Chapter 128 Regret
Duan Jiyang was rarely so emotional, and his expression looked a little scary. If he hadn't been in the hospital, Lu Yan would have punched him. He frowned and scolded, "What are you crazy about? Let me go!"
He's been in so many fights since he was a kid, who knows how he got that injury on his shoulder.
Little did he know that Duan Jiyang's heart was filled with huge waves. He remembered the boy who desperately pulled him ashore when he fell into the water at the age of ten. When the boy left, he also had such a cut on his right shoulder, and even the position was exactly the same.
Lu Yan's worried and frowning look vaguely overlapped with the arrogant young man in the memory, while Lu Bing was silent and gentle, unconsciously walking towards two extremes.
How could this happen? How could this happen?
Duan Jiyang was so panicked that his fingertips were trembling. Didn't the boy say his name was Lu Bing? When he and Lu Bing confirmed it, he never denied it. How could things turn out like this? !
Seeing that he didn't let go, Lu Yan immediately tried to shake him off. Duan Jiyang staggered back two steps, his face looking terribly pale, as if he had suffered a severe blow, and he was visibly in a trance.
Lu Yan rubbed his bruised shoulder and frowned as he glanced at him: "What's wrong with you?"
Duan Jiyang stared at Lu Yan, his chest rising and falling, and suddenly asked, "Can you swim?"
Lu Yan didn't think much about it: "So what?"
Duan Jiyang's voice was extremely hoarse: "What about Lu Bing?"
Lu Yan: "He is afraid of water."
Lu Bing was in poor health when he was born, so he was named by a fortune teller. The fortune teller said that he lacked a little water in his fate, so after much debate, he chose the word "bing". Although Lu Bing lacked water in his fate, he just couldn't touch water and was a complete landlubber.
Lu Yan's voice was clearly very close, but it seemed to have penetrated countless layers of clouds, making Duan Jiyang's head buzz. He didn't even know what he said. He only knew that when he came to his senses, the bodyguard had already sent Lu Yan back home.
At that time, Lu Bing had finished hemodialysis and was sitting on the balcony basking in the sun. He held a design magazine in his hand, but he couldn't concentrate on reading. He thought of his newly started studio and the awards he had won over the years, and didn't understand why he had suffered from kidney failure.
Even Lu Yan, that uneducated guy, can live well.
Lu Bing knew that he shouldn't have such thoughts, but jealousy and unwillingness were like termites hiding in the cracks in the wall, eating away at his heart bit by bit. By the time he suddenly realized it, his entire body had been eaten away beyond recognition.
He lowered his eyes, and his expression seemed a little gloomy for a moment, which was particularly clear in the light and shadow projected from the window. Duan Jiyang stood at the door of the ward, and finally realized that Lu Bing in front of him might not be as pure and flawless as he imagined. He was also a human being, and he would be jealous and have a dark side...
Duan Jiyang walked into the ward with light steps, and by the time Lu Bing noticed him, Duan Jiyang had already walked behind him. He was startled at first, but then he calmed down and said, "Jiyang, why are you here? Have you finished the matching? What's the result?"
He couldn't help but clench the magazine in his hand, unconsciously revealing some nervousness.
Duan Jiyang casually dragged a chair and sat across from him. His expression was like the sea before a rainstorm, seemingly calm, but actually surging with undercurrents: "Not yet. The results will come out in a few days."
Lu Bing was a little disappointed, but smiled: "It doesn't matter, there's no rush in these few days anyway."
Duan Jiyang's gaze fell on his right shoulder with an unprecedented in-depth investigation. As lovers, they had of course had close contact on a regular basis. Duan Jiyang clearly remembered that there were no scars on Lu Bing's back. He did not think much about it at the time and just thought he had recovered.
But the wounds he sustained when he fell into the river had not healed and had turned into deep scars. How could Lu Bing possibly recover without any trace?
Some things cannot be thought about too carefully, because if you think about them, you will find loopholes everywhere.
Duan Ji was extremely angry, but he didn't know how to vent it. At this point, he only wanted to ask one question:
"Why?"
Lu Bing was stunned for a moment when she heard his incoherent words: "Why why?"
Duan Jiyang slowly raised his eyes and looked at Lu Bing. Under the setting sun outside the window, his eyes were red and he asked through gritted teeth, "The person who rescued me from the river was not you, but Lu Yan, right?"
The two of them had been at odds with each other since childhood. When Lu Yan was leaving, he heard that he was going to complain, so he deliberately left Lu Bing's name in the name to "frame him up." It was such a simple truth, but Duan Jiyang only hated himself for not thinking it through at the time.
