Chapter 0045 Ice Heart
Ruyi was taken by Chen Yan to a villa area on the western outskirts of Lancheng, bordering a neighboring city. The scenery here was beautiful and the environment was quiet. The endless green clouds overlapped one after another, with no human habitation. Only a few milky white detached houses were scattered among them, far apart from each other. The glass reflected colorful light under the sunlight. Only the clear fountain in front of the flower garden, the neat and lush lawn, and the faint fragrance floating in the air showed that this huge park was regularly maintained by professional people.
Ignoring the respectful greetings from the security guards at the park entrance, Chen Yan took a shortcut and relentlessly drove over the meticulously maintained lush green space, finally stopping in front of a villa after a long while.
The unfamiliar environment, filled with an exquisite luxury rarely seen in everyday life, made her feel uneasy. She asked Chen Yan, "Where is this? I want to go home."
Chen Yan did not answer, got out of the car, walked around to the right, and tried to pull Ruyi out of the car.
Ruyi had just recovered from the terrifying road accident, so how could she let him manipulate her without knowing why? She reached out and gripped the steering wheel, unwilling to get out. Chen Yan coldly pried her fingers apart one by one, forcefully pulled her off the car, slammed the door shut, and then locked it.
Before she could even stand up and start cursing, Chen Yan swiftly scooped her up from head to toe, pulled out hard objects like keys and a cell phone, tossed them aside, and after confirming there were no sharp objects, picked her up by the waist.
Ruyi screamed and struggled in his arms like a live fish. Chen Yan unlocked the iron gate with his face and warned coldly, "Move again? Think of your aunt, your friends, and your mentors and classmates..." Ruyi froze instantly, hooking her arms around Chen Yan's shoulders, and asked in a tearful voice, "Where is this? I'm scared..." Within a radius of several kilometers, there were few people around, and no one knew when she had been murdered and her body dumped.
Chen Yan warned himself that this was a ploy to gain sympathy and soften his heart. He couldn't be soft-hearted, but he still couldn't help but soften his voice and explain, "Don't worry, it's very safe here. No one will bother you. There are medical staff, bodyguards, food, drinks, and entertainment all available. For the next ten months, you will stay here obediently. I will come to see you whenever I have time. You won't be bored."
Ruyi then realized that this was probably a high-end private sanatorium far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Judging from the security guard's attitude and his careless destruction of public greenery, this place might actually be his property, and he wanted to keep her here, monitoring her 24/7, so that she would be left helpless and unable to call for help until she gave birth to the child.
She was deceived by him again, and Ruyi was filled with despair.
As soon as she entered the villa, she noticed that Chen Yan had relaxed his grip. She jumped out of his arms and turned to run, but Chen Yan grabbed her with lightning speed and pulled her against the door, trapping her between his arms.
Chen Yan met her gaze, his eyes showing a long-lost ruthlessness: "Have you forgotten how I dealt with your aunt back then? I hadn't even really made a move, and she almost lost her life."
"I am now more dangerous than before."
"So don't keep testing my limits. Just stay here obediently, eat and sleep well. If anything happens to you or the child, I'll take it out on He Caiyu and Hao Jing first."
Ruyi's shoulders trembled, tears streaming down her face. Chen Yan held her captive, looking at her with a mixture of helplessness and sadness. After a moment, he sighed, "Don't cry..." His heart was trembling from crying.
He picked her up like a child, gently stroking her hair, and carried her through the quiet, empty hall, up the gracefully curved staircase, to the bed in the master bedroom on the second floor. Then, with one arm around her, he used the other to dial a number, openly directing personnel—bodyguards, nannies, medical staff—without any hesitation, right in front of Ruyi's face.
His last call was to Uncle Zhang, asking him to pick him up from the sanatorium at 6 p.m. He said he might not be able to drive today, but he had to go back; there were many things waiting for him.
Chen Yan hung up, and the air fell silent. Ruyi realized that she had no way to escape, so she gave up resisting, closed her eyes, and remained motionless.
Chen Yan touched her face. She had cried too much today, and her usually smooth face was chapped. He got out of bed, wrung out a hot towel, and gently wiped her face.
After finishing, they lay back down next to Ruyi, holding her in their arms. Both of them were exhausted today. They put aside the tangled grudges and affections for the time being. All they could see was the clean and soft bed and the snow-white gauze curtains that floated gently in the afternoon sunlight. Gradually, they felt their eyelids getting heavy and their muscles going limp, and they both drifted off to sleep.
Chen Yan slept for about three hours, but he didn't sleep well. He would wake up immediately if Ruyi moved even slightly. Ruyi, on the other hand, was carefree and slept soundly because she had accepted reality.
He gazed at the long-unseen peaceful sleeping face in his arms, a slight smile unconsciously playing on his lips. He quietly got up, straightened the thin blanket covering Ruyi's belly, and then turned to go downstairs.
The men he needed were all in their positions. He summoned them over and gave them detailed instructions.
"Sister Zhou will take care of her daily life. Don't let her do any work. Pay special attention to her diet, making sure it's both delicious and nutritious. Before going to bed tonight, I'll make a list of her dietary restrictions and favorite dishes and send it to you."
"Keep the kitchen doors and windows locked whenever you're not using it, and don't leave any sharp objects that could cause injury outside."
"You two are responsible for regularly recording her basic physical data, especially those related to pregnancy..."
