What happens next is not up to him.
Power and wealth are of no use at all; severe hypothermia after falling into water can be fatal.
Passengers were put on life jackets and evacuated to nearby rescue boats, which would transfer them to the nearest land.
Luo Jun finally stopped a crew member who was in charge of contacting the rescue team and described Luo Zhi's situation as best as he could.
"...You said there was someone else in the water?" The man stopped, "Was it your brother? Did you see him fall into the water?"
The man stared at Luo Jun in surprise: "Why didn't you say anything just now?!"
Luo Jun felt uncomfortable with the gaze he gave him and frowned instinctively, but suddenly fell silent because of the next question.
Why didn’t you say it just now?
Every second counts in a shipwreck rescue operation. A delay in the icy sea could cost a life. I watched my brother fall into the water with my own eyes, but I didn’t tell him about it until now...
The other party's complex expression obviously hid more meanings, and the way she looked at him was so direct that it was almost rude.
This was the first time that Luo Jun was suspected in such an insulting way, and he felt annoyed and angry, "The situation was too chaotic at the time."
This was certainly not the explanation he wanted to give. He only said the first sentence, and then for some reason, the rest of the words were abruptly stuck back in his throat.
...The situation was so chaotic at the time that he simply forgot there was such a person.
The tug of war between life and death was too urgent, Luo Jun had no time to think about more. He just failed to think of Luo Zhi in time.
Besides, there was only room for one more person on the lifeboat.
There was only room for one more person on the lifeboat, and Luo Jun didn't even consider who would get the spot.
He didn't think of anything about Luo Zhi at all at that moment.
…
Luo Jun himself didn't know that he could actually say such words.
Whether it was due to the severe loss of body temperature or some other reason, the words he tried to use to defend himself seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, hanging on his chest, unable to even generate any airflow to move his vocal cords.
Luo Jun stood there in silence.
The crew member shook his head in confusion and did not waste time with him. He contacted the rescue team through the walkie-talkie to search and salvage, and continued to transfer the other people on the boat to a safer ship.
Luo Jun was also urged to leave the lifeboat. He boarded the boat with Jian Huaiyi and was placed in a slightly sheltered place on the deck.
The waterproof feature of the phone came in handy, as soon as I turned it on, a lot of messages and calls came in.
There was a text message from Luo Cheng to let her know she was safe. She was now on another ship. There were also calls and messages from my father, saying that both my parents were fine and they were extradited to a safe small ferry in time.
Mrs. Luo was a little frightened, but now with Luo Chengxiu by her side, she has calmed down and just keeps muttering about Jian Huaiyi over and over again.
The rescue operation was intense and orderly, and everything was beginning to fall into place.
The momentary confusion brought by the disaster is slowly fading away.
Luo Jun replied to a few messages, also confirming the safety of himself and Jian Huaiyi, then turned his phone to silent mode and put it aside.
The near-desperate oppression brought by the shipwreck came to an abrupt end.
If the clothes on my body were not so wet and cold that it was terribly uncomfortable, I would almost have the illusion that I had completely escaped from danger and returned to my most normal life.
…
The daily routine is just the same, dealing with work and social events, and getting together with the family when we have free time. Most of the time, it is quite dull and uneventful.
So too many things have become inertia in this calm day after day.
In this inertia, Luo Jun really disliked Luo Zhi.
Luo Zhi is arrogant and rebellious. She talks back at her father and drives her mother crazy. She also bullies Jian Huaiyi and recently has made her younger sister uneasy. She has never done anything good for others.
But this villain who has disturbed the whole family is also a relative who is connected to them by blood and cannot be gotten rid of.
Of course, Luo Jun never thought of letting Luo Zhi disappear in this way. He didn't want Luo Zhi to die - although there were many times when he had a similar thought in his rage.
It would be great if there was no Luo Zhi.
If it weren't for Luo Zhi, everything would go smoothly and the family's life would be more stable and happy.