Boom——!
These words were like a bolt from the blue to Lu Bing. He felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. His face turned extremely pale in an instant. He stood up in panic and wanted to explain something, but after moving his lips for a long time, he couldn't even utter a complete sentence: "You...you..."
He wanted to ask Duan Jiyang how he knew that, he wanted to deny it outright, but facing the man's sharp gaze that saw through everything, he only felt as if an invisible hand was strangling his throat in the air, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
Duan Jiyang saw Lu Bing's guilty look, and he understood the situation. The last bit of hope in his heart was shattered. He grabbed Lu Bing's neck, his eyes full of shock and hatred: "Why did you lie to me?! Lu Bing, why did you lie to me?!"
Lu Bing was choked so hard that she couldn't speak. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She said with difficulty: "I... I didn't... I didn't mean it..."
Duan Jiyang was so high-spirited at the beginning. Who wouldn't like such a person? Lu Bing was no exception.
Among so many people in the upper class, Lu Bing was originally just the most inconspicuous one. However, Duan Jiyang just favored him, and as a result, the status of the Lu family also rose. Everyone praised and respected him for the sake of the Duan family.
Lu Bing lost his mother when he was young, and Lu Wanshan didn't pay any special attention to him. He couldn't resist the temptation of being the center of attention, and he couldn't resist the approach of his beloved.
Duan Jiyang didn't want to listen to Lu Bing's explanation. He felt that the relationship he had held on to for so long was just a joke. Lu Bing's so-called nobleness and purity had turned into hypocrisy. When Duan Jiyang loved someone, he could praise Lu Bing to the sky, but now that he didn't love her anymore, she was worse than the dust on the roadside. He asked in a stern voice:
"You didn't mean to do that?! I've asked you so many times, have you ever explained to me once? For so many years you've taken credit for Lu Yan's work and played me like a fool. Don't you feel happy and satisfied?!"
Lu Bing shook his head desperately: "I didn't! I didn't!"
Duan Jiyang sneered: "No? Do you know the truth in your heart? You told me that you are not valued at home, you told me that Lu Yan bullies you every day, but what is the truth? You took everything from Lu Yan, how many truths do you have?!"
"In order to help you hold your head high in the Lu family, I introduced you to people, in order to help you fulfill your dream, I spent money to let you open a studio and enter the fashion circle, in order to make you change your mind, I stayed in City A like a fool waiting for you to return to China, and I even forced Lu Yan to donate his kidney for you! Lu Bing, who gave you the courage to play a trick on me like this?!"
Duan Jiyang looked angry, thinking that he had loved the wrong person for so many years, and all his efforts had gone to waste. Unfortunately, Lu Bing was seriously ill, so he was helpless even if he wanted to lose his temper. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Lu Bing, if you want to live, you'd better not appear in front of me in the future. I feel disgusted when I see you!"
Duan Jiyang turned around and left. Lu Bing sensed his disgust and almost crawled around hugging his waist, crying and shouting: "Jiyang! Jiyang, listen to my explanation! I really didn't mean it! I haven't hidden anything from you except that incident. We have been fine for so many years, haven't we? I will marry you, okay? I will never leave City A again, and whatever you say is what I will do..."
Duan Jiyang now even felt disgusted to talk to him. Hearing this, he looked at him coldly: "Marriage? Do you think I would marry a liar? You better take care of yourself. Don't come to me again in the future!"
Duan Jiyang mercilessly shook off Lu Bing's hand and strode out of the ward. But a heart-wrenching question suddenly rang out from behind him: "You actually have liked Lu Yan for a long time, right?!"
Duan Jiyang paused when he heard this, and finally said in a deep voice: "So what?"
At this moment, both of them tore off the masks they had been wearing for so long. The pure and gentle person became hysterical, and the affectionate and loyal person became cold-blooded and so ugly that they couldn't even look at each other.
“Boom——!”
Suddenly there was a roar of thunder outside, almost tearing the sky apart. The first rain since the beginning of autumn fell slowly, and the dripping raindrops splashed on the window, blurring the scene outside and chilling me to the bone.
The two bodyguards received Duan Jiyang's order to drive Lu Yan home. The wipers swept back and forth, but they could not wipe away the rain that was falling all over the place.
Lu Yan sat in the back seat and realized after struggling for a long time that his phone had run out of battery and had been turned off. He kicked the seat in front of him and asked the icy-faced bodyguard, "Hey, do you have a charging cable?"
The bodyguard silently took out a power bank from his jacket pocket and handed it to him.
“…”
Okay, that’s pretty good.
