Chapter 27 Rejection
“Why don’t you reply to my message?”
Yu Zechuan's familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him. The emotion was so faint that it was difficult to catch. However, the deep and empty corridor still created a strange atmosphere. The dim corridor lights fell on his shoulders, illuminating the tiny creases on his clothes.
“…”
Lu Yan's hand paused as he tried to open the door. He then realized that Yu Zechuan had stood behind him without him noticing. He was slightly surprised: "It's you?"
Yu Zechuan looked unhappy and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Who do you think it will be?"
Lu Yan smiled and said, "I thought you were at work. Sorry, I was a little busy today and didn't have time to check my phone."
He took out his phone and took a look at it, pretending that he had just noticed Yu Zechuan's message. He smiled and sent a little sun emoji back, shaking his phone at him. On it was a note that had been changed back: "Sorry, I won't do that next time."
Yu Zechuan's expression eased a little, but he still didn't leave. He looked at Lu Yan, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't open his mouth. He lowered his eyes and stared at the ground with an awkward expression: "You..."
Lu Yan listened patiently.
Yu Zechuan pursed his lips and said, "It seems like he appeared in a new movie a few days ago?"
Lu Yan didn't understand what he meant: "It seems so."
Yu Zechuan continued to hint: "The ratings seem pretty good?"
Lu Yan finally understood, but was stunned for a moment. He didn't know what he remembered, and lowered his eyes to look into the other person's eyes, but saw Yu Zechuan awkwardly turning his head away, his fingertips hidden in his sleeves twitching restlessly, and his whole body was filled with not only awkwardness and tension, but also a slight throbbing that was fainter than his breathing.
As light and shadow blended, Lu Yan recalled the scene in his previous life when he was held at knifepoint by him before his death:
"Lu Yan, I've said before that what I hate most is people lying to me."
"I have never received true love from anyone in my life."
"Not once."
"You are also fake..."
Lu Yan vaguely guessed that his ambiguous care during this period of time had aroused some good feelings towards Yu Zechuan. Although this good feeling was as fragile as a layer of gauze or a short-lived wisp of smoke, which would break if poked and disperse if blown, it was already extremely precious to someone like Yu Zechuan.
In his previous life, he wanted to make Yu Zechuan fall in love with him in order to survive, and he tried thousands of ways, but to no avail. Now that he finally had a new beginning and the development of things was under control, Lu Yan hesitated for the first time.
He probably also knew that if the emotional deception was exposed one day, it would become the last straw that broke the camel's back for Yu Zechuan.
After a long silence...
"Really? Then I'll invite you to watch it with me next time you're free."
Lu Yan smiled and said, "I have a dinner date with a friend tonight. I have to change my clothes and go out. I may not be able to make it in time."
This was already a polite refusal from both sides, so how could Yu Zechuan not understand? Hearing this, he subconsciously looked at Lu Yan, but found that the other party's attitude suddenly became distant and he didn't even look at him. It seemed that the warm invitation from yesterday was just an illusion.
My originally sunny mood suddenly became cloudy, and it could even be said that it fell to the bottom.
"Really..."
Yu Zechuan pulled the corner of his mouth slightly, not knowing what expression to make for a moment, but it was a bit self-deprecating. He finally stood up slowly, and because of the change in posture, the whole person fell into the shadow again:
"Then go ahead. I won't waste your time."
After he finished speaking, he turned and went into the house, closing the door gently. The corridor fell into complete silence.
Lu Yan stood there for a long time without moving, feeling inexplicably irritated. He frowned, forced himself to dispel this strange emotion, pushed the door open and went home.
In the evening, Lu Yan went into the bathroom to take a shower as usual, but found that the shower gel and toothpaste were almost used up, so he had to change his clothes and prepare to go to the supermarket downstairs to buy some.
In late autumn, the temperature drops sharply at night, and the green plants on both sides of the road have completely turned into dead branches, only the ginkgo trees are still golden.
