Chapter 90 The So-called Choice
"I admit it?"
Huo Shizhen sneered, feeling completely bored by these people's insistence on dragging him down with their own selfish motives, without any substantial evidence. He didn't even have the desire to stay any longer.
"Yuan Zhiren was murdered in your own place, and your first reaction wasn't to find evidence or the truth, but to rely on your personal feelings to find someone to take the blame. I don't think there's any need to elect a family head. While there are so many people here tonight, why not just declare bankruptcy? If you really don't even have the confidence to find the real culprit—"
"That only proves that everyone is useless. No matter who inherits the position of head of the family, it will only accelerate the demise of the Yuan family. It's just that the time of demise will be different."
After saying this, he exhausted his last bit of patience and turned away.
But before leaving, he looked at Lin Guantang again.
The palm under the wide windbreaker was slightly raised. The others were too far away and were shocked by Huo Shizhen's ruthless words. They had no intention of noticing this small move. However, Lin Guantang, who was standing in front of him, saw it very clearly.
He looked up and met the glance that Huo Shizhen gave him when he turned around, and he also fully understood Huo Shizhen's intention to take him away with him.
But this is not a private corner, nor a joyful and noisy moment, but after offending everyone in public.
Whether or not to follow him under pressure depends on Lin Guantang's own choice.
Should he stay in the bright hall and stand with others to denounce Huo Shizhen's tyranny, or choose to walk into the dark night with him?
Under the gazes of countless people with different expressions, Lin Guantang took a small step towards Huo Shizhen, and then Huo Shizhen raised his arms completely towards him.
"Leave."
He said so.
Lin Guantang reached out and held the hand he extended, and then was held tightly in his palm and pulled to his side.
Under the gaze of everyone, he was pulled through the passage hastily made way by the crowd, and walked out of the hall with big strides without looking at anyone else.
He finally chose to step into the eternal night with the devil.
Several people from the Yuan family believed that this was a collaboration between Lin Guantang and Huo Shizhen, but to the guests who were unaware of the inside story, it was more like an evil demon seducing a good angel and dragging him into the night.
After the two of them completely left the banquet hall, the hall became noisy again.
Besides worrying about Yuan Zhiren and being terrified about Huo Shizhen, there was a third voice that lamented how a kind-hearted young man like Lin Guantang could fall into the hands of Huo Shizhen, the devil.
She even suspected that she was forced to submit by Huo Shizhen, and she had already imagined a bully robbing a good man from a good family, but Lin Guantang could not hear it.
Countless noisy voices were isolated by the towering walls, just like the dazzling lights were only lit in the hall. Leaving the warm and bright hall, one was greeted by the cold wind and snow and the icy night.
Leaving the hall, walking down the stairs, crossing the courtyard, and heading towards the corridor where there was no one and no lights, only the cold wind.
Lin Guantang suddenly stopped, and Huo Shizhen felt the fingers he was holding were pulled back. He also stopped and turned around to look at him.
"You knew it a long time ago. From the very beginning, everything was a trap set by you."
Lin Guantang raised his eyes to look at him, with a cold expression, and said word by word:
"From the day Yuan Zhiyi came to visit, from the night you acquiesced to the system letting her through the gate, you had already planned to use her. You also knew that others were trying to persuade you through me, or even earlier, from the moment you didn't refuse but also didn't explicitly promise Yuan Zhiren that you would support him. You knew that Yuan Zhiren would be killed."
Because I already know the result, I don’t care about trusting myself. It is destined to be just an empty dream.
Huo Shizhen looked at his face, which was becoming increasingly white as it was blown by the biting cold wind. He raised the corner of his mouth and confessed everything without a care in the world:
"Of course I knew Yuan Zhiren would get into trouble, but there's no fun in plotting against the rest of the Yuan family. I just wanted you to receive a little gift, so I went along with it. Didn't I tell you about this a long time ago? Who knows if someone could offer a better deal than Yuan Zhiyi? Let's see."
Lin Guantang's eyes widened, and all the clues were connected together in an instant, leading to a conclusion that he had just thought of but did not want to admit.
Among the five children of the Yuan family, excluding the youngest Yuan Zhixin who has not yet been involved in the interest disputes, Yuan Zhiren, who is currently the most likely to inherit the position of head of the family, is the bait, and the three in the middle are the fish to be caught. The purpose is to let them bite each other and finally give all the benefits to Lin Guantang, the "only flaw that can be broken through."
When all of them made a promise, it was time to close the net, but instead of choosing one among the three, they would use Yuan Zhiren's life to take down everyone in one fell swoop.
Lin Guantang couldn't help but wonder, if it weren't for himself, could Yuan Zhiren have avoided today's disaster.
"It has nothing to do with you."
Huo Shizhen saw that he wanted to put the blame on himself for an innocent crime. Although he found it a little ridiculous, he still had the patience to try to comfort him. However, his tone was cold, without any warmth at all:
"His murder today was an inevitable result."