"Thank you."
Lu Yan took the power bank, found the port and plugged in his phone. After about a dozen seconds, it finally turned on. However, it would have been fine if he hadn't looked at it. When he did, he was stunned.
Duan Jiyang, this shameless guy, actually pulled out his phone card? !
Veins on Lu Yan's forehead were throbbing. He tried to control his temper and asked the two bodyguards in front of him, "Who of you can lend me your phone so I can make a call?"
The bodyguard refused: "I'm sorry, Mr. Duan said that you can't contact the outside world before sending you home."
Grass!
Lu Yan was so angry that his fists were clenched, but then he thought that he could still make a phone call when he got home. He had been locked up for so many days anyway, so a few minutes on the road wouldn't matter, so he managed to hold back his temper.
The calling card was probably just removed today, and there were still records of missed calls and text messages from last week. Some of them were from Yang Qin, and the rest were all from Tang Rufeng. There were so many messages that the phone was almost stuck.
Lu Yan was bored in the car, so he looked through the messages one by one and found that there was no record of the messages until two days ago. Tang Rufeng had not called again. He frowned unconsciously, not knowing whether the other party had misunderstood something or given up on something. The sound of rain outside the car window was dull and noisy, which made people feel upset for some reason.
It happened to be the evening rush hour and it was raining, so the journey that was supposed to take one hour took two hours. The dark car passed through the garden path, and its shadow was deformed.
Lu Yan got out of the car holding an umbrella and said to the two bodyguards: "I'm home, you two can go now."
The two bodyguards didn't continue to argue, just got in the car and left.
Lu Yan stood at the steps of the door for a while, hesitating and not going in. He wanted to see Yang Qin, but he didn't want to see Lu Wanshan's old face, and...
And Tang Rufeng, he has been missing for so long, and I don’t know if the other party is worried about him.
Seeing that the two bodyguards had left, Lu Yan touched the wallet in his pocket to make sure that he still had money for a taxi. Then he turned around and walked towards the exit in the dark. Unexpectedly, he glanced inadvertently and saw a familiar figure under the shadow of the tree——
It’s Tang Rufeng.
Lu Yan paused: "..."
Lu Yan had never thought that the other party would find this place, so he was stunned for a moment when he saw the other party's figure that was soaking wet. Before he had time to think, he took a step forward and walked over. The black umbrella in his hand slowly tilted to block the cold rain above his head.
Lu Yan asked softly, "Why are you here?"
He didn't know why he was so calm. Maybe he didn't want to make the other party worry, or maybe the anger that had been suppressed for so many days disappeared inexplicably the moment he saw Tang Rufeng, as if today's rain had fallen into his heart.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Tang Rufeng's eyes were a little red. Against his pale skin, they looked even redder than blood, and even had an indescribable sickness. He heard Lu Yan's question and uttered two words in a hoarse voice:
"Wait for you……"
He didn't know how long he had been waiting here. He was soaked all over. After all, the rain came so suddenly that even the meteorological observatory failed to detect it, just like their unpredictable fate.
Lu Yan smiled upon hearing this, thinking Tang Rufeng was silly. He held the umbrella with one hand, and used the other hand to brush the wet hair in front of Tang Rufeng's eyes to the side, revealing his cold and stubborn face. His warm fingertips touched his cheek, and it felt cold, just like the temperature of a dead heart.
"I have been busy at home these past two days and have not had time to contact you. How is your mother's condition?"
Lu Yan avoided answering, so Tang Rufeng did not answer either. He lowered his eyes, and his thin figure was almost swallowed by the darkness. His wet black hair quietly slid down, making his face look particularly sharp:
"Lu Yan, are you still willing to go back with me?"
He didn't ask anything else but just asked this question, and his tone was so stubborn that it was shocking.
Lu Yan fell into silence for a moment, with the sound of rain pouring down all around him.
Are you still willing to go back? Of course he is willing, but he is about to donate a kidney to Lu Bing, and he must not tell Tang Rufeng about this. Moreover, Duan Jiyang has an inexplicable hostility towards Tang Rufeng for some reason. Lu Yan is always afraid that he will get too close to Tang Rufeng and hurt him.
Just like Duan Jiyang said, with just a flick of his finger he could make a poor student have no place to stand in City A, and Tang Rufeng's future would also be ruined.
Lu Yan changed his hand and held the umbrella: "You go back first, I will come to you after I finish my family matters."
Maybe he realized that Lu Yan was lying, Tang Rufeng's voice sounded a little low and gloomy: "Lu Yan, do I look a lot like your fiancé?"
