Chapter 129 Revenge
Two days ago, at the corner cafe.
Lu Yan had been out of contact for a long time, and his cell phone was completely disconnected. Tang Rufeng was busy with his mother's condition, and worried about Lu Yan's whereabouts. Just when he was about to call the police, Duan Jiyang suddenly found him.
"You don't have to look for him. Lu Yan is here with me."
Duan Jiyang sat across the table. Although he had a nonchalant look on his face, his hands hidden under the table couldn't help but clenched tightly, and he felt so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip out.
Lu Yan was temporarily locked up by him. Lu Wanshan would definitely not say anything nonsense. The only loophole was this poor student. Duan Jiyang asked someone to investigate Tang Rufeng's identity and background. Originally, it was for the convenience of keeping him silent, but he didn't expect that he would not know until he checked. After checking, he found out that Tang Rufeng was actually the "bastard" from that year.
Yes, bastard...
Duan Jiyang was too ashamed to even say the word "brother", feeling that it was an insult to himself. He still remembered that beggar-like woman with a beggar-like son had stood at the door of their house for a whole day, triggering a fierce quarrel between his parents. The hostility was buried deep in his heart from that time.
Tang Rufeng sat opposite him, with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. The liquid swayed slightly, like long-dormant memories suddenly rippling.
There is such a natural enemy in the world that you can recognize at a glance in a crowd even after many years. Without any explanation, Tang Rufeng recognized Duan Jiyang as the rich young man standing on the steps in his childhood.
Tang Rufeng still looked unmoved. Although his eyes were slightly blue-black due to staying in the hospital for several nights, his back was still straight, like a sharp bamboo. He had stood in the courtyard like this in the hot summer a few years ago, and he looked exactly the same as the one Duan Jiyang hated in his memory: "What is your relationship with Lu Yan?"
Duan Jiyang didn't know what was going on, maybe he wanted to outwit Tang Rufeng, or maybe it was some hidden thought in his mind. He took a sip of coffee and deliberately asked back, "I'm his fiancé. Didn't Lu Yan even tell you this?"
Tang Rufeng: "I told him, he said he has broken off the engagement."
Duan Jiyang smiled and said, "Lu Yan is out there trying to pick up a mistress. He can make up all kinds of lies. We are getting married soon, so you don't have to look for him anymore. There is some money in the card. Just give it as compensation for your mental damages."
He ended his speech by throwing a golden bank card onto the table, disdainfully giving alms to a beggar.
Tang Rufeng took a look and didn't respond: "Is this what Lu Yan meant?"
Duan Jiyang: "No, I mean, Lu Yan just walked away after having fun. Do you think he would be so kind as to give you compensation for your mental damages?"
Tang Rufeng interrupted calmly: "He is not that kind of person."
Duan Jiyang's smile froze upon hearing this, but then returned to normal. He lowered his voice and asked, "Tang Rufeng, how long have you known Lu Yan? Do you know him better than I do? If he really has a conscience, would he not answer your calls for a few days?"
Every word he spoke pierced my heart like a poisoned needle.
"Tang Rufeng, do you know why Lu Yan fell in love with you?"
Tang Rufeng raised his eyes suddenly upon hearing this, his eyelashes trembling uncontrollably for a moment, like a still dead body finally rippling with a little ripple, and the mask on his face slowly cracked. He saw Duan Jiyang's mouth corners drooping, gradually becoming expressionless, and that cold look was three points similar to him.
Duan Jiyang said sarcastically, "If you and I didn't look a bit alike, do you think he would be interested in a poor student like you? I was busy with other things before, and there was a misunderstanding between him and me. Now that it's all cleared up... the real owner has returned, who would want a fake stand-in?"
substitute?
These two words were like sharp blades, piercing Tang Rufeng's heart. He could not believe everything Duan Jiyang said, but he had to believe this one sentence. The similar appearance could not be faked. He closed his eyes tightly, only feeling a buzzing in his ears, even breathing became a little short and difficult.
Tang Rufeng inexplicably recalled the night when he was drunk and sent to Lu Yan's bed. It was as if someone whispered in his ear, "They look quite similar."
He recalled that every time he went to the bar with Lu Yan, his friends would look at him with subtle and surprised expressions, which would then turn into a tacit silence.
Those memories are sloppy and chaotic, but they can all contain clues.
Tang Rufeng quietly clenched his hands on his knees, veins popping out on the back of his hands. He tried to say something in retort, but looking at Duan Jiyang's face that was three-quarters similar to his own, he felt that any words he said were terribly poor and powerless, and his voice became hoarse and he could hardly speak.
Seeing Tang Rufeng's ferocious and pale appearance, Duan Jiyang finally felt relieved, as if the resentment from more than ten years ago was finally vented at this moment, and Tang Rufeng could no longer wrestle with him like they did when they were children.
