The surgery was successful.
The dim streetlights illuminated the dilapidated residential building. The place was too remote and it was late at night, so the surroundings were eerily quiet. Occasionally, a few meows or bird calls could be heard, which sent chills down one's spine.
Song Zicheng's hand holding the phone moved silently in the shadows before he followed the driver upstairs.
The two stopped on the third floor. The driver knocked on the door, and soon the sound of slippers walking inside could be heard, "clunk, clunk," which was even clearer in the quiet hallway.
"Come in," Lu Zhize said, glancing at Song Zicheng while holding a glass of red wine and wearing a bathrobe.
The broken door creaked shut with an unpleasant, heavy, and rough sound, much like that of an old man in his twilight years.
"Sit down, would you like something to drink?"
At this moment, Lu Zhize resembled a host who was extremely hospitable to his guests. However, unlike the other host, he did not listen to his guests' wishes and poured himself a glass of red wine, then walked over to Song Zicheng and handed it to him.
Song Zicheng frowned as he looked at the nearly full glass of red wine, hesitating to take it. Lu Zhize didn't urge him, nor did he show any anger on his face. The air froze at that moment, and the two were at an impasse. Just then, in this awkward moment, Song Zicheng reached out and took the wine, saying thank you.
Lu Zhize smiled with satisfaction, clinked glasses with Song Zicheng, and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Song Zicheng hesitated for several seconds, holding his wine glass, before finally saying, "I brought the documents. When are you going to arrange surgery for my brother?"
Lu Zhize poured himself another glass of wine, gently swirling the glass in his hand. Sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, his sharp jawline was clearly outlined as he tilted his head back to drink. Then, he slowly brought up an unrelated topic: "Is this your first time here?"
Song Zicheng didn't know why he suddenly asked this. Such a remote place was not the kind of place a young master like Lu Zhize would come to. Although the residential building was old, the interior decoration of this house was very warm and harmonious.
Song Zicheng nodded symbolically, and then heard Lu Zhize say, "This house is where my maternal grandparents lived. Before I was five years old, my mother often brought me here, but since my maternal grandparents passed away, my mother has never brought me here again."
Song Zicheng frowned, puzzled. He had no interest in listening to Lu Zhize recount his past and was about to speak when he heard Lu Zhize's voice again.
“My maternal grandparents always thought my mother was a homewrecker who broke up other people’s families. They didn’t even come to my mother’s wedding. In my memory, my mother and my maternal grandparents never seemed to get along peacefully. After they left, my mother vented all her resentment on me. But what did I do wrong? What did I do wrong? I’m just an illegitimate child who can’t be seen in public. My father doesn’t love me, my mother doesn’t care about me, and I have a half-brother who ignores me and treats me coldly. Lu Zhiyan is just the son of the first wife. He was just born more than ten years earlier than me. But his mother is a famous jewelry designer. Why is he superior to me in every way? Why does he look down on me?”
“I’m resentful, I’m jealous, I’m not convinced. Why? Why? Why does he have everything so easily? Why am I disliked everywhere? When I was ten, I hid all the resentment and sharpness in my heart and pretended to be smiling, obedient, and well-behaved. But even so, I was still as insignificant as dust. Lu Zhiyan owns 45% of Clarté Joaillerie’s shares. And me? Me? I’m pitiful, with a negligible 5%, like giving alms to a dog on the street.”
“What did I do wrong? For so many years I’ve tried so hard to please my father and worked so diligently just to have a place in the company. But when Lu Zhiyan won that French project, everyone praised him. Why? I’m not convinced!”
At this point, Lu Zhize became extremely agitated and angry, a ferocious and terrifying expression flashing across his face. Every word he uttered, even his tone, revealed the twisted resentment and anger within him. Lu Zhize took a deep breath, then turned his gaze to Song Zicheng, staring at him intently.
"And you, Lu Zhiyan threatened you with your brother before, and you, instead of resenting him, you even fell in love with him." He stood up and walked to Song Zicheng, bent down, and carefully examined Song Zicheng's face. "I don't understand what charm you have that makes my arrogant brother so infatuated with you." Lu Zhize answered himself, "You're not bad looking, but you're a bit too stupid. You believe everyone, even me, who lied to you once."
Hearing Lu Zhize's veiled and teasing words, Song Zicheng asked anxiously, "What do you mean? Are you going to back out?"
"Hey, what are you talking about? Do I look like someone who goes back on their word?" Lu Zhize patted Song Zicheng on the shoulder and said, "Go back and wait for news. I received the documents, and I will arrange the surgery as soon as possible."
Having gained confirmation, Song Zicheng could finally relax a little from the tension and unease he had been feeling all along. The clarity he had maintained through sheer willpower was gradually being worn away. He stood up from the sofa, said thank you, and walked towards the door.
With his back to Lu Zhize, he didn't see the playful, smug, sinister smile on Lu Zhize's face, nor the vicious, venomous gaze that stared at him until Song Zicheng disappeared from sight.