Lu Yan came out of the supermarket carrying a bag of daily necessities. A gust of cold wind blew in his face, chilling even his bones. He stamped his feet and was about to go upstairs, but he suddenly saw a thick, dark arm in front of him and was blocked by a strange man: "Hey, you are Lu Yan, right?"
Lu Yan paused and looked up at the person who was coming.
The man who stopped him was about 30 years old, with a short crew cut and a lot of fat. On his right arm was a tattoo of a beautiful woman entwining a snake, and he definitely didn't look like a good guy.
Lu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, and he began to be alert in his heart: "Do we know each other?"
The man had a fake smile on his face, and suddenly several of his accomplices appeared around him. Countless eyes fell on Lu Yan, as if they wanted to stare him through:
"Nothing, our Uncle Chong wants to see you."
This malicious remark determined Lu Yan's future fate.
Lu Yan didn't know this group of people, nor did he know their purpose. It was not until he was forcibly taken to a van and drove around to the rooftop of a dilapidated building that he suddenly realized something -
Oh no, since his rebirth, he has been guarding against Yu Zechuan and Jiang Boyun, and completely forgot that his original body owed a lot of high-interest loans, and now they have come to his door.
There was a black grill on the rooftop, and the white smoke drifted far away in the direction of the wind. The greasy and sheepy smells filled my nose, making me want to breathe in fresh air. The cold weather drove away the heavy mosquitoes, but there were still many unknown insects flying towards the light bulbs next to me like moths to a flame.
The low table next to him was piled with crooked beer bottles. A middle-aged man with a blind right eye sat next to him, eating skewers and drinking beer. His gray hair made him look a little weathered and old, but his only remaining left eye was filled with the viciousness of time.
He is probably the "Uncle Chong" mentioned by those thugs.
"Go in!"
Lu Yan was pushed hard by the thugs behind him, staggered forward and almost fell to the ground.
Uncle Chong put down the beer bottle in his hand and knocked on the edge of the table from time to time. The clanging sound made people wonder if this thing would be just as crisp if it hit the head. "Boy, I heard that you recently moved into a high-end apartment and are living very comfortably. How come you have money to enjoy yourself but no money to pay off your debts?"
This familiar scene once made Lu Yan think that he had returned to his previous life. He had incurred a lot of debts in order to pay for his medical treatment and was threatened every day.
Stay calm and don't panic.
Lu Yan thought for a moment and said calmly: "Uncle Chong, I was wrong for not paying you back on time this month. Please give me some more time. I will pay you an extra 100,000 yuan as hard work fee if you pay me back next month. How about that?"
Anyway, he will either die or succeed in his mission next month, and he will definitely not stay here. Lu Yanxu has no conscience at all for making a bad promise.
Uncle Chong is an old hand. Hearing this, he snorted and laughed. Naturally, he would not be fooled so easily. "Boy, I have given you a lot of time. You put it off this year to next year, and next year to the year after next. The interest is nine times in and thirteen times out. Even if I sell you, I can't pay it back."
"Don't think I don't know that you still owe Lai Tou Dong money. You can pay him back, but you can't pay me back. You can pay me back, but you can't pay him back. Why don't you take care of me, an old man, while you still have enough money?"
An IOU was slapped on the table, clearly stating the amount owed. Uncle Chong raised his head and drank half a bottle of beer: "You have borrowed a lot from me over the years, so I will pay you the rest. The remaining amount, including principal and interest, is 1.35 million. Pay it back today and we'll be cleared."
Lu Yan's heart sank when he heard this. One million, three hundred and fifty thousand?! He had only swindled five hundred thousand from Jiang Boyun, and most of that money had been spent on renting a house and buying monitoring equipment. Where would he get another million out of thin air?!
Lu Yan tried to negotiate: "Uncle Chong, how about I pay back 350,000 today, and the remaining 1 million next month?"
"all right."
