly, without saying a word, and strode away resolutely, leaving behind completely this space where she had just won victory but had suddenly become extremely depressing, full of betrayal and lies.
Song Xuexi bought the earliest flight back to China and drove at lightning speed, almost running into the president's office on the top floor of Chuangyu Group.
She pushed the door open suddenly, and the scene she saw made her heart suffocate and she almost couldn't breathe -
Liao Feng sat alone in his empty office, the bustling city scene visible from the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. He was intently watching the signing ceremony replay on the screen. The scene froze on the moment Ruan Xingfeng confidently signed his name, a brilliant light shone brightly.
Liao Feng's profile, illuminated by the screen's light, revealed little expression. But in those deep eyes, there was neither resentment nor jealousy, but rather a complex, almost devout relief and an unconcealable loneliness. He seemed to be looking at a treasure he could never touch again, a treasure he had lost, recovered, and yet completely lost.
Seeing Liao Feng like this, Song Xuexi's suppressed anger, grievance, and heartache instantly burst out. She stood at the door, her eyes quickly moistening, and her voice trembling with uncontrollable tears, she shouted:
"elder brother……"
Liao Feng was startled when he heard her voice and looked up. Seeing Song Xuexi's tear-stained face and her emotional state on the verge of collapse, his heart suddenly tightened. He immediately stood up and walked quickly to her, his brow furrowed. "Xuexi? What's wrong? What happened? Who bullied you?"
Song Xuexi didn't answer, but simply reached out and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his expensive suit jacket. Finally, she couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into tears, her shoulders shaking violently. She rarely lost control like this. She had always been the strongest and most heroic among them, and her collapse at this moment made the situation even more serious.
Liao Feng was so flustered by her crying that he could only pat her back gently and comfort her clumsily: "It's okay, it's okay, brother is here. No matter what happens, brother is here."
After a long while, Song Xuexi managed to calm down and raised her head from his arms, her eyes red and swollen. She looked at Liao Feng's worried and confused face, and her heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an icy hand, the pain was unbearable.
"Brother..." Her voice was hoarse. "They...they are all lying to you. We...we have all been fooled by them..."
Liao Feng was stunned, not understanding what she meant at all: "Lie to me? Who? What are you kidding?" He was just feeling a sense of pride in Ruan Xingfeng's achievements, and felt for the young man who had been hurt by him and forced to leave his hometown.
Now he has finally been reborn and become the hero and hope of countless people. He even feels that Ruan Xingfeng was right to leave him and it was a better choice.
Song Xuexi looked at Liao Feng's eyes, which seemed particularly pure and even a little confused at the moment. The words came to her lips, but it was as if they were burned by an iron and she couldn't say them.
How did she tell him?
Tell him that all your guilt, all your self-torture, all your drunken pain and tears over the years were all based on an elaborate lie?
Tell him that the person you feel has wronged you and ruined his life has actually misunderstood you from the very beginning, and even teamed up with your enemies to give you the most fatal blow at your happiest moment?
Liao Feng is too sentimental. When he broke up with Li Mingyuan, he appeared tough on the surface, but secretly attempted suicide several times and only managed to survive with great difficulty.
In the past few years, Ruan Xingfeng's "departure" had almost drained half of his life away. He worked himself to death like crazy, and when drunk, he would send countless apology and pleading messages to a number that never answered.
Once she even saw Liao Feng on the side of the road, murmuring "Qu'er" to the back of a little girl with ponytails, and then squatting there crying like a child.
He has always lived with great guilt towards Ruan Xingfeng, believing that it was his uncontrollable love and so-called "crimes" that destroyed Ruan Xingfeng.
If I tell him now that all this is fake... his supposed "atonement" and "protection" are actually a huge joke... He's such a proud person, yet he's suffered such huge deception and betrayal in his emotions...
Song Xuexi couldn't imagine what would happen to Liao Feng. This truth wasn't a relief for him, but a devastating blow that would completely break him.