The dosage of sleeping pills in the milk was small, but it still made Lu Zhiyan drowsy until noon. A series of urgent knocks on the door interrupted his sleep. The moment he opened his eyes, his head was throbbing and his whole body was weak and sore. He staggered to his feet to open the door, and as soon as he opened it, Cui Junyu's voice rushed towards him: "President Lu, what's wrong? I've been calling you all morning and you haven't answered."
At this moment, Lu Zhiyan's mind was not fully clear. He shook his head a few times with his hand on his forehead, and then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he quickly ran to the bedroom and opened the safe.
Like a bolt from the blue, Lu Zhiyan froze on the spot, his face filled with disbelief, shock, and anger. He suppressed his discomfort and spoke in a cold tone: "Where is Song Zicheng?"
Standing to the side, bewildered, Cui Junyu replied, "We can't get in touch with them."
"grass"
Lu Zhiyan could no longer suppress his anger. He kicked over the chair next to him, put his hands on his head, and swept all the hair from his forehead back. Suddenly, he laughed in anger. The cold, disappointed smile echoed in the empty, desolate room, startling everyone who heard it.
Just then, an unexpected, crisp ringing of the phone interrupted his smile. When Lu Zhiyan saw the caller's name on the phone screen, the desolation on his face instantly turned into a sinister and angry expression.
From the moment he woke up until now, Song Zicheng's heart had been pounding wildly. Watching the alarm clock on the wall tick by second by second, and seeing his younger brother's increasingly worse complexion, Song Zicheng grew more and more anxious and afraid.
He pinned his hopes on entrusting his younger brother's life to Lu Zhize. More than ten hours had passed since yesterday, and there was still no news. Thinking of what Lu Zhize had said last night, Song Zicheng became even more panicked.
Breaking the heavy anxiety and tension was the unexpected appearance of a stranger. A knock on the door interrupted Song Zicheng's thoughts. He hurriedly stood up from his chair, and the moment the door opened, there was a young man he had never seen before.
"Hello, Mr. Song, my name is Yuan Lang. I am in charge of this surgery as instructed by Mr. Lu. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything."
Looking at Yuan Lang in front of him, Song Zicheng finally felt a little relieved from the unease that had been weighing on his mind. He nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your help."
Yuen Long did not linger. After conveying his message, he turned and left. Sung Tsz-shing closed the door too quickly, so much so that he did not notice that there was someone talking to Yuen Long at the end of the corridor.
This is destined to be a sleepless night.
Despite Song Zicheng silently telling himself to rest, the next day, after Song Zian's surgery, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was his own haggard face. No matter how much he tossed and turned, he still couldn't fall asleep.
A beep from his phone woke him up completely. "Mr. Song, Li Bin and Huber have arrived in Beijing and are resting at their hotel."
"Okay, I understand."
Things were proceeding step by step in an orderly manner, and with each step completed, Song Zicheng's unease lessened.
In the golden autumn of September, perhaps because it had just rained that day, the night air was already a bit chilly. Song Zicheng walked to the window, gently pushed it open, and a gust of cool wind swept in, causing Song Zicheng to sneeze unexpectedly.
The boundless sky was devoid of moon and stars, and the dim, pitch-black night made Song Zicheng's expression even more somber.
It's been a whole day since last night, and Lu Zhiyan hasn't sent a single message. Although Song Zicheng is worried and afraid of Lu Zhiyan's questioning, not knowing how to face him, what scares him even more is that there's absolutely no news right now, which makes him even more uneasy.
The next day, Song Zicheng arrived at the hospital early. Jiang Yuebai and Ling Chu, who were with him, gave him a lot of comfort. When Yuan Lang arrived, he was followed by Li Bin and Huber. After greeting them one by one, Song Zicheng waited patiently and anxiously in front of the operating room.
The surgery, which lasted for more than three hours, finally came to an end when the operating room lights went out. Huber came out looking tired, but his eyes held a hint of joy. He said in broken Chinese, "The surgery was a success."
At this moment, Song Zicheng was finally able to laugh heartily and joyfully. All his worries, fears, and anxieties collapsed at this moment. The thing he had been searching for all these years was finally solved, and he finally saw the dawn of victory.
Everyone present cheered for the good news, and almost everyone's eyes were filled with tears, especially Song Zicheng, who was like a floodgate had been opened, with tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. The matter that had troubled him for thousands of days and nights had finally come to a good end. His tense nerves could finally relax, and his anxious heart could finally settle down.
Everyone was immersed in joy, and no one noticed Lu Zhiyan, who was smiling in the corner. His eyes were fixed on Song Zicheng, and when he saw the unprecedented smile on Song Zicheng's face, Lu Zhiyan's heart began to beat faster involuntarily.
Lu Zhiyan thought it was worth it.
He never put any precautions against Song Zicheng.
He did all of this willingly.
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