Chapter 130 Banquet
Pan Yuan said angrily, "Why aren't you surprised at all?!"
"Surprised! Who said I wasn't surprised?"
Lu Yan expected that Lu Wanshan would be ruined, but he did not expect that Duan Jiyang would be dismissed. He thought that he would be suspended for a period of time, and that was enough: "Duan Jiyang is the only heir, how could he be dismissed just like that?"
Pan Yuan sneered: "You know that the old man of the Duan family is very ruthless. He has done many things to sacrifice his relatives for the sake of justice. Duan Jiyang has been trying to seize power in recent years. He has had this idea for a long time. Today he is just going with the flow."
"Besides, who doesn't have a few illegitimate children out there? If your big trumpet is no longer useful, you can just practice a small trumpet. You should learn from Chairman Duan and stop relying on the same thing."
Pan Yuan's words seemed to be meaningful, but unfortunately Lu Yan didn't understand. "Got it. Thank you for telling me about this. I'll treat you to dinner later."
Pan Yuan said: "Don't bother eating. Hurry up and get your mother to divorce. The Lu family is now a rotten stall. Whoever gets involved will suffer."
Lu Yan thanked him and hung up the phone. Yang Qin was cooking in the kitchen. When she heard them talking on the phone, she couldn't help but ask, "Did something happen to the Lu family?"
"It's none of our business if something goes wrong. Have you agreed with the lawyer? When will the divorce procedure be completed?"
Yang Qin got angry whenever she mentioned this matter: "That bastard refused to agree to a divorce, so we have no choice but to sue. I estimate that it will take at least three to five months to complete the case."
Lu Yan comforted him, "It doesn't matter if it takes longer, as long as you can finish it. Don't go out too much during this period, the situation outside is not peaceful."
Yang Qin placed a bowl of salad on the table and said in a reproachful tone, "You knew things were not going well, so why did you go out every day? What kind of friend is so good that you have been looking for him for so long and still haven't given up?"
She was asking about Tang Rufeng.
“…”
Lu Yan lay on the sofa with his eyes closed, not saying a word. He had never understood why Tang Rufeng gave up even his studies until some time ago when he found a classmate who had a good relationship with Tang Rufeng. It was from him that he learned the news of Tang's mother's death, which was exactly the days when they last met.
Lu Yan recalled that rainy night countless times, and he always felt the dampness following him like a shadow, and his body was wrapped in coldness. If he had been more careful, would he have discovered Tang Rufeng's abnormality and prevented his fate from ending so hastily?
Lu Yan used to be afraid of many things. He was afraid that he would be forced to donate his kidney, and he was afraid that he would be dragged down from a tall building by Tang Rufeng. Now all the crises have been resolved one by one, but he doesn't know whether this ending is good or bad.
Especially for Tang Rufeng.
Compared to the predetermined ending, it seemed that he had lost everything he should have lost, and did not get what he should have gained.
After late autumn comes the cold winter, so this year's New Year inevitably seems a bit deserted. Yang Qin simply cooked a few dishes and sat down with Lu Yan to have a meal and considered it New Year's Day. Outside, fireworks exploded one after another, and the bustling sounds were clearly nearby, yet it seemed as if there was an countless distance between them.
After dinner, Yang Qin simply cleaned up the garbage at home: "Ayan, remember to throw away the garbage when you go downstairs later."
"knew."
Actually, Lu Yan had nothing to do downstairs, but he still got up from the bed after hearing that, put on his coat, picked up the garbage and went out. Although Yang Qin currently had some savings and Lu Yan also had some spare money, their daily living expenses were too high, so they basically saved as much as possible, and the original nanny also resigned.
After leaving the heated room, the cold wind blowing in his face made him shiver. Lu Yan went downstairs to throw the garbage into the bin, and then he found that it started snowing outside. He did not rush upstairs, but went to a nearby convenience store to buy a pack of cigarettes and lit them up while sitting on the roadside.
