Part 2
“Of course I haven’t!” Shen Yunqian rarely showed such anger toward him.
“But have you thought about the consequences? If there was even a single slip-up, you would be the one getting burned!”
“Isn’t the reason we worked so hard to bring the truth to light?”
“No matter what sentence he finally received, it would be what he deserved, handled by the law! Tell me, what is this now? His life wasn’t worth you getting your hands dirty!”
“Fine, I was just being meddlesome and made things worse, alright?”
“I should have let Shen Qizhao eat you alive back then, so you wouldn’t be standing here biting the hand that feeds you!”
Both were clearly thinking of the other, but the words they spoke were sharp as blades, wounding each other.
Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Lu Xunye pressed his hand against Su Zhuo, separating them. “Hey, hey, hey! What are you all doing? Is there anything you can’t talk out? Iām warning you, don’t you dare start a fight.”
Su Zhuo turned his focus directly on him. “You think you’re safe now?”
Lu Xunye and Shen Yunqian exchanged a look, then looked back at Su Zhuo. “What do you mean?”
Su Zhuo: “The person you offended is planning to take revenge on you.”
Lu Xunye was skeptical. “Where did you get your news? Who did I offend now?”
“See for yourself.” Su Zhuo pulled something from his jacket and tossed it to him.
With his lower body unstable, Lu Xunye stumbled forward but managed to catch the object. He recognized it instantly. “Why do you have my phone?”
“Picked it up,” Su Zhuo said concisely.
Lu Xunye gave him a glance but didn’t press further.
The signal bar on the phone was lit, and the battery was at two bars. He hesitated for a second before clicking on the 99+ unread messages.
[Feng Chengyu: Your little uncle ran away. The Lu family is looking for him. His father broke his leg because of you, and he lost the fat prize that was the Wen family. He might come looking for revenge. Be careful.]
[Feng Chengyu: ?]
[Feng Chengyu: You there? Where are you?]
[Feng Chengyu: Answer me. Where are you? Brother Lu!]
[Feng Chengyu: There was an earthquake. Are you okay? Where are you?]
…
Looking at the dozens of messages, Lu Xunye felt a warmth in his heart. He swiped to the last one: [Watch out for Lu Yan!]
He typed a reply. [I’m fine. I’ll be careful.]
The moment he sent it, the nickname froze and immediately changed to “Typing…”
[Feng Chengyu: Where are you? I’ll come find you.]
[Lu Xunye: No need. Don’t worry, I’m really fine.]
[Feng Chengyu: That old man’s tricks are incredibly dirty, especially when he’s desperate. Send me your location, fast!]
Lu Xunye couldn’t refuse, so he sent the location and added: [Don’t come. We’re leaving soon.]
The moment he pressed send, the phone ran out of battery and shut down. He didn’t know if it had gone through.
“Youā” His first instinct was to borrow a phone from Su Zhuo, but then he realized he didn’t remember Feng Chengyuās number, so he kept quiet.
Lu Xunye suppressed the growing, inexplicable unease in his heart. He tucked the phone away and asked Su Zhuo, “Was the road clear when you came? Was the earthquake’s impact big outside?”
As he spoke, he suddenly felt a tightness in his scalp, as if he were being watched. He whipped his head around, seeing a dark piece of clothing flash past the corner of the wall.
Su Zhuo was startled by his sudden movement. “What are you doing?”
Lu Xunye made a shushing gesture. Su Zhuo tactfully stopped asking and stared in the same direction, growing alert.
He watched Lu Xunye take a step, a look of unspeakable regret appearing in the otherās eyes. Then the other man spoke: “Itās probably nothing.”
“…” Su Zhuo let out an angry laugh. “Are you kidding me?”
Shen Yunqian: “Heās not kidding. Someone was there.”
Su Zhuo, refusing to believe it, pushed past the two of them and strode toward the corner of the short buildingās foundation. He stuck his head around, but the passage was empty.
Lu Xunye patted Shen Yunqianās shoulder, wrapping his arm around him and winking.