Duan Jiyang called the waiter to settle the bill and chuckled, "If you are determined to find Lu Yan to ask for clarification, I can tell you directly that he will never tell the truth. He will just lie to you and coax you like before. After all, college students like you who have not yet entered society are the easiest to deceive."
"Instead of following him blindly, you should just break up with him once and for all. Don't be like your beggar mother who always does things that bring shame upon herself."
Duan Jiyang left, and the coffee on the table was steaming, but soon it cooled down a little. Tang Rufeng closed his eyes tightly, feeling that all his strength had been completely drained by Duan Jiyang's words. He forced himself to stand up from his seat and left the cafe in a panic.
It is late autumn now, and the sun is no longer as scorching. The ginkgo trees on the roadside have turned from green to yellow and are falling to the ground one after another, making a crisp sound when stepped on.
Tang Rufeng ran like crazy on the roadside, as if he was going to exhaust all his strength. He didn't know how long he ran, but he finally stopped slowly by holding on to the green plants on the roadside. He breathed rapidly, trembling as he took out his cell phone and called Lu Yan for the last time. There was still a trace of hope in his heart, but all he heard was the sweet but cold reminder tone of the customer service: "Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable, please call back later..."
substitute.
substitute.
Tang Rufeng knew that he shouldn't believe Duan Jiyang's words, but he couldn't find any evidence to refute him.
Tang Rufeng slowly squatted down, shivering from the cold. His eyes were red, and hatred was growing wildly in his heart. What came to his mind was that night in the rental house, when he took off all his clothes and sold himself as a cheap commodity, but Lu Yan put a coat on him and whispered to him:
"You are still young, don't sell yourself out."
Tang Rufeng believed him and regarded him as his savior, but just like the reincarnation of more than ten years ago, Duan Jiyang's mother destroyed his family, and more than ten years later, her son deprived him of everything he had tried so hard to protect.
At that moment, Tang Rufeng suddenly felt a deep desire, which was so strong that it almost overwhelmed his hatred. He realized that if he didn't have money and power, he could only survive like an ant in this city where every inch of land was worth a lot of money. Even if what Lu Yan said was true, he had to become strong in order not to be abandoned.
The autumn wind was howling. If Duan Jiyang knew that his words at that time had pushed a poor student into the abyss, turning him into a demon and retaliating against him, he didn't know whether he would regret what he did today. However, everything was too late, just like the rain falling from the sky that could not be reversed.
The night was endless, and Tang's mother died that night.
All of this was unknown to anyone, not even Lu Yan. After finishing the matching at the hospital, he returned to the Lu family's old house, looking unusually quiet, and no one knew what he was secretly planning. However, when Duan Jiyang finally came to the house, he did not bring a matching report, but a piece of news that was a bit absurd to both Yang Qin and Lu Yan.
"What? You want to get engaged to A-Yan again?!"
Yang Qin almost laughed out loud after learning Duan Jiyang's intention. She was a piano teacher and had always presented a gentle and elegant image to the outside world for many years. Upon hearing this, she slammed the table and stood up, scolding him coldly and unceremoniously: "Duan Jiyang, I didn't say anything when you broke off the engagement, but now you come to me again, which is simply too much! Yes, our Lu family is not as powerful as your Duan family, but our sons are not cabbages for you to pick and choose, you can take them whenever you want and throw them away whenever you want!"
Facing Yang Qin's anger, Duan Jiyang said nothing. He sat on the sofa and waited until Yang Qin finished scolding him, then he stood up and nodded, saying, "Aunt, I was wrong in the past, I hope you can forgive me, I really like A Yan, and I will treat him well after we get married."
Yang Qin was so angry that her face turned blue. She used to think Duan Jiyang was a rare marriage partner, but after a long time of getting to know him, she felt that he was worse than trash. Hearing this, she asked in a sinister tone, "You like Ayan? Isn't it Lu Bing you like? You risked your life for him and even forced Ayan to donate a kidney. Mr. Duan, your sincerity is really 'valuable' and you are really 'fickle'!"
Lu Wanshan also thought this was too outrageous, but that didn't mean he was willing to offend Duan Jiyang. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, he quickly stood up and grabbed Yang Qin and scolded her, "That's enough, you have no right to speak here! I will discuss Lu Yan's marriage with General Duan, you don't have to interfere!"
"What the hell are you discussing?"
Yang Qin sweared a rare curse. She was so angry that she was shaking and crying. Thinking of how Lu Wanshan had been locking up Lu Yan and forcing him to donate his kidney to Lu Bing, she was extremely disappointed. "Lu Wanshan, you are a beast who sold his son for glory and wealth! You don't feel sorry for your son, but I do for my son. I'm making this clear today. Don't even think about tying Lu Yan to this bastard. The worst that can happen is a divorce!"