Her silence and tears made Liao Feng even more uneasy. He held her shoulders and said urgently, "Xuexi, what happened? Speak!"
Song Xuexi looked at her brother's anxious face, and in the end, the overwhelming anger and heartache overwhelmed her reason.
She couldn't let him continue to live in a false guilt, no matter how cruel the truth was!
She took a deep breath, as if she had exhausted all her strength, and said in a broken but clear voice:
"The video at the wedding... wasn't an accident. Ruan Xingfeng... did it on purpose."
"The 'truth' he knew from the beginning was a lie fabricated by the Führer and... and Liao Chen! He believed it! That's why he hates you! Everything he did, approaching you, leaving you, hurting you... was all because he thought you were a sinner!"
"Brother, Ruan Xingfeng, you killed someone. I thought you did it on purpose when we were fighting for custody. I thought you pushed Liao Chen into the glacier. I think your love for him is fake..."
With every word she spoke, the color drained from Liao Feng's face. When she finished, Liao Feng felt as if his soul had been drained away. He froze in place, his pupils contracting violently, his face filled with an extreme, incomprehensible blankness and bewilderment.
It was as if the whole world collapsed before his eyes again, and this time, even the last pillar supporting him, called "guilt", broke.
Song Xuexi's words were like a poisoned ice cone, piercing into Liao Feng's mind word by word.
“The wedding… was intentional…” “The truth… was made up…” “He hates you…”
Each short sentence was like a heavy hammer, hitting his mind and heart hard.
Liao Feng felt his head spin. The luxurious office environment twisted and distorted before his eyes. A sharp feeling of nausea surged from his stomach, and his scalp tingled. He felt his body grow heavier, as if being cast into invisible cement, unable to move, only falling.
My eyes felt sore and swollen, as if they were being pricked by countless needles at the same time. My vision quickly became blurred, leaving only a large blood-red halo.
A strong, sickening smell of rust surged into his throat. He tried to swallow, but the fishy-sweet taste filled his mouth even more violently.
My chest felt like it was being pressed down by a thousand-pound rock. Every breath became extremely difficult and painful, as if what I was breathing in was not air, but shards of glass.
"Ugh..." He let out a painful, extremely suppressed groan, unable to hold on any longer, and suddenly bent over -
A mouthful of bright red blood vomited out directly from his mouth, splashing onto the mirror-like floor, shocking to see.
Almost at the same time, tears welled up in my eyes uncontrollably.
But it wasn't just clear tears that flowed; the tears quickly turned into horrifying tears of blood. Two bright red streaks meandered down from his scarlet, already out-of-focus eye sockets, across his paper-pale cheeks.
His eyes were severely damaged and could not withstand even the slightest stimulation. The extreme grief and sense of betrayal instantly broke down his body's last line of defense.
"Brother!!" Song Xuexi was so scared that her soul was about to leave her body. Seeing him vomiting blood, crying blood, and staggering, her heartbreak and panic reached the peak.
She rushed forward, hugged his limp body with all her might, supported him, and carefully let him sit against the sofa.
She frantically pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling so much she could barely hold it. Tears blurred the screen, and she cried incoherently at the other end of the line, "Ayan! Ange! Come quickly! Come to my brother's office! He's vomiting blood, and his eyes...his eyes are bleeding too! Hurry!!"
After hanging up the phone, she knelt beside Liao Feng, using her sleeves to try in vain to wipe the blood and tears from his face, but the more she wiped, the more blood came out. Liao Feng's body twitched slightly in her arms, his breathing weak and disordered.
The pair of eyes that were once sharp and domineering now only had a hollow silence and blood constantly flowing out, as if all the vitality had been completely drained away in an instant.
He seemed to be unable to feel any sound from the outside world, and was completely immersed in the despair and pain of being betrayed by the whole world, which was enough to tear a person apart.
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