Shen Yunqian understood the unspoken hint almost immediately. He helplessly grabbed the hand draped over him, letting the other lean on him for support.
“Are you sure you didn’t just missee things?” Su Zhuo asked, turning back. “With so many bodyguards here, even if someone wanted to harm you, they wouldn’t be able toā”
“…”
Seeing the two of them clinging to each other again so soon after being separated, Su Zhuo couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Lu Xunye couldn’t explain it to him. He let go of Shen Yunqian and stood on his own. “Please. If there was someone, theyāve already run off.”
The weather, which was nearing late autumn, made the wind feel like a weapon, yet Lu Xunye was drenched in a fine sweat despite not wearing much.
Su Zhuo: “Are you hot?”
“Uh… a little.”
Lu Xunye felt it too. He brushed his hand against his forehead as a cover, and as expected, his hand came away wet.
While they were bickering, Shen Yunqian walked forward and picked up a shiny silver object from the base of the wall.
The item was only the size of a coin. In the middle of an auspicious pattern, four small figures were crudely engraved holding handsāa design so simple a kindergartner could have made it.
It was a simple pattern, yet Shen Yunqianās calm face froze the moment he saw it.
Lu Xunye, who was about to call him to leave, was left behind. He turned around only to see a figure bolt away like an arrow.
?
“What did you find?” Su Zhuo chased after him.
“Shen Yunji.“
Su Zhuoās heart tightened, thinking heād misheard. Until he saw Shen Yunqian open his hand to reveal the silver pendant necklace. His expression froze as he grabbed the pendant to study it closely.
“Isn’t this…?”
It was the first drawing Shen Yunqian had ever made when he was two. Later, Shen Yunji had used the pattern to make a “Peace Lock” for Shen Yunqian on his first day of school. After being teased by other kids for it being ugly, Shen Yunqian had refused to wear it. Ever since, the lock had been in Shen Yunjiās hands.
It truly was him…
Thinking of something, Su Zhuo suddenly let out a laugh. “No wonder.”
Lu Xunye took the water bottle from the other man, tilted his head back, and swallowed the medicine.
“Try not to move around for the next month. Don’t let it get wet for a week. The stitches can come out in two weeks.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
“If you aren’t coming with us, how are you getting back? Your new friend here seems to have come on foot.”
The doctor reapplied the medicine, bandaged him, and then thoughtfully pulled his pant leg down.
“I know this is a lot of information to process at once, but your father truly wants to make amends. You can slowly try to be less repulsed by him.”
“It has nothing to do with him. My friend is coming to find me. Iām afraid if he arrives and can’t find me, heāll be worried.”
The man only gave a slight smile at Lu Xunyeās words, though it was unclear if he believed him.
“Then Iāll leave these car keys for you and your friends. The silver-grey car is 300 meters to the southeast. The Master is also injured, and the collapse here is quite severe, so vehicles can’t get in. We need to take him and leave first.”
Lu Xunye could tell from the manās expression that he didn’t believe him. Indeed, the truth sounded like a clumsy excuse, but he didn’t bother explaining further.
However, hearing that Si Zheng was injured, he silently gripped the cold car keys in his hand.
Using the tone one would use for a child throwing a tantrum at their parents, the man repeated Lu Xunyeās words as a question: “Are you sure you aren’t coming with us?”
“Yes.”
The doctor patted Lu Xunyeās shoulder as he stood up, but ultimately said nothing.
Lu Xunye watched the otherās figure grow smaller in the distance, then turned his gaze to the other side.
In the distance, Si Zheng was standing up with his hand on Secretary Zhouās shoulder. Those who weren’t injured supported the wounded, including the people brought by Fu Lan.
He stared in a daze, calling out “System” softly. As expected, the excited voice that usually announced its presence didn’t ring out.
It probably wouldn’t appear again.
Thinking this, he asked himself, “Don’t you think this place is quite nice?”
As the painkillers began to take effect, Lu Xunye felt more clear-headed than ever.
He moved his leg twice and jumped up from the stone tile. “Iāve decided!”
ā¦
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