"The four of you are responsible for the security of the villa and her personal safety. No one except me is allowed to enter or leave this place at will, including you. Report in advance if anything happens, and you are strictly prohibited from leaving your posts without permission."
"We can grant her any request, except for two things: first, she cannot leave this compound; second, she must be disconnected from the internet and her mobile phone and is forbidden from contacting the outside world. Any abnormalities must be reported immediately."
...
After everything was arranged, a bodyguard told him that Mr. Zhang had been waiting outside the gate for a long time. He nodded to indicate that he understood, then went upstairs. He took one last look at Ruyi, who was still fast asleep, and gently touched her still flat stomach. Afraid of waking her, the kiss he intended to give her on the forehead was deflected, falling like a light petal into her hair.
*
Chen Yan opened the back door and instructed Uncle Zhang to drive.
Although he had slept for half a day, the deep weariness in his soul still made him tilt his head back, put his hand on his forehead, and close his eyes to rest.
Uncle Zhang wisely refrained from disturbing him.
Unfortunately, Chen Yan has no real time to relax these days. The moment he closes his eyes, a flood of complicated matters rushes into his mind, keeping his brain constantly working.
After a long silence, he suddenly spoke, his tone cold: "Uncle Zhang, please help me send Aunt Ruyi to Canada, the sooner the better."
Uncle Zhang looked up in surprise and met Chen Yan's eyes in the rearview mirror.
Chen Yan slowly said, "Ruyi is pregnant. She was only temporarily intimidated by my words today. I'm afraid we need to take some real action, otherwise she'll really think I'm capable of anything."
"Besides, Ruyi is nowhere to be found, and she's looking for her too. I sent her a WeChat message this afternoon using Ruyi's phone, but that can only buy me a day or two at most. To avoid any unforeseen complications, you need to send someone to take her away before she finds out."
“I could have invited her to the villa to keep Ruyi company, but I was afraid that she would instill some inappropriate ideas in her niece every day, and I couldn’t take that risk.”
"Let's just go all the way and send her away. Don't buy plane tickets, use a private jet, do it discreetly, the fewer people who know, the better." "Keep her two shops, keep paying the rent, in case she comes back and wants to open shops in the same old places again."
Chen Yan added in conclusion: "Be kind to the elderly woman, try not to frighten her, and after she lands, find someone her age who speaks Chinese to talk to her and take care of her daily needs, but don't let her run around or say anything inappropriate..."
Uncle Zhang listened silently. This matter was quite unbelievable and also quite troublesome. Fortunately, He Caiyu and Ruyi had relatively simple interpersonal relationships, and the scope of involvement was not wide.
Besides, no matter how difficult the situation, he had no room to refuse. On the surface, he still obeyed Chen Weiren, but in reality, he was already Chen Yan's man. Not only him, but several core henchmen of the Chen family had also been won over and bought off by Chen Yan in various ways over the years.
Within the group, he led the team he had built from scratch to rise to prominence, sweeping through various powerful groups like autumn leaves in the wind.
The investigation of Chen Weide, the eldest uncle of the Chen family, marked the most critical moment for the Chen family since the 1970s. Faced with the Zhao family's aggressive marriage proposal, Chen Yan only remained depressed for a day before decisively agreeing. Subsequently, he successfully used the Zhao family's influence to eliminate several old men who had shown greed during the group's crisis. The vacancies were filled by his confidants, and a smooth transition of power between the old and new was completed amidst the invisible smoke of battle.
Almost simultaneously with making up his mind to marry Zhao Nanyue, Chen Yan boldly extended his reach to the distant Jingzhou. All these actions were carried out in secret, without anyone noticing.
What official is truly clean? If Chen Weide is such a person, how can his political enemies who pushed him into the limelight and the Zhao family, who colluded to take advantage of his misfortune, be any exception?
He wasn't going to let this loss go unpunished. He wanted to teach those who were lurking in the shadows, plotting to harm the Chen family, to think twice before they took action.
All of the above was planned and laid out by him since he was 19 years old, and it has been exactly seven years since then.
A young genius, his first attempt at skill astonished everyone with his extraordinary talent. Even though he was more than twenty years older, he had no choice but to willingly submit to him.
Who remembers that before Chen Yan turned seventeen, he was just a pleasure-seeking, uneducated playboy who relied on his family's power to carry out his evil deeds. His transformation was due to a commoner girl, pure as paper, like a gentle summer breeze that touched the young man's heart. She possessed striking beauty but never boasted of it; she came from humble beginnings yet possessed a strange pride; beneath her delicate exterior lay a resilient spirit.
She was like a wild grass that could bloom beautiful flowers, content and quietly rooted in the rocks and desolate rivers. One day, she was brutally picked by a passing wicked boy, but she turned around and enlightened him with her tender branches and leaves.
Rumors circulate online that Zhao Nanyue's husband is a successful businessman who has achieved considerable success at a young age. This has led to a series of love stories featuring the two of them, making many netizens increasingly convinced that Chen and Zhao are a match made in heaven and their love is as strong as gold.
As Chen Yan's trusted right-hand man, he was the first to uncover the truth—
Zhao Nanyue was merely an unwelcome intruder; Chen Yan, young and meticulous, had other plans and schemes in mind, and the one he wanted to present the dazzling pearl to was someone else.
What an utterly pure heart she possessed, enough to make any woman in the world envious. Yet, at the same time, she was imprisoned and coerced by the man who deeply loved her, disregarding her wishes. It's hard to tell who was more fortunate and who was more unfortunate between the two of them.
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