So the thought of "what if there was no Luo Zhi" became a habit, and it would pop up in every scene where I felt irritated, annoyed, or furious, and it happened to be related to Luo Zhi.
Because of Luo Zhi, everything has become so bad and there is no way it can get better.
If Luo Zhi stopped bothering them, stayed away, and didn't disturb their family anymore, so many bad things wouldn't happen.
It's not just him, this may be a habit that every member of the Luo family has developed long ago.
No one is idle enough to question inertia, unless this inertia extends to a completely different situation and finally leads to serious consequences that may be so distorted that they cannot be corrected.
Luo Jun just realized that his disgust and disdain for Luo Zhi was enough to make him instinctively ignore Luo Zhi's existence when he was on the verge of life and death.
It turned out that without any moral constraints, he could feel at ease blurting out "The situation was too chaotic at the time, so I couldn't care about his life or death."
Footsteps approached, and Jian Huaiyi came over with a bowl in his hand.
Jian Huaiyi also looked troubled. He sat opposite Luo Jun and handed him the ginger soup. "Brother...it's my fault."
"I fell into the water and passed out." Jian Huaiyi didn't dare to look at him. He lowered his eyes and whispered, "When I woke up, I was alone. I didn't see Xiaozhi. I should have looked for him..."
He had already said this. Luo Jun looked at Jiang Tang and said in a low voice: "How can it be your fault?"
"I don't blame you." Luo Jun shook his head, "You drink it."
He did not take the bowl. The reddish-brown liquid did not reflect any image, and ripples appeared slightly as the ship swayed.
Falling into the water at that height without any cushioning can easily cause transient fainting. Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi might have been separated by the current at that moment.
You can't go wrong with this.
Jian Huaiyi could hardly save himself, and he was only pulled onto the lifeboat by Luo Jun at the last moment. How could he take care of more?
Luo Jun put his hand on the heater, and his frozen skin gradually recovered and began to feel numb, itchy and stinging as if he was bitten by ants.
...What about Luo Zhi?
It seemed that it was not until this time that Luo Jun finally began to think about this problem.
He rescued Jian Huaiyi because he heard Jian Huaiyi's cry for help.
People are always more sensitive to sounds they are familiar with. Although the surroundings were extremely chaotic, Luo Jun immediately followed the sound and found Jian Huaiyi who fell into the water, and pulled him onto the lifeboat.
Why didn't Luo Zhi call for help? Was it because he was temporarily unconscious due to the violent impact of falling into the water, or was it because he was too drunk to be aware of the danger?
Why does Luo Zhi drink?
Jian Huaiyi was holding the wine glass. Was he the one who gave the wine to Luo Zhi?
Why would he bring Luo Zhi to drink in such a dangerous place like the side of the ship?
How could Luo Zhi drink his wine?
...In fact, there were countless scenes in the past where I had the opportunity to think about these issues, but there was really no need.
Luo Jun is very busy at work, and he doesn't have the leisure time to put down what he is doing and care for his evil brother.
It would be much simpler to just make a conclusion and then directly sentence the guilty.
Anyway, Luo Zhi has a long history of bad deeds and his nature is hard to change. His actions and methods are nothing more than the same ones over and over again. Even if you spend time and effort to figure out every detail, the conclusion will not be any different.
…
But this time, there was nothing they could do until the rescue ship arrived.
Perhaps it was because there was really nothing to do that those fleeting doubts finally emerged quietly inadvertently.
"Huai Yi." Luo Jun spoke slowly, "You were--"
He paused for a few seconds, not sure if he was thinking or choosing a question, and then asked, "Why did you go to see Luo Zhi before?"
Jian Huaiyi was filling ginger soup into paper cups. He was stunned when he heard this and looked up at Luo Jun.
Luo Jun frowned: "It's not convenient to say?"
"...Not really." Jian Huaiyi smiled stiffly, "Brother, I never thought you would ask me this."
Luo Jun shook his head: "I'm not doubting you, I'm just asking casually."
Jian Huaiyi laughed: "Really?"
Luo Jun looked at him, his brows furrowed tighter.
