Chapter 139 We Grew Up Together
Shi Nianzhi's black down jacket was covered with thick snowflakes. He stood outside the car, looking at the man's indifferent profile.
His face was deathly pale, and after a long while, Shi Nianzhi's frozen hands slowly curled up and clenched into fists.
“Lu Jiunian, when we got divorced, you said you would give me a sum of money.”
Shi Nianzhi stood expressionless in the wind and snow, trying his best to keep his voice from becoming hoarse and to say this very important sentence clearly.
Gu Zijian chuckled softly, "So it costs money."
He smiled deliberately, his expression filled with humiliation and disdain.
Shi Nianzhi bit his lip tightly. Shi Er had gone to jail for him, so what did a little humiliation matter to him?
He needs money, more than ever.
Shi Nianzhi nodded, staring blankly at Lu Jiunian in the car, "Yes, I need money."
Gu Zijian turned to look at Lu Jiunian, "When you got divorced, you hadn't reached an agreement on this point yet?"
He sounded like he was questioning someone.
Lu Jiunian's low, cold voice was devoid of emotion as he said, "It's settled."
"Then he came back asking for money."
"Ignore him, the bodyguards are coming."
Sure enough, several bodyguards wearing winter coats came out of the villa area, looking like they were there to drive Shi Nianzhi away.
Shi Nianzhi clung to the car window, his knuckles digging into it. "I really need this money right now. I'll give you an IOU and I'll pay you back."
The bodyguard grabbed Shi Nianzhi by the shoulder and pulled him outside.
Shi Nianzhi gripped the car window tightly, refusing to let go, using all his strength.
The bodyguard pried open Shi Nianzhi's fingers one by one, while Gu Zijian sat by the car window with a faint smile on his lips.
His noble elegance stood in stark contrast to Shi Nianzhi's disheveled state.
No matter how hard Shi Nianzhi tried, his ten fingers were still pried open, and he was dragged away by the bodyguard in that instant.
Even the usually gentle man became somewhat hysterical, "Lu Jiunian, you lied to me twice! As long as you lend me this money, I can stop hating you!"
Lu Jiunian then glanced at Shi Nianzhi, and a flash of heartache crossed his eyes when he saw her.
It was quickly covered up.
Shi Nianzhi saw him lower his eyes and whisper something in Gu Zijian's ear.
The car window slowly rolled up again.
Shi Nianzhi was roughly thrown into the snow by the bodyguard. He rolled over and was buried face down in the snow, where the ice and snow cut his skin like blades.
His nasal cavity was warm. He propped himself up on his arms, and bright red blood dripped onto the snow, one drop after another.
Shi Nianzhi covered his face with his hand, as if he could no longer feel the pain; the pain in his heart overshadowed everything else.
He wanted to cry, but he didn't even have the courage to.
Who can tell him what to do?
How can we find the money to bail Shi Er out?
A pair of leather shoes stepped out from the snow and stood in front of him.
Shi Nianzhi glanced at him sideways and saw his crisp trousers. His heart skipped a beat, and he looked up with a heart full of joy.
Gu Zijian held up a large black umbrella, looking down at Shi Nianzhi.
The light in Shi Nianzhi's eyes dimmed the moment she saw Gu Zijian.
His palms were covered in blood. Shi Nianzhi wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve. "What are you doing here?"
Gu Zijian handed Shi Nianzhi a snow-white handkerchief, "Wipe yourself off, look at how disheveled you are."
There was a time when he was like this, kneeling on the ground like a dog, just wanting some money. Money that, to him, was life-saving.
Now that the roles have reversed, he has become the one who is high above and bestows charity upon others.
Gu Zijian's eyes were filled with coldness. It turns out that people really can't empathize.
Looking at Shi Nianzhi now, all he could think about was pleasure. He wished he could stretch out a foot and stomp Shi Nianzhi's face to the ground, ruthlessly trampling on Shi Nianzhi's dignity.
Shi Nianzhi did not accept Gu Zijian's handkerchief. He covered his nosebleed with his hand and staggered to his feet.
He raised his face, looking at Gu Zijian with a cold and aloof expression, "I don't need your charity."
Gu Zijian's heart skipped a beat; this expression matched the face he remembered.
The person who terrified him.
How could they look so alike? Is Shi Nianzhi really not the original owner of this body?
Shi Nianzhi did not leave. He was going to go and ring the doorbell. No matter what, he had to see Lu Jiunian today.
He pressed the doorbell, but no matter how hard he pressed it, no one answered.
Each time Shi Nianzhi rang the doorbell, the light in his eyes dimmed a little, until it finally became completely dark.
He really disappeared.
Gu Zijian chuckled softly behind Shi Nianzhi, "You're just my substitute, yet you really think you're something special. Seeing how insistent you are, you must have run into trouble at home, right? Tell me how much money you need, and I can give it to you."
Shi Nianzhi then turned to look at Gu Zijian, "150,000."
“I don’t have that many, I have 30,000 here.”
As if he had been prepared, Gu Zijian took out 30,000 yuan in cash from the inside pocket of his coat.
Shi Nianzhi knew Gu Zijian wouldn't be so kind, so he asked him, "What do you want?"
"One hundred yuan per head, are you willing to kowtow?"
Such a gentle voice, yet it was filled with malice.