Lu Yan was stunned when he heard this, not understanding why the other party would suddenly ask this. He smiled and rubbed Tang Rufeng's hair as he did before, then reached out and held him in his arms. The other party's body was wet and trembling. After contacting Lu Yan's body temperature, he not only did not calm down, but trembled even more violently. Lu Yan thought he was cold and hugged him tighter: "I don't have a fiancé, and even if I did, I have already broken off the engagement. You are you, there is no such thing as being similar or not. Be obedient, go back and study hard, and I will find you soon."
Although Lu Yan was clearly holding an umbrella, the shoulder of his coat was wet for no reason. He probably didn't even notice it. These words sounded like coaxing a child, with a subtle farewell meaning hidden in them.
Tang Rufeng didn't say anything. It was so quiet that it was a little scary. Just when Lu Yan began to wonder if his excuse was too lame, Tang Rufeng finally raised his head from his arms. His eyes were so red and his expression was so fierce. He looked like he was about to cry, but he forced a smile: "Really?"
Lu Yan kissed him tenderly: "I won't lie to you."
He put the handle of the umbrella into Tang Rufeng's cold palm, then took off his coat and put it on her: "Come on, I'll take you home, so you don't get gonorrhea."
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, with no sign of stopping.
Tang Rufeng asked: "What about you?"
Lu Yan smiled and said, "I'll take you home first, and then we'll go back to the old house."
He originally wanted to take Tang Rufeng upstairs to change clothes, but he was afraid of running into Lu Wanshan, which would then lead to another tangled lawsuit, so he decided to just send Tang Rufeng back.
Tang Rufeng shook his head: "I can just stop a car on the side of the road."
Lu Yan disagreed: "It's getting dark, I'll take you there."
Tang Rufeng just smiled, his eyes were red and his voice was trembling: "I'm going to the hospital. If you send me there, it will be hard to explain to my mother if she sees it."
Lu Yan paused when he heard that. He was about to say that he could send her to the hospital entrance, but the next second Tang Rufeng hugged him tightly around the waist. He hugged him so tightly, as if this was the last time they would see each other. He was reluctant to share even the air with her, wanting to keep her all to himself: "Lu Yan, I..."
Tang Rufeng's lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a single word. Tears flowed down his eyes and merged with the rain, feeling cold and hypothermic, and carrying unspeakable bitterness.
Lu Yan thought he would say: I don’t want to be separated from you.
Tang Rufeng closed his eyes silently and whispered: "Lu Yan, I really hate myself..."
He hated too many things and too many people, but like the drizzle of rain in the dark night, all the bitterness flowed back into his heart, and Tang Rufeng became the carrier of all the hatred.
Lu Yan frowned: "Tang Rufeng?"
Tang Rufeng suddenly put the umbrella back into Lu Yan's hand, and slowly backed away step by step, saying in the noisy rain:
"Lu Yan, I'm going back."
Lu Yan subconsciously wanted to chase him, but Tang Rufeng had already turned around and ran into the night. He stayed here in the rain for half the night, as if just to see Lu Yan. The coldness came from all around, making it impossible to avoid it.
It was not until much later that Lu Yan learned that Tang Rufeng's mother had passed away the night before. She accidentally fell down the stairs while taking a walk in the nursing home and hit the back of her head. She died despite failed rescue efforts.
On that rainy night in late autumn, everything that Tang Rufeng had tried so hard to protect seemed to collapse overnight. Lu Yan didn't know what he had been through during that time, who he had met, or what he had heard. He only knew that Tang Rufeng seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. He could not be contacted no matter what, and even the house he had rented was empty.
The next time we met after a long time was at a cocktail party.
The once handsome and silent boy has lost his youthfulness and become cold and moody. He walks among business and political leaders in a well-fitting suit, appearing to be at ease, with his eyes slightly lowered and indifferent, as if he was born to stand in the world of fame and fortune and under the spotlight.
At that time, people around him no longer called him "Tang Rufeng", but "Duan Rufeng" or "Second Young Master Duan". Whenever they mentioned him, they were filled with three parts of awe, six parts of admiration, and one part of contempt.
They were in awe of his powerful methods, which had tortured the nominal big brother half to death, leaving him with no chance of recovery.
I admire him for being able to manage such a large company in an orderly manner despite his young age and holding most of the core rights in his hands.
Although his last name is Duan, he is the illegitimate son brought back by Duan Jianfeng. No matter how powerful he is, his identity is not up to par after all.
Lu Yan still didn't understand what had led to all that. He only knew that the gears of fate began to turn slowly, taking them onto a completely different life trajectory.
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