He just asked casually and couldn't understand why Jian Huaiyi reacted so strongly. He subconsciously wanted to continue denying it, but his heart sank a little because of his own thoughts.
...Is there really no doubt at all?
Why did he begin to question Jian Huaiyi's behavior? Was it because of his partner's ambiguous memory that he mistook Luo Zhi for the person who gave him the tie clip?
Jian Huaiyi is his assistant and also his partner. They have been handling company affairs together all the time. With so many eyes on Jian Huaiyi's position, it is common for him to be sown against them.
Luo Jun felt it was a bit outrageous that he had become shaken by just a few words from the person who had been with him all the way, and instead worried about an irrelevant outsider.
The boat suddenly shook, and most of Jian Huaiyi's ginger soup splashed out.
He took a deep breath, put down the bowl in his hand, grabbed a piece of tissue and wiped up the wet mess.
Jian Huaiyi crumpled the wet tissue into a ball, squeezed it in his hand several times, and finally threw it into the trash can. He stood up and walked to the deck.
Luo Jun stood up and walked over: "Sorry."
"I shouldn't think that." Luo Jun said, "If you don't want to talk about it, I can pretend that I never asked about it."
Jian Huaiyi suddenly turned around, looked at him seriously for a while, and then chuckled.
Luo Jun's gaze fixed on him: "What are you laughing at?"
Jian Huaiyi thought for a moment and said, "The situation is not good for me."
"It was obvious where we were standing at the time. We were not chatting. I was looking for an opportunity to push him down."
Jian Huaiyi simply turned around and looked at him: "Luo Cheng is young, so he may not be able to see it, but you, big brother, should have the ability to distinguish it."
Luo Jun's gaze fixed uncontrollably.
His expression suddenly became stern, and he almost wanted to ask Jian Huaiyi what nonsense he was talking about, but for some unknown reason, another voice grew in his heart.
Because he hadn't listened to that voice carefully for such a long time, Luo Jun had almost ignored its existence.
...Did he really never know that in some of the conflicts between Luo Zhi and Jian Huaiyi, Luo Zhi was not unilaterally targeting Jian Huaiyi?
If he didn't even have this level of discernment, Luo Jun wouldn't have to deal with people in the business world and calculate those boring profits and losses.
"Luo Zhi didn't drink either. I made him drink. I just talked to him about Ren Chenbai's mother. Xiao Cheng told him about it. I was curious and asked him about it."
Jian Huaiyi said: "After chatting for a few more sentences, he stopped talking and stood there motionless, as if there was something wrong with his brain."
He spoke quickly and calmly, "I realized that this was the perfect time, so I gave him a glass of wine and prepared to push him overboard, pretending that he had fallen into the water after drinking. But because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, I was not well prepared, and you guys happened to see it..."
"…Huai Yi."
Luo Jun's voice was deep. He stared at the person in front of him intently, and a chill slowly rose from his spine: "Do you know what you are saying?"
Jian Huaiyi just smiled at him and said, "Brother, isn't that what you guessed?"
Luo Jun was speechless.
...Of course he had guessed so.
If he hadn't had this speculation, he wouldn't have been able to help but ask Jian Huaiyi that question.
But in the end, he chose to swallow all his doubts and silence the voice in his heart.
Because...if you can tell that Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi's postures were strange at the time, then the series of ideas that followed would be too logical.
It is only natural that that may be the most chilling truth.
Luo Jun slowly clenched his right hand, which was hanging at his side.
He couldn't tell what kind of emotion was running through his body.
Do you feel guilty about your misunderstanding of Luo Zhi at that time?
Maybe, but it was very thin, so faint that it was almost swallowed up in a flash.
More often than not, there is the anger of being deceived by the person you trust the most, and of being mocked and humiliated for not being able to judge people well.
He hadn't been this angry for a long time. He was so frustrated and furious that even a faint smell of blood rose from his throat. Luo Jun grabbed Jian Huaiyi's collar with force. His chest heaved rapidly and veins on his hands were almost bulging.
