Chapter 36 It’s Really Not Him
The sound of fingers knocking on the wooden door was particularly clear in the silent office, and Ling Shen's fingers curled up unconsciously.
Ling Shen's clothes rustled softly as he turned, his dark grey suit gleaming coldly in the twilight. When he saw the butler push the door open, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Uncle Wang, why are you here? Does my dad have something to tell you?"
The butler, known as Uncle Wang, stood by the door, his withered fingers rubbing the doorknob for a moment before releasing it. This old butler, who had been with the Ling family for twenty years, now had beads of sweat oozing from his white hair, which reflected a tiny light under the desk lamp.
He stared at Ling Shen in silence for three seconds, his Adam's apple rolling as he gently placed the gold-stamped document bag on the walnut tabletop. The frayed edges of the kraft paper bag looked like marks left by countless clenching and unclenching. "Mr. Ling asked me to give this to you. He said you'll understand once you see it."
Ling Shen looked at the file bag, his intuition told him that the contents inside would definitely subvert his cognition, but looking at the housekeeper, Ling Shen knew that this was the truth he had always wanted to find out but had not had time to touch upon.
When the paper was spread out in front of him, Ling Shen looked at the words in front of him, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably until his legs lost strength and he slumped in the chair.
"It turns out it really wasn't him. It turns out everything was a scam." Ling Shen murmured softly, crumpling the paper with his hands, his face showing no emotion.
The butler sighed, a flicker of pity in his cloudy eyes. "The master said that it has already happened and it is not too late to know now. As for what to do, he does not care."
After saying that, the butler turned around, pushed the door open and left the office, leaving Ling Shen alone, staring blankly at everything on the table.
The phone suddenly vibrated, and two messages popped up on the lock screen one after another: "I'm back. See you tonight at the usual place." The text in the bubble was accompanied by the familiar emoticons, which was Jiang Yi's unique playful style.
"I'll make your favorite risotto, come back early." The picture accompanying Su Nian's message was a pile of neatly arranged diced carrots on the kitchen chopping board, with water droplets glowing softly under the warm light.
Ling Shen looked at the message from Jiang Yi, his eyes almost filled with anger. But reason told him that now was not the time to be angry. Although the truth was already before him, he still wanted to hear it from Jiang Yi himself.
For so many years, they have been each other's best friends. Even though this so-called friend has deceived him for so long, he still wants to give him a chance and listen to him tell him everything.
After a few taps, a simple "OK" was sent out. Ling Shen, immersed in his emotions, didn't know that at this moment, Su Nian was looking at the flowers piled in the living room and making his favorite risotto with his last hope.
In the familiar bar, the dark red velvet sofas gleamed with ageless patina, and the bottom of the whiskey glass clung to an amber halo. Ling Shen approached, his leather soles rustling softly against the vintage tiles as his heartbeat beat like a metronome.
Jiang Yi was drinking alone on the sofa, and Ling Shen felt that everything he once knew was rushing towards him.
Once upon a time, they also stayed here until they were drunk, but now, everything has changed.
Ling Shen sat down beside him in silence, but did not take the wine glass handed to him by Jiang Yi. He just looked at the person in front of him coldly.
"Don't you have anything to say to me?" Ling Shen leaned on the sofa, looking at the person in front of him who seemed to have become a stranger.
Jiang Yi chuckled and swallowed his wine, then rolled up his sleeves to reveal his tattoo, "Look..."
Ling Shen looked at the scar that had become a tangled mass of thorns, his expression unchanged. "Why did you think of covering it up?"
"I just feel that there is no need for that. Isn't that right, Ah Shen?" Jiang Yi raised his head and looked at Ling Shen in front of him steadily.
"Why?" Ling Shen's voice was so soft that it seemed as if it would be blown away by the wind.
"Hahaha..." Jiang Yi laughed so hard that tears came out, and the blue veins on the back of his neck were faintly visible.
Finally, he could no longer hide himself, and the unwillingness, guilt and jealousy in his eyes were all directed at Ling Shen.