After she finished speaking, she slammed the teacup on the table, turned around and went upstairs under Lu Wanshan's astonished and incredulous gaze, and started packing her suitcase as soon as she returned to the room.
Lu Yan had been staying in the room the whole time. Seeing this, he finally pushed the door open and walked out. He stood at the railing on the second floor, looking down at Duan Jiyang with a half-indifferent and half-speechless look:
"Duan Jiyang, what are you crazy about?"
Isn't it enough that he has already agreed to donate his kidney to Lu Bing? Why is she going crazy and wants to get engaged to him?
Duan Jiyang was startled when he saw Lu Yan. He immediately ran up to the second floor, looking somewhat at a loss: "Ayan, I..."
Lu Yan interrupted: "Call me by my full name. I don't know you well."
Duan Jiyang knew that Lu Yan had a grudge against him, and he didn't care about his bad attitude: "I haven't seen you go out much in this period of time. I heard that you had a fever. Are you feeling better?"
Lu Yan had a fever since he came back from the matching test that day. He was not sure if it was because of the sudden change in weather or because of the rain, but he was sick for several days. Except for Yang Qin, no one knew what he was secretly preparing. The Lu family was now like a lonely boat on the sea, seemingly stable, but in fact, there was a danger of capsizing if a storm came.
Lu Yan said impatiently: "It has nothing to do with you. Where is the matching report? Is it out yet?"
When talking about kidney donation, Duan Jiyang suddenly fell silent for a moment. His tone was a little cold, and there was even a hint of subtle annoyance towards Lu Bing: "You don't have to donate a kidney to Lu Bing anymore."
Lu Yan suspected that he had heard it wrongly: "What?"
Duan Jiyang repeated: "You don't have to donate your kidney to him anymore."
Lu Yan glanced at the sun outside the window and found that it did not rise from the west. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "You don't care about Lu Bing's life or death?"
Duan Jiyang let out a breath slowly and whispered the whole story to Lu Yan. His brows were furrowed and his words were soaked with regret and hatred, as if he no longer had any feelings for Lu Bing and the entanglement of those years was just a mistake.
Now the person who was stunned became Lu Yan. He subconsciously touched his right shoulder. He never thought that there was such a cause and effect behind it. For some reason, the memory that was unforgettable to Duan Ji Yang was particularly vague to Lu Yan, just like the wind blowing on the lake, the ripples disappeared in an instant without leaving any trace.
But since there is no need to donate a kidney to Lu Bing, then everyone is happy: "Since you said there is no need to donate a kidney to Lu Bing, don't come to me if you have nothing to do in the future, and don't come to me if you have something to do."
Lu Yanyu was just about to go check on Yang Qin to see if she had packed her luggage, so that she could divorce her wicked father and move away, but he was caught off guard by Duan Jiyang who grabbed his wrist and asked in a deep voice, "Lu Yan, can't we really start over?"
Lu Yan turned around and looked at him, and couldn't help but find it funny: "Start over? Why? Just because I saved you when I was a kid?"
Duan Jiyang remained silent, seemingly agreeing, or perhaps he himself didn't know how to answer.
Lu Yan suddenly said seriously: "Duan Jiyang, in fact, it was not me who saved you in the river, but my cousin Lu Nian. The wound on my shoulder was left when I fought with others before. I can't swim at all."
Duan Jiyang's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he asked in surprise: "What? Not you? Where is Lu Nian now?"
“…”
Lu Yan stared at him quietly without saying anything. Three seconds later, he suddenly laughed out loud. He held his stomach and laughed so hard that tears came out. Duan Jiyang looked at him in confusion, frowning: "What are you laughing at?"
Lu Yan stood up straight and wiped his eyes: "Duan Jiyang, I don't have any cousins at all. You don't like me or Lu Bing at all. You just like the person who can save you, no matter who it is."
Lu Yanyu shook his head slightly. For the first time, he felt pity for Duan Jiyang. He said seriously, "You don't know what love is. You can have a crush on someone because he saved you, and slowly fall in love with him as you get to know each other, but you can't fall in love with him just because he saved you. You only fall in love with the behavior, not the person."
"Me, Lu Bing, and Lu Nian are just numbers you plug into the formula. That's not called love."
Lu Yan spoke calmly, and it could even be said that this was the most "friendly" tone he had used towards Duan Jiyang in recent times. However, every word was like a boulder that hit Duan Jiyang so hard that he felt dizzy. It was as if something that had been holding on for so long in his heart suddenly shattered and collapsed, and a chill spread from the soles of his feet.
Duan Jiyang looked extremely unhappy, and tried to salvage something: "No, it's not what you said..."
"It doesn't matter whether it is or not. What matters is that I don't like you."