Since moving out, Lu Yan has forgotten how long he last smoked. Normally, when he was at home taking care of Yang Qin, he never even touched a fire. He once thought that he had successfully quit smoking, but when it was late at night and everyone was asleep, it turned out that the latent addiction to smoking would still gnaw at his heart like a worm.
Lu Yan flicked the ash lightly, and the pale smoke rose up, and the snowflakes fell gracefully, but in the end they all dissipated and melted. He frowned and took a sip of the cigarette, and found that it was not the familiar mint flavor, but acrid and bitter, which made his eyes red. He coughed for a long time before finally calming down.
Lu Yan took a deep breath, put out the cigarette butt in silence, and threw it into the trash can.
He took out his cell phone and took a photo of the swirling snowflakes under the street light, then posted it to his Moments with the caption "Happy New Year" for only himself to see. Then he stood up, brushed the snow off his coat, and went straight upstairs.
The box of cigarettes was left on the bench, covered with a thin layer of fallen snow.
Across the street, under the cold dead branches, a black Maybach was parked quietly, its body almost blending into the darkness. The window on the back seat was originally only slightly open, but when Lu Yan left, it slowly lowered, revealing a cold and sharp face.
If Lu Yan were here, he probably wouldn't be able to recognize who was in front of him. In his memory, Tang Rufeng was always dressed in plain, worn-out clothes, looking young and silent. The man sitting in the car was wearing a well-tailored black suit, his hair was neatly combed, and all his emotions were hidden in his eyes, like a reserved and indifferent young man from aristocratic family.
The once sharp green bamboo has turned into a glass of mellow and magnificent red wine, swaying in the midst of decadence and extravagance, and has acquired the expressionless emotions of an adult.
Today is New Year's Eve, and the driver has been sitting in the car for four hours. He is terrified by the young man's ruthless behavior and doesn't even dare to ask a question. He can only stare blankly at the snowflakes falling on the windshield.
"Crack."
The car window slowly rolled up, and the man in the back seat finally spoke, his emotionless voice saying, "Drive over there."
The driver breathed a sigh of relief, stretched his numb legs, and drove the car to the other side. He didn't know why Tang Rufeng wanted to spend such a lively New Year's Eve alone in the car, but he knew that after the car stopped, he opened the door and got out, sitting on the frost-covered bench on the roadside.
Ten minutes ago, the man was sitting in the same position.
Tang Rufeng picked up the other person's dropped cigarette box, slowly took out a cigarette from it, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. The pungent smoke made his eyes red, but he remained silent and let the snowflakes fall all over his shoulders.
The driver saw him sitting outside in the snow, and he felt a little restless sitting in the car. Finally, he couldn't help but roll down the window and said, "Mr. Duan, it's going to snow heavily soon. Why don't we go back? The chairman is waiting for you to have the New Year's Eve dinner together."
The Duan Group underwent a large-scale reshuffle of personnel. After Duan Jiyang stepped down, the outside world only knew that the chairman had brought back an illegitimate son and personally promoted him to the second-in-command position. The title of "General Duan" was also changed to a new person.
Tang Rufeng didn't seem to want to go to the New Year's Eve dinner. He finished smoking a cigarette, put it out and threw it into the trash can. Then he slowly stood up from the bench and turned to look upstairs.
The tall buildings stood tall and the lights were bright. He guessed that Lu Yan should be having New Year's Eve dinner with his mother now. On a day when families are reunited, few people would spend it alone.
Tang Rufeng flexed his frozen fingertips, opened the car door and got in. The heater inside finally dispelled the severe cold. He seemed to notice that the driver was fidgeting, and said lightly: "Drive back. You will have the next few days of annual leave, so you don't have to come over."
Maybe it was because Tang Rufeng's expression was always gloomy for the past ten years, the driver didn't know whether he was saying something good or bad, and said hesitantly: "No... no need."
Don't let him quit, this job is not easy to come by.
Tang Rufeng knew what he was thinking at a glance: "Take three days off and come back to work."
The driver heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and his joy was visibly evident: "Thank you, Mr. Duan, thank you, Mr. Duan."