Shi Nianzhi's fingers tightened, his nails almost digging into his palms. He looked up at Gu Zijian with slightly red eyes.
Gu Zijian, as if he had a sure understanding of Shi Nianzhi's intentions, said in a playful voice, "You don't want it? Then that's..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shi Nianzhi had already knelt down.
Gu Zijian suddenly laughed, an unrestrained laugh, so mocking of Shi Nianzhi who was kneeling and kowtowing to him in the wind and snow. He pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and threw it down.
Looking at Shi Nianzhi, Gu Zijian seemed to see the original owner of the body who was high and mighty back then.
His smile and expression became somewhat distorted, a morbid satisfaction. Finally, it was his turn to coldly watch others' lowly and worthless behavior.
Finally, the person kneeling on the ground was no longer him.
It won't be him anymore. He's going to climb to a very, very high place, and from now on, he'll be the one stepping on others, and no one will be able to hurt him anymore.
As Shi Nianzhi's forehead grew increasingly red, he was surrounded by piles of cash.
After what seemed like the umpteenth time he had kowtowed, Gu Zijian suddenly spoke up, "Look up at me."
Shi Nianzhi stared blankly at Gu Zijian, blood streaming down his forehead, a sight both shocking and tragic.
Shi Nianzhi kept her pale, bloodless lips taut and said nothing.
Gu Zijian threw the remaining cash at Shi Nianzhi's face. Shi Nianzhi did not dodge. The sharp edges of the brand-new cash left several small cuts on Shi Nianzhi's face.
Shi Nianzhi did not close his eyes; he stared coldly at Gu Zijian through the swirling pile of money.
"That's the difference between you and me. You'll be destitute and fight tooth and nail for 30,000 yuan, but that will never happen to me. Don't think that just because I have the Gu family behind me, I can't even say that I have Lu Jiunian. I will never bow down for money."
Gu Zijian's high-pitched voice was full of confidence and self-assurance.
Shi Nianzhi bent down and picked up the money on the ground one bill at a time. The next second, his hand was stepped on, causing him excruciating pain.
Shi Nianzhi's eyes welled up with tears, but he didn't utter a sound.
Gu Zijian stepped on Shi Nianzhi's hand, then slowly bent down and leaned closer to Shi Nianzhi before continuing, "The most valuable thing about a person is to know their own limitations. You have nothing, yet you still dare to try and compete with me?"
Gu Zijian left.
When Shi Nianzhi picked up the money with his injured hand, his hand trembled slightly. In the end, his whole body was shaking, and it was hard to tell whether it was from anger or grief.
He picked up the money, held it tightly, his eyes red, but he didn't shed a single tear.
He stood up, but felt dizzy.
When he was about to faint, all he could think about was that he couldn't faint here.
Nobody cares about him here; he'll die. It's so cold; he'll freeze to death.
Shi Nianzhi staggered forward two steps, but finally crashed heavily into the snow.
Someone got out of the car and picked up Shi Nianzhi.
......
When Shi Nianzhi woke up, all she could see was white.
In the dim light, he saw a figure, but it wasn't very clear. However, the man standing under the lamplight, judging from his outline, was quite convincing.
Is it Lu Jiunian?
Shi Nianzhi forced himself to sit up; he wanted to seize the opportunity to ask Lu Jiunian for money.
As long as he doesn't die, he can't let Shi Er go to jail. As for dignity, he's long gone. He had nothing left when he knelt down before Gu Zijian.
All he cares about now is protecting Shi Er; he doesn't care about anything else.
"You're awake. Don't move."
The unfamiliar voice, clear as a spring, was not Lu Jiunian's.
Shi Nianzhi then looked up, and the fog in front of her dissipated, gradually clearing her vision.
He stared intently at the man in front of him; it wasn't Lu Jiunian, but there was a resemblance.
Because it was blurry, I misread it.
"Who are you?"
"Lu Bing".
After a pause, Lu Bing continued, "Disappointed? Even after all this, you're not still hoping that Lu Jiunian will come out and carry you away from where you collapsed in the snow to the hospital? Don't be silly, I'm the one who did all this. If it were Lu Jiunian, he would probably just say 'Get rid of it and don't make a scene' when he sees your frozen body the next morning."
Indeed, why would Lu Jiunian care about him? What is he still hoping for?
That man lied to him twice and was determined to sever ties with him. He had been so cruel to him; he shouldn't have expected anything from him anymore.
Although Lu Bing's words were harsh, they were so true.
Shi Nianzhi closed his eyes. He wanted to laugh, but tears still fell immediately.
"Why are you crying? You never used to cry."
Shi Nianzhi looked at Lu Bing and asked, "Do you know me?"
Lu Bing reached out and patted Shi Nianzhi's head. He looked into Shi Nianzhi's eyes very seriously, without a trace of deception in his eyes, "We grew up together since we were little."
Shi Nianzhi racked his brains, but he couldn't remember the person. "You're also from Dashan Village? I don't remember you."
Moreover, Lu Bing and Lu Jiunian must have some kind of relationship, so they couldn't possibly be from a remote mountain village, Shi Nianzhi found it very strange.
Lu Bing seemed amused by Shi Nianzhi, "Baby, of course I'm not from a big mountain village, and neither are you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com