Lu Yan was always so decisive. He had fought too many times and suffered too many injuries when he was a child. The incident of saving someone from drowning was so insignificant that he even found it difficult to recall it. So he didn't understand why this incident became Duan Jiyang's obsession:
"Duan Jiyang, since I saved you when we were little, why don't you let me go today? From now on, we will be even and no one owes anyone anything."
Duan Jiyang wanted to say more, but Lu Yan stopped him with one sentence: "Don't make me regret pulling you out of the river."
“…”
There was nothing good about staying in this broken house. Lu Yan ignored Lu Wanshan's obstruction and took Yang Qin away with his suitcase. He planned to find a lawyer and file for divorce in two days. Maybe he could get a share of the old man's property then.
While sitting in the car, Yang Qin covered her face with a handkerchief and sobbed. Lu Yan thought she was sad and comforted her, "Mom, don't be sad. After all, we have saved some money over the years. We don't have to worry about food and drink. There is nothing to worry about that old man."
Yang Qin choked up and said, "I'm not sad, I'm happy. For all these years, there has not been a day when I didn't want to get a divorce. Every time I told myself to just be patient. Now that I've finally gotten out of that fire pit, I can't wait to be happy."
She always thought that Lu Yan would inherit the family business in the future, and she endured it again and again for the sake of her son's future. Although she lived a rich life in recent years, she suffered a lot of grievances. Today, she finally moved out with the heart to do so. However, Yang Qin did not feel reluctant as she had imagined, but only relieved.
Lu Yan said, "Mom, you are right to think so. You are still young and beautiful. Finding a handsome man with good moral character is much better than an old man."
He was deliberately trying to make Yang Qin happy, and Yang Qin couldn't help but burst into laughter when she heard it: "Mom just hopes that you can be fine, and that Duan won't bother us."
Lu Yan said uncertainly: "I don't think so, right?"
He drove to settle Yang Qin in his own residence outside, and then went to the previous rental house to look for Tang Rufeng. However, the house was empty and cleaned thoroughly, with no trace of anyone living there.
Lu Yan was stunned for a moment. He found a key and an envelope on the tea table. He opened it and saw only a short sentence:
Don’t think about it, don’t look for it.
“Blah——!”
Lu Yan couldn't help but crumpled the paper into a ball. His heart skipped a beat. He couldn't understand why Tang Rufeng left suddenly. Didn't he agree to wait for him at home?
Lu Yan had never thought that Tang Rufeng would leave him. In the ending the system told him, the other party would rather drag him down from a tall building to die together than let go. How could he leave so easily?
Undeterred, Lu Yan searched everywhere Tang Rufeng might have gone, including the shabby rental house, the riverside, the bar, and he even went to Tang Rufeng's school. However, the news he got was that he had already completed the procedures for dropping out.
He was like a gust of wind, suddenly bursting into Lu Yan's life, and finally leaving without leaving any trace.
It was not until then that Lu Yan realized how little he knew about Tang Rufeng. He only knew that he was a poor student, where he lived, what university he attended, and that he had a sick mother. Apart from that, he knew nothing. He didn't even know where Tang Rufeng's hometown was, let alone any relatives he had.
Lu Yan searched for three whole months but had no clue. He originally wanted to ask his well-connected friends in the circle to help look for her, but no one was willing to answer the phone. It was always Pan Yuan, that big fool, who paid attention to him.
"You want to spend money to have someone help you find that waiter? Forget it. You can do something else with that spare money. Save it for yourself as soon as possible to avoid being dragged into this mess."
Lu Yan was puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Ever since Pan Yuan's secret crush on Duan Jiyang failed, he has completely given up on love and revealed an explosive news to Lu Yan over the phone:
"I heard that you and your aunt moved out. No wonder you didn't know the inside story. Your father was anonymously accused of using cheap building materials as inferior ones, which caused problems with the partner's construction project. Now he has a lot of lawsuits. If he goes wrong, he will go to jail. Moreover, that project was originally assigned to the Lu family by Duan Jiyang for Lu Bing's sake. I heard that he was also implicated. Chairman Duan was so angry that he has convened a board meeting to remove him from his position."
Pan Yuanyu was expecting Lu Yan to be surprised and shocked, but he was surprisingly calm and said casually, "Oh, I know about this."
He was the one who reported it.
No matter how hard Lu Wanshan guarded against it day and night, he couldn't guard against his own son. Lu Yan had already compiled the reporting information in order to catch them off guard and make Lu Wanshan and Duan Jiyang no longer pay attention to his kidney donation.
Duan Jiyang had not paid attention to the company's affairs for a long time because of Lu Bing's matter, which had long caused resentment. After this incident, he was also held accountable by the board of directors and was directly dismissed from his position.
That's good. It can be considered as getting rid of a scourge for the people. All the ancestors of the Lu family should thank him.
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