Uncle Chong was unexpectedly easy to talk to. However, before Lu Yan could breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly changed the subject: "But you have to keep one of your men here today. It's your choice whether to be left or right. If you want to be blind like the old man, that's not impossible, hahaha!"
As soon as he said this, there was a burst of laughter all around. The man with a crew cut who had just stopped Lu Yan took out a knife from the corner where beer bottles were piled up, walked up quickly, pressed Lu Yan onto the roof and asked, "Boy, which hand do you want?"
The building was eight stories high. When Lu Yan looked down, he felt dizzy. The sound of the hunting wind blew past his ears, making it difficult for him to breathe.
But he was still calm. Even though half of his body had fallen off the roof, he was still in the mood to bargain. His deep voice was particularly clear in the cold wind: "Chop off my hand and don't even think about taking a penny."
The buzz cut man was angry: "You f*cking bastard, you really thought I wouldn't dare to do anything, right?!"
The cold and sharp blade had already firmly grasped Lu Yan's little finger. If he applied a little more force, he would be crippled if not dead. However, Lu Yan did not even blink, but repeated calmly: "I told you, if I get even a scratch today, you won't get a penny."
"you!"
Uncle Chong at the side suddenly said, "Ah Ping, put away the knife. What's the point of fighting and killing all day long?"
Uncle Chong didn't want a dead-end outcome. Now that everyone was dead, who could he ask for money?
After not seeing each other for a while, Lu Yan, the soft-hearted guy, had become much tougher. Uncle Chong stood up and walked to Lu Yan's feet, and smiled in an ambiguous way: "Tell me, kid, what do you want to do?"
"It is only natural to pay back debts. You owe me so much, you must give me an explanation. Three hundred and fifty thousand is not enough."
Lu Yan gritted his teeth silently: "I can borrow it from someone."
Uncle Chong lifted his wrinkled eyelids and said, "Borrow? Who do you want to borrow from?"
Lu Yan: "My uncle."
Uncle Chong: “…”
Jiang Boyun had a dinner with representatives of Dingyou Group today. Since Chairman Lin Hongjing's daughter has been obsessed with him recently, he has taken advantage of many cooperations. As the wine was toasting, even Jiang Boyun, who was good at pretending, couldn't help but smile more genuinely.
“Buzz——”
The phone on the table suddenly rang, which was particularly abrupt amid the clinking of cups and glasses. Lin Anni, who was next to Jiang Boyun, glanced at the phone screen and asked curiously, "Hey, who's calling you?"
Jiang Boyun saw the caller ID and hung up without changing his expression: "Nothing, it's about the company's finances. He always likes to call me after get off work to bother me. I'll go to the company tomorrow to deal with it."
Lin Anni snorted and asked, "Finance? Is it a man or a woman?"
Jiang Boyun had a graceful smile on his face and pinched her nose: "Don't think too much, it's definitely a man."
Lin Anni asked back: "Don't you like men?"
Jiang Boyun paused, his face stiffened, but Lin Annie smiled sweetly as if nothing had happened: "My dear, I don't care whether you like men or women, but you are not allowed to flirt with other women outside in the future, understand?"
Jiang Boyun forced a smile and said, "Of course not."
Jiang Boyun is gay and of course has no feelings for women, but with his current status, he seems to need a woman to carry on his family line. More importantly, he needs to get in touch with the Dingyou Group, and Lin Annie's brainless love gives him a certain guarantee.
I called three times but the call was hung up each time. Later on, the number was blocked and I couldn't get through to the other side anymore.
Uncle Chong's expression was so ugly that it couldn't be described: "Boy, are you kidding me?"
Lu Yan cursed Jiang Boyun a thousand times in his heart. This useless snack was useless at the critical moment, and he was more violent than anyone else when it came to shit. He hung up the phone without changing his expression: "It's okay, I'll borrow from someone else."
"Bang!"
Uncle Chong almost knocked the table over with a slap: "Who the hell do you want to borrow from?!"
Lu Yan asked tentatively: "...My second uncle?"
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