Chapter 23
Lu Heng didn’t speak; his expression changed from unpleasant to indifferent, frightening An Le, who didn’t know what to do and could only tremble where he stood.
Actually, An Le knew he didn’t love Lu Heng and wasn’t dependent on him. Even with his physical defects, even after being marked, he could still live alone. When no one remembered him, he could find a job, save some money, and eventually erase the mark and cure himself. Even if it was a distant hope, even if it was just a dream, he could still pursue it slowly. But the prerequisite for him doing all this was not spending these few days with Lu Heng. The gentleness and kindness Lu Heng had shown him these days were too lethal. Even knowing it wasn’t entirely genuine, he still couldn’t bear to lose it.
“Mr. Lu…” An Le softly pleaded beside him, but Lu Heng pulled him over and put his arm around his shoulders.
An Le was startled but immediately realized that Lu Heng was pulling him and holding him; he probably wasn’t angry anymore. At the same time, he saw a “person” walking towards them. “Le Le.”
An Le looked up curiously and saw someone… whose face was heavily bandaged, only their eyes, nose, and mouth visible. He couldn’t tell who it was, only that it was a male alpha. The alpha’s exposed skin was bruised and swollen, and his eyes were fierce.
He shrank into Lu Heng’s embrace, afraid to look at the alpha, burying his face in Lu Heng’s chest and softly asking, “Mr. Lu, wh-who is he?” Why did he know his name and call him Le Le? And those eyes looking at him, filled with blatant desire and strange hatred—disgusting and terrifying. If Lu Heng hadn’t been holding him, he would have immediately hidden behind him.
Jiang Mo, seeing that An Le didn’t recognize him, was furious, wanting to beat Lu Heng up. Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat Lu Heng himself, nor Li Jie, who was carrying a pile of shopping bags behind Lu Heng, let alone Lu Heng’s background and power. Even his father had to bow and scrape before Lu Heng.
Jiang Mo’s gaze locked onto An Le, not uttering a word.
Jiang’s father stepped forward, smiling and bowing slightly. “Hello, Mr. Lu. I’m Jiang Chao, Jiang Mo’s father, from Jiang Corporation.”
Jiang Mo! Hearing that name, An Le immediately knew who the heavily bandaged person was—Jiang Mo! He turned in surprise, and sure enough, saw the same blatant gaze as before. He turned his head away, refusing to look at Jiang Mo. But that disgusting gaze lingered on him, making him feel uneasy even without looking.
Suddenly, he heard Li Jie’s casual voice. “Still looking? Wasn’t breaking your nose enough? Look again, and I’ll gouge out your eyeballs!”
Jiang Mo, initially angry, was immediately frightened and looked away. Jiang’s father’s expression wasn’t good either, but he didn’t say anything, still extending his hand, smiling, and waiting for Lu Heng to shake it.
With the disgusting gaze gone, An Le breathed a sigh of relief. He secretly looked towards Li Jie, who gave him a thumbs-up. An Le smiled, tears still in his eyes.
Human kindness is truly a good thing. It can lead people back from the wrong path, give hope in times of despair, and simply cheer someone up.
But An Le hadn’t smiled for two seconds before Lu Heng straightened his shoulders. “Stand up straight. What does this slouching look like?”
An Le quickly stopped smiling and stood straight, continuing to hide in Lu Heng’s embrace.
Lu Heng didn’t intend to shake hands with Jiang’s father, who had been extending his hand for a while. He continued to hold An Le tightly, his voice cold. “Sorry, Mr. Jiang, you’re blocking the way.”
Jiang’s father’s smile froze. “Mr. Lu, Jiang Mo caused you trouble this time. We’re here to apologize. Could you possibly… be lenient…”
“Lenient?” Lu Heng sneered. “Those who commit crimes must accept punishment. That’s the law of the land. Moreover, he’s committed crimes more than once, yet only received punishment once. Mr. Jiang, don’t act like a victim after taking advantage of the situation.”
Jiang’s father broke into a cold sweat, his hand awkwardly retracting. “Mr. Lu, what you’re saying… they’re still young. Children’s fights aren’t serious; we…”
Lu Heng didn’t want to listen to his rambling and raised his hand to interrupt him. “Let’s not talk about his previous harassment of An Le. But now An Le is my omega, and we’ll be getting married soon. I won’t allow anyone or anything to affect him.”
Hearing that Lu Heng was marrying An Le, Jiang’s father and Jiang Mo’s faces changed simultaneously. Lu Heng was definitely not going to let them off! But Jiang Mo was young. Even if he didn’t inherit the Jiang family, he needed a bright future. And their family had just barely established themselves in City A; how could they move their entire family and never be able to enter City A’s market again?
Jiang’s father was unwilling and wanted to plead again. “I know we were wrong, Mr. Lu. Whatever compensation you need, we…”
“If I said someone was hugging and cuddling Mrs. Jiang in public, even tearing off her inhibitor patch, could you calmly discuss compensation, Mr. Jiang?”
Jiang’s father froze, speechless. No alpha could tolerate someone behaving improperly towards their omega, and Jiang’s father was no exception.
Lu Heng didn’t want to say anything more. With a glance, Li Jie immediately stepped forward to pull away Jiang’s father and Jiang Mo, saying as he pulled, “Excuse me, excuse me, my boss needs to go home!”
Entering the elevator, An Le secretly glanced at Jiang Mo and his father outside. Jiang’s father looked desperate, Jiang Mo furious to the point of trembling. They were saying something, but An Le couldn’t hear.
An Le was frightened by this incident. For a long time, he couldn’t recover, secretly wondering what was wrong with the Jiang family and why they were looking for Lu Heng. Had Lu Heng done something?
“I didn’t ask them to apologize to you.” Lu Heng’s sudden voice pulled An Le back to reality, but he didn’t quite understand what he meant.
Whether in the past or now, he often stayed home alone, rarely interacting with others. He didn’t know what a sincere apology looked like, but he also knew that Jiang Mo hadn’t apologized to him. Jiang’s father had said he was coming to apologize, but he hadn’t said sorry to An Le from beginning to end. They didn’t care about An Le; they only cared about Lu Heng’s opinion.
An Le didn’t understand, only looking up at Lu Heng with confusion.
Lu Heng suppressed the urge to pinch An Le’s cheek and said coldly, “Those who do wrong must pay the price. Apologies are useless, and you don’t need his apology.” Fairness and justice mean nothing in the face of absolute power. An Le had his comfort, not needing Jiang Mo’s hypocritical apology.
However, Lu Heng was worried that his strong actions made An Le uncomfortable, feeling wronged. But unexpectedly, An Le’s eyes widened slightly, and he didn’t say anything for a long time.
The elevator doors opened. Lu Heng held An Le and stepped out of the elevator. Thinking An Le didn’t understand his meaning, he forced himself to patiently explain as they walked, “An apology isn’t necessarily sincere remorse, but it’s definitely asking for your forgiveness. If he apologized, would you forgive him?”
An Le shook his head, his tone unusually firm. “No.” He would absolutely never forgive Jiang Mo.
Lu Heng asked, “Then do you hate him?”