He immediately drove back, his speed obviously much faster, and he couldn't hide his slight joy. Tang Rufeng leaned against the car window and closed his eyes to rest, not knowing what he was thinking. After a moment, he suddenly asked, "Is there anyone waiting for you to celebrate the New Year?"
The driver smiled and said, "My parents and my wife are waiting for me. I was not supposed to take a day off today, but now I can go back and have a good meal with them."
Tang Rufeng nodded and said nothing more. He closed his eyes and stroked the phone at his fingertips. He couldn't help but think of the explanation given by the nursing home on the day when Tang's mother fell down the building and was hospitalized:
"Normally, we have someone to look after Ms. Tang 24 hours a day, but that morning a man named Duan came to visit us and did not allow the nurse to follow us. We don't know what they talked about, but they had a very fierce argument and even smashed things in the ward. As soon as the man left, Ms. Tang stepped on the empty staircase and fell down because she was distracted. Although this was an accident, it was indeed our fault..."
Tang Rufeng was in a trance at the time and could no longer hear clearly what they were talking about in terms of compensation. The only thing that kept echoing in his mind was this sentence: A Mr. Duan was here.
Apart from Duan Jianfeng, who else would be so free as to go and see a bedridden woman for no apparent reason?
Tang Rufeng wanted to let everyone go, but those people just wouldn't let him go, and they would not be satisfied until they pushed him to the end of his rope. Tang Rufeng slowly opened his eyes, his fingertips quietly clenched in the darkness, and the veins on the back of his hand emerged.
He knew that only by enduring could he get everything he wanted.
He could abandon his own family name, abandon his own dignity, and use a short period of dormancy in exchange for future power.
This cold winter is a good start.
Lu Yan seldom reads the news, and seldom pays attention to what happens in that flashy circle. When the weather gets warmer, he has already started to work on his own career. After all, it is not a solution to just sit around and live off one's savings.
Last year, Pan Yuan and several other friends wanted to invest in opening a bar. His family is the largest local liquor merchant, so he is the first to get the moon. Lu Yan happened to own a part of the shares. This year, the bar opened, and Pan Yuan found several internet celebrities to promote it. With the support of friends in the circle, the business is pretty good.
However, Pan Yuan and his friends were typical rich young men, who were only interested in eating, drinking and having fun. Lu Yan was also a lazy guy like them, but his family went bankrupt, so he was in charge of the bar's affairs, and Pan Yuan and his friends only had to check the account book from time to time.
"Hey, you are quite diligent every day. You can just let the waiter do things like wiping the cups, but you do it yourself."
Lu Yan was sitting at the bar cleaning cups. He looked up and saw that it was Pan Yuan. "I have nothing to do. Why are you here? We haven't even opened yet."
Pan Yuan lay on the table and waved his hands: "I don't drink. I came here today to tell you something. The old man of the Duan family is turning 47. There will be a banquet the day after tomorrow. Do you want to go?"
Lu Yan was indifferent: "Why would I go to his banquet? I don't know him well."
He now gets a headache whenever he hears the word "Duan". There are few normal people in this family.
Pan Yuan looked as if he wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring himself to say it: "Well, come with me anyway and take a look. I'm telling you, Chairman Duan brought back an illegitimate child, and Duan Jiyang is so crowded that there's almost no place to stand. Just watch for fun."
Lu Yan flipped his wrist and put all the beautiful glasses neatly into the sterilizer: "Watching for fun? I think it's unlucky to watch."
It's true that he dislikes Duan Jiyang, but there's no need to go out of your way to see how miserable he is. It's just boring.
Pan Yuan finally couldn't hold it back any longer and lowered his voice to ask, "Haven't you been looking for that waitress?"
Lu Yan paused when he heard this, and finally reacted. He couldn't help but clench his fingertips, and even his heartbeat quickened a bit: "You got news?!"
Pan Yuan nodded constipatedly: "Don't ask so many questions, just come with me and you'll know."