Lin Guantang looked at him:
"But since you knew he would be killed, if it weren't for me, you could have——"
"There's no such possibility."
Huo Shizhen interrupted him directly:
"I have no interest in anything related to the Yuan family, including warning him that he would be murdered."
In front of Lin Guantang's speechless eyes, Huo Shizhen showed an even colder smile:
"Perhaps, you have some misunderstanding about me. It's not too late to turn back now."
So Lin Guantang finally understood what the other purpose of everything Huo Shizhen did today was - that was to make him confirm whether he really wanted to fall in love with a devil in human shell.
And what choice will he make after seeing Huo Shizhen's true face.
I am angry because Huo Shizhen knew that the person was going to die but remained indifferent and did nothing to save him;
I am still moved by the fact that Huo Shizhen disregarded his cousin's life in order to get the greatest benefit for him.
Choose a kind and just heart, or choose an infinitely partial love.
The cold wind whistled past, and the long silver-white hair and the black hair were flying in the wind. The red-brown eyeballs were reflected in the ice-blue pupils, revealing an eternal silence.
In the silent and deserted corridor, Lin Guantang caught a glimpse of the devil's true face so clearly for the first time.
Huo Shizhen is not only an omnipotent senior who satisfies all his needs and desires, but also a devil who will do anything to achieve his goals, and even human life is just a part of his plan.
If you want to accept his love, it also means you will have to accept his evil.
After witnessing his extremely evil nature with your own eyes, do you still dare, still want, and still be willing to have his love?
The ice-blue eyes, set against the reddish-brown pupils, also conveyed a radiance that refused to sink into the darkness:
"I also didn't agree to a deal with them. I won't go to them to ask for something that doesn't belong to me, let alone a reward for an innocent life."
That seemed to mean that he chose to reject Huo Shizhen altogether.
As Huo Shizhen's gaze grew colder and colder, one that couldn't tell whether it was one of loss or disappointment, Lin Guantang took a deep breath and slowly said the second half of his sentence:
"But I can't ignore the slander against you when I know it has nothing to do with you. Even though you may not care, I do and I want the truth to come out."
Huo Shizhen stared at him for a long time, as if looking through his beautiful body into a purer and more transparent heart.
“It’s a redundant option.”
“It’s my choice.”
Lin Guantang said:
"You can consider me part of your plan, but I will also make my own choices. Whether to cooperate with you or reject you is up to me. To put it another way, I've decided to accept your completely rational side. What about you? Are you ready to accept my emotional side?"
"Or... let's wait until everything concerning the Yuan family is settled and the truth is revealed, and then we can talk about this when we return to the imperial capital."
He could not deny his feelings, nor did he want to hide his emotions. He was shocked by everything Huo Shizhen had planned for him, and was also distressed by Huo Shizhen's cruel calculations of interests.
It's not that he doesn't have any dissatisfaction or any entanglement, but that doesn't mean he has to say anything against his will, nor does he want to miss out on anything by hiding his feelings.
He knew very well that this might be the only chance for Huo Shizhen to express his feelings to him, and if he missed it, there would be no next time.
Huo Shizhen is well aware of his own bad nature, and is also very clear about Lin Guantang's sense of justice. He also knows how many conflicts will arise when two people with completely different values are together.
Instead of rushing into the realm of love when you are emotionally excited, and ending up in endless quarrels due to differences in concepts or discovering the unknown side of the other person, which ultimately ends in a miserable state, it is better to be honest about your evil side before everything begins.
If Lin Guantang can accept it, then we can go one step further;
If Lin Guantang can't accept it, then take a step back.
It was an extremely simple choice, and Lin Guantang chose the latter without any hesitation.
Since he knew where his feelings were leaning, even if he was conflicted and hesitant, he would not choose to hide or escape at this time and let the only chance slip away.
It doesn't matter that Huo Shizhen is a ruthless monster. He just happens to have abundant emotions, so how can we not be complementary in some way?
But he still didn't know whether Huo Shizhen would be tired of his emotionality.
So next, it was Huo Shizhen's turn to think about what choice he would make.
He calculates everything to maximize benefits and remains indifferent to any personnel matters outside of his mission. Can he accept that Lin Guantang will act on his emotions at times, devote his energy and even do thankless tasks for some seemingly unnecessary feelings and favors?
In the silent eye contact, Huo Shizhen extended his hand to Lin Guantang again, with his palm facing up, as an invitation.
After Lin Guantang placed her fingers in the palm of his hand, he leaned over and lowered his head, leaving a cold kiss on the back of Lin Guantang's hand.
"I have already made all preparations. No matter when you make the final decision, I will be waiting."
I am always waiting to welcome you into my cool embrace.
Light and heat may burn the souls of dark creatures, but they will not make them stay away. Instead, they will attract dark creatures more. Just like moths to a flame, they will be eternally entangled with the light and finally die in the glory. This is their ultimate fate.
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