Luo Jun asked hoarsely: "Why?"
Having been his assistant for many years, Jian Huaiyi knew exactly what question he was referring to when he asked "why".
Luo Jun didn't care why Jian Huaiyi did this to Luo Zhi.
Maybe I will care about her in the future - when the matter has nothing to do with me and I can calmly show some mercy, I will care about Luo Zhi and give her some compensation as comfort.
Or maybe it was when he knew some truth that would eventually be exposed, and gradually uncovered the whitewashed past, and found out what had happened in the first place... At that time, Luo Jun would probably regret it so much that he would run and jump off the building.
But at least now, Luo Jun was not concerned about Luo Zhi, nor was he angry about what happened to Luo Zhi.
This is an extremely self-centered and arrogant person. His own dignity and absolute correctness are more important than anything else. If you want to prove that he is wrong, you might as well peel off his skin.
It seems that all members of the Luo family are like this. No one knows how the genetic mutation happened, but they gave rise to a child like Luo Zhi who is so out of place.
"Even if I don't admit it, you will find out sooner or later."
Jian Huaiyi said: "That's what doubt is like. Once it arises, it's impossible to completely wipe it out."
Luo Jun's eyes were dark. He looked at Jian Huaiyi and said in a hoarse voice, "I may not check."
There were so many times in the past when Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi had conflicts, but didn't he convict Luo Zhi without investigating anything?
Since he chose Jian Huaiyi as his assistant, he would not be easily shaken or questioned, even if the reasons given by Jian Huaiyi did have some loopholes, even if Luo Zhi was his biological brother...
"What if Luo Zhi died in this shipwreck?" Jian Huaiyi asked.
Hearing that word, Luo Jun's fixed gaze suddenly trembled: "What did you say?"
...How could Luo Zhi die?
Luo Zhi is very lucky and has survived so many times. How could she die after falling into the sea?
This rescue was very timely and professional, and no one will be left behind.
There must be a lifeboat that picked up Luo Zhi, but because there were no relatives or friends around, it was impossible to confirm Luo Zhi's identity for the time being, so they didn't contact them...
"Brother, Luo Zhi won't move at all." Jian Huaiyi's voice was very gentle, "Before he fell, he was already an empty shell."
Luo Jun's arm was frozen in the air, motionless.
His breathing was a little heavy, as if it was filled with the smell of blood, and finally turned into something almost rapid panting.
"I know what kind of person you are."
Jian Huaiyi's voice was still ringing: "What you can't accept is not the fact that 'Luo Zhi died', but 'Luo Zhi died because of your fault'."
No matter what role other people played in this matter, everything turned out like this in the end because Luo Jun did not think of Luo Zhi in time.
Even though they were together when the cruise ship capsized, Luo Jun never had the slightest thought about Luo Zhi - even if he had thought about her a little bit, it might have been in time for the crew to contact other lifeboats to try to salvage her.
"Your family is very interesting." Jian Huaiyi smiled gently, "Just like you don't really care about Mrs. Luo. What you care about is whether Mrs. Luo's deteriorating condition has anything to do with you."
These two are different.
There was an unprecedented gloominess in Luo Jun's eyes, and at the same time, in a particularly sharp contrast, the rage that was so intense that it seemed to be able to choose anyone to devour was gradually fading.
This was obviously not a good change. Luo Jun stared at him, the depression in his eyes becoming more and more obvious, as if his whole body was slowly being peeled off a layer, and then condensed with the dampest and coldest night dew.
Luo Jun asked: "What's the difference?"
"Very different." His collar was pulled too tightly, and Jian Huaiyi coughed twice before continuing to speak as if nothing had happened.
"If it was Luo Zhi you cared about, you would go crazy looking for him... You would use a large number of ships, knowing it was futile and ridiculous, but you would still spend a month salvaging from the bottom of the sea, and in the end you would cry bitterly while holding a skeleton you didn't know if it was his."