"You know, I've always wanted to tell you the truth." Jiang Yi picked up the wine glass, and the amber liquid flowed down the glass wall, leaving fine tears. The spicy wine rushed into his throat, making his voice hoarse, like sandpaper grinding against a rusty iron pipe.
"I didn't save you at all. I just helped you back to your room." His fingers unconsciously rubbed the rim of the cup. "But the moment you opened your eyes, you mistook me for your rescuer, just because of a scar. Ling Shen, you're so ridiculous! You don't even know who saved you."
Jiang Yi's words were like a poisoned dagger, piercing Ling Shen's heart. His hand, hanging by his side, slowly tightened, his knuckles turning pale blue, and tiny beads of blood oozed from the crescent-shaped pinch marks on his palms.
The light swayed overhead, shattering the shadows of the two people and twisting them into hideous shapes on the dark grey carpet.
"I told my father, but he said, since you've admitted your mistake, you should just let it go." Jiang Yi stumbled to his feet, spilling the remaining wine in his crystal glass onto his perfectly ironed suit, leaving a dark stain. "Do you know why? Because the Jiang family needs the support of the Ling family."
He suddenly let out a sharp laugh, his voice tinged with tears. "Back then, the Ling family was a wealthy family with a long history, but the Jiang family was just a small, unknown company under the Ling family."
"But later on, you seemed like a different person to me." Jiang Yi's voice suddenly softened. He stretched out his hand to touch Ling Shen's shoulder, but it froze in mid-air and then drooped down.
"You always obeyed me and remembered all my preferences. So I gradually forgot the truth and lied to myself that I deserved it all." His pupils suddenly contracted violently, and his nails dug deep into his palms. "But as time went on, I was haunted by nightmares every day. I dreamed of the cold gleam in your eyes when you knew the truth, and I dreamed of the Ling family's crazy revenge..."
Jiang Yi raised his wine glass and pointed it at Ling Shen. The wall of the glass reflected the distorted images of the two people. "So I left. I thought that as long as I left you, everything would be fine, but..."
He suddenly threw the glass to the ground. The crisp shattering sound startled the night owl perched outside the window. The shards of glass exploded on the ground, reflecting the pale faces of thousands of people. "But I've noticed that nothing has changed. The Jiang family is about to end, so I'll tell you the truth. Anyway, I'm tired of it."
Ling Shen looked at his former best friend. His tie was askew, his eyes were bloodshot, and the wine stains on his suit were drying.
The anger that was surging in his heart disappeared without a trace at some point, leaving only a faint melancholy, like the thin ice floating on the lake in early spring, which would shatter into powder with the slightest touch.
"Go away, leave the Jiang family, everything between us ends here." Ling Shen's fingertips, clutching the corner of his clothes, turned slightly white, and there seemed to be a piece of bloody ice stuck in his throat.
He took a last deep look at Jiang Yi who was standing there. The familiar figure was now wrapped in the warm yellow halo of the wall lamp, but his outline seemed to be blurred by the winter mist.
"Hahahaha..." The door slammed shut, sealing off everything behind him and isolating Jiang Yi's hysterical laughter.
Ling Shen looked up at the sky, which had cleared up at some point. The clouds were torn apart by the moonlight, revealing a sky dotted with stars.
He took a deep breath, and the shackles that had been accumulated in his chest for many years suddenly loosened, and the huge stone weighing on his heart gradually collapsed with his breathing.
A long, trembling sigh escaped Ling Shen's throat, its tail swirling in the empty car. He tugged at his painfully tight tie, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing the cool metal trim on the steering wheel. When his phone screen lit up, the crimson bloodshot in his eyes became even more glaring.
He stared at the unchanging "Unread" sign, his back teeth clenched until they ached. With every tick of the car clock's hands, the palpitations in his chest intensified, as if countless ants were gnawing at his heart.
The tires rubbed against the ground, making a sharp scream. Ling Shen swerved the steering wheel and turned off the ramp. Ling Shen's heart was beating violently, and a bad premonition kept hitting his mind.
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