Pan Yuan felt a little guilty about getting Tang Rufeng drunk and sending her to Lu Yan's bed, but not too much. After all, the other party was just a low-level waiter, and Tang Rufeng was the winner by hooking up with Lu Yan, a rich young man.
but!!!!
But Pan Yuan never expected that the little waiter at that time would suddenly become the second-in-command of Duan Group. Not only did he kick Duan Jiyang, the legitimate "legitimate son", out of the core of successors, but he was also able to coax Chairman Duan to take him to various formal occasions. You know, this is the treatment only heirs can have!
Pan Yuan once suspected that he had recognized the wrong person, but the face looked very familiar, so he simply took Lu Yan with him to identify him. Even if he was beaten and retaliated, at least there would be someone to help plead for him later.
It happened to be drizzling on the day of the banquet, but the Duan family was so powerful that many people came to attend despite the rain. Lu Yan and Pan Yuan arrived early, and the two of them stood in a corner chatting, their eyes drifting towards the door, paying attention to the guests coming and going.
Lu Yan took a sip of wine, and the tiny crystal lights cast shadows on his face, making his eyebrows and eyes look even deeper. "You said Tang Rufeng will come to the banquet today, is it true or false?"
Pan Yuan looked down at the time and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? We haven't found him for half a year. A few minutes won't make a difference."
Lu Yan frowned slightly, but could only wait patiently. He felt that things were not simple, but Pan Yuan was too tight-lipped and refused to say a word.
One minute passed, two minutes passed, three minutes passed.
Lu Yan didn't wait for Tang Rufeng, but waited for an unexpected person.
"Hey, look who is this? Master Lu? Why are you here instead of staying in the hospital?"
A familiar figure suddenly appeared in the banquet hall. It was Lu Bing, who had not been seen for a long time. He looked much thinner, with sunken cheeks and extremely pale and haggard. Logically, the Duan family did not send an invitation to the Lu family, and Lu Bing did not have a friend to lead him in, so he should not be able to come in. But maybe because of his "sensational love story" with Duan Jiyang, no one stopped him at the door.
He used to be so glorious, but now he is down and out. Many people secretly laugh at him. As soon as he entered the door, the most critical young men in the circle surrounded him. Their sarcastic voices attracted many people's attention.
Lu Bing took a step back after hearing this, a hint of embarrassment flashed across his eyes: "It's none of your business."
He came here today to find Duan Ji Yang. Ever since the incident was exposed, the other party has never contacted him again. Lu Bing could only take this opportunity today to meet with the other party, hoping that there is still room for redemption.
The person who disliked Lu Bing the most in the circle was Pan Yuan, followed by Zhou Qiyu, the second young master of the Zhou family. He wanted to laugh when he saw Lu Bing's stubborn look, and said in a sinister tone: "It's none of our business? Lu Bing, if I remember correctly, the Duan family should not have sent you an invitation. How did you get in? Do you want me to ask the security to kick you out?"
Lu Bing suddenly raised his eyes and looked at him: "I have never offended you before."
Zhou Qiyu smiled wryly: "You really are a noble person who forgets things easily."
Zhou Qiyu has a younger brother who used to get along pretty well with Duan Jiyang. They didn't even have an open relationship, but could only be considered to have a secret crush on each other. However, because Lu Bing became jealous, Duan Jiyang secretly put pressure on him and not only cut off all contact with him, but also forced his brother to study abroad before the relationship stopped.
If Duan Jiyang is the bullet in the gun, then Lu Bing is the hand holding the gun. To be honest, neither is cleaner than the other.
Zhou Qiyu remembered this account. He deliberately raised his voice and said, "Who among you can go call the security guards to drive out the irrelevant people? I have to say that these two Lu brothers are really amazing. They are more shameless than the other. They are bankrupt and instead of staying at home, they have to run out and make a scene. One is shameless and the other eats and drinks for free."
Zhou Qiyu paused, tilted his head to look at the corner, and deliberately asked, "Isn't that right, Lu Yan?"
Lu Yan, who was suddenly shot, said: "..."
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