At this point, Jian Huaiyi even smiled maliciously: "Brother, you might really do this in the future."
He had never spoken in this tone to anyone in the Luo family except Luo Zhi. In front of the Luo father and son, he was always the most respectful and obedient one. He certainly knew what they wanted to hear.
So from childhood to adulthood, he could easily intercept all of Luo Zhi's kindness and admiration for his family, and they would believe whatever he said.
In fact, when it came to the tie clip, Jian Huaiyi himself had no intention of deceiving Luo Jun - Luo Zhi had Ren Chenbai's mother as a matchmaker, so she could meet the founder of some multinational group and make him smile. He even gave an eight-digit order to the fledgling Luo Jun just for Luo Zhi.
What does he have? He only has a half-crazy Mrs. Luo, who hides like a frightened bird every day from the questioning, condemnation and guilt in her dreams, forcing him to become a lifelike shadow of the second young master of the Luo family.
He tried so hard to imitate her and he really wanted to become Luo Zhi.
How could the Luo family have someone like Luo Zhi, who is as clean and blazing as a fire?
It should be so bright and dazzling, but because I want to be close to my family, I suppress my own heat, making it warm and soft, and then I lean in and gently cling to them.
Later, the fire grew colder and colder in the hands of the Luo family, until it became a shell with only residual warmth. Then even this residual warmth dissipated and it drowned in the bottomless deep ice sea.
"If you are such a person, I won't compete with Luo Zhi for you. I don't need to compete with him for you."
Jian Huaiyi paused for a moment, then continued, "But you are not. You are too afraid of the conclusion that 'it was you who caused Luo Zhi's death', so you must overturn it."
All members of the Luo family are like this.
What kind of family would blame a seven-year-old for losing himself and his sister? They even treated this as a crime and punished Luo Zhi for so long?
They blamed Luo Zhi just to exonerate themselves.
To excuse himself for not being able to protect Luo Cheng, and to excuse himself for being negligent in causing Mrs. Luo to lose her mind.
As long as I determine that these are all Luo Zhi's fault, I will feel relieved.
Jian Huaiyi said: "You will investigate, you will dig up every suspicious detail and suspect every suspicious person. Sooner or later you will find me, and then you will hate me."
Luo Jun's so-called trust in him actually only came from Luo Jun's refusal to admit that he had chosen the wrong person.
Luo Jun never doubted him and always sided with him when he and Luo Zhi had conflicts. It’s just because Luo Jun refused to admit that he might have chosen the wrong assistant, and refused to admit that the younger brother he recognized was actually born to be a snake in the farmer’s arms.
But this favoritism and trust would become completely vulnerable when Luo Jun urgently needed someone to be held responsible for Luo Zhi's death.
"You will hate me for killing Luo Zhi."
"Then your whole family will hate me - you will want to kill me, collect evidence to put me in jail, and then you can sigh and shed a few tears in front of Luo Zhi's grave and continue to live your life."
Jian Huaiyi said: "Just like you all tacitly decided to put all the responsibility for the disappearance on Luo Zhi..."
Jian Huaiyi didn't finish his words.
Luo Jun slapped him hard in the face. He groaned and fell backwards, with blood instantly flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Luo Jun threw him away and asked coldly, "Are you the same as him?"
Jian Huaiyi was beaten badly, and half of his face quickly became red and swollen, but he still pulled the corner of his mouth and pulled out an ugly smile: "Of course it's different."
Although Luo Jun was furious, he did not deny what he said.
This is one of Luo Jun's few advantages. As the future heir of the Luo family and a child of destiny, he has never been through much hardship and has not yet developed the shameless ability to deny lies.
Luo Jun couldn't refute his words, because with the emergence of the premise that "Luo Zhi died in a shipwreck", everything that followed would develop naturally according to that situation, and even Luo Jun himself had to admit it.
So Luo Jun had no choice but to slap him in the face for shamelessly comparing himself with Luo Zhi.
"Of course it's different." Jian Huaiyi said, "Brother, I'm not as kind as he is."
He had to protect himself, to stay alive, to continue being the fake young master of the Luo family, and to get everything he wanted.
He would not willingly become the scapegoat, nor would he allow the Luo family to step on him with a clear conscience and continue to live their lives in self-deception.
Jian Huaiyi turned his face to the side and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth on the clothes on his shoulder: "So I decided to tell everyone... You wanted to hit Luo Zhi at that time, and I stopped you, and an accident happened during the scuffle."
——From Luo Cheng’s perspective, this was even the situation at the time.
The corner where Luo Cheng was hiding was behind Luo Jun. In her opinion, that was Jian Huaiyi trying to stop her elder brother from attacking Luo Zhi.
As for what happened later, it was already so chaotic, who could know the truth?
"The hull tilted, and we were pushed down by you."
"Luo Zhi lost consciousness as soon as he fell into the water. I couldn't hold him and had to watch him sink."
"I desperately shouted at you to save him, but you just pulled me onto the boat. You didn't call for help in time because the lifeboat could only hold one more person..."
Jian Huaiyi met the look of disbelief and shock in Luo Jun's eyes.
"You are an adopted son." Luo Jun's voice was hoarse. He was silent for such a long time, and he only said a completely powerless rebuttal, "Father will not believe you."
Jian Huaiyi laughed.
He knew that he had won the bet, but as fate would have it, Luo Jun had no way of finding any evidence to prove his innocence - as for adopted sons and biological sons, did the Luo family really care that much about family affection and blood ties? Isn’t Luo Zhi their biological son?
Jian Huaiyi suddenly felt quite ironic.
He took great pains to plan every step and did all kinds of disgusting things, and he just snatched these things from Luo Zhi.
"That makes sense." Jian Huaiyi nodded, "Then let's add another plot...Brother."
Luo Jun frowned silently.
He suddenly had a strong sense of foreboding. Although he didn't know what Jian Huaiyi was going to do, a chill still grew from the bottom of his heart.
"What are you doing!" Someone not far away noticed their strangeness and walked over quickly, "What time are you still fighting? Is this the time to fight? It's already so chaotic..."
Several figures hurried over, and chaotic footsteps echoed on the deck.
Jian Huaiyi asked: "Have you ever thought about living the life that Luo Zhi lived for a few days?"
He raised his hand, grabbed Luo Jun's arm and pulled it back violently, pushing it hard on himself. His body suddenly lost balance and fell backwards.
Luo Jun was startled and tried to pull him, but he was grabbed by the crew members who had rushed over and was pinned down without any explanation.
…
This scene was so familiar. Luo Jun's arm was twisted behind his back and he fell on the rough deck. His heart sank in his chest.
He thought of Luo Zhi who had a fight with Jian Huaiyi that day.
He actually guessed what Luo Zhi was angry about. Luo Zhi didn't want them to celebrate Jian Huaiyi's birthday because that was originally his birthday.
But Luo Jun found it hard to understand what was wrong with this. It was just a birthday. He and his father never had the habit of celebrating birthdays. Jian Huaiyi's birthday party was only used for socializing and had no more practical significance.
Luo Jun thought he would soon forget about this matter. He was very busy at work and had little time to take care of a useless brother who was causing trouble everywhere.
But the same scene happened to him again. He was put into Luo Zhi's perspective. When he was sweating profusely from the pain of his arm being dislocated if he struggled a little, that memory popped up again without warning.
…
Luo Zhi had her arms twisted by the Luo family's bodyguards and was pinned to the ground, unable to move. He walked over, put out Luo Zhi's cigarette in front of her, and asked Luo Zhi if she really wanted to destroy their family.
Luo Zhi just looked at the cigarette quietly, watching the last flame dimming little by little.
Then Luo Zhi raised her eyes.
Half of the sky was lit up with colorful fireworks, and Luo Zhi sat in the other half in the darkness, smiling at him quietly.
"Brother, I'm twenty-three years old."
Luo Zhi said to him: "You forgot to wish me a happy birthday."
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