Chapter 71
“Borrow…borrow money?”
An Le froze. “How…how much?”
Why would Xiao Xiao suddenly ask him to borrow money? Had something happened?
Xiao Xiao: “Ten thousand yuan. I, I’ll pay you back when I get a job.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll send it to you right now. But did something happen to you?”
An Le put the call on speakerphone, transferring the money to Xiao Xiao while asking, “Tell me, I’ll ask Mr. Lu to help you.”
He certainly didn’t have the ability to solve Xiao Xiao’s problems; the only one he could turn to was Lu Heng.
Although it was incredibly embarrassing to only seek help from others when facing problems, the situation was urgent, so he didn’t care anymore.
Xiao Xiao hesitated, then sniffled, “It’s nothing big. I just quit my job, and I need to find a new one and rent a place, so expenses are a bit high.”
An Le, with his simple mind, didn’t think too deeply about it. Work didn’t hold the same deeply rooted significance for him as it did for others, so he didn’t sense anything amiss about Xiao Xiao’s sudden resignation, only asking questioningly, “Really?”
Xiao Xiao: “Really. When have I ever lied to you?”
“Okay then.”
Xiao Xiao had indeed never lied to him. Worried that Xiao Xiao wouldn’t have enough money, he transferred thirty thousand yuan.
The moment Xiao Xiao received the money, his voice was choked with tears again: “Why did you send so much? If I can’t find a job later, I won’t be able to pay you back.”
“It’s okay.”
An Le secretly glanced at Lu Heng and whispered, “Besides Mr. Lu, everything that’s mine is yours. Don’t be so formal.”
Xiao Xiao laughed: “Why single out the alpha? Even if the alpha gave it to me for free, I wouldn’t want it.”
An Le chuckled, then asked again, “But you really…are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Xiao Xiao fought back tears, “If anything happens, I’ll tell you. You’re busy lately too, and your mother’s matter really needs to be investigated. Once you’ve cleared that up and An Qiang falls, I’ll come find you.”
An Le didn’t feel relieved by these words; he was anxious and asked, “So you won’t come see me lately? Where are you staying? I can go find you.”
“No need, wait a bit.”
Xiao Xiao refused him: “After you’ve solved all your problems, I’ll come find you.”
After saying this, Xiao Xiao hung up.
An Le didn’t even pick up his drawing tablet; he rushed to Lu Heng’s side, his eyes red, saying, “Mr. Lu, Xiao Xiao seems to be in trouble. He quit his job and has no money.”
Although Xiao Xiao seemed cheerful and lively, he was actually very strong-willed. In the past, when they were together and had no money, they ate only steamed buns and pickled vegetables every day, sometimes only one meal a day, spending the rest of the time drinking water.
Even during those difficult times, Xiao Xiao would never ask anyone for a single cent or borrow a single cent.
Now that Xiao Xiao suddenly asked him for money, something must have happened.
Lu Heng: “Mm.”
He had expected this.
Xiao Xiao was good-looking and had a pleasant personality, like a little sun, always bright and cheerful—the type who would attract someone like Gu Qian.
It was only a matter of time before Gu Qian made his move, and this was just the beginning.
An Le sat heavily on Lu Heng’s lap, clutching Lu Heng’s clothes, pouting and asking, “What should we do now?”
What to do?
Lu Heng thought for a long time, finally uttering two words: “Escape.”
No matter where Xiao Xiao went, Gu Qian would harass him. To have peace, there was only one word: escape.
But where could Xiao Xiao escape to?
And what place couldn’t Gu Qian find him?
An Le wanted to call Xiao Xiao again, but Xiao Xiao didn’t answer, only replying with a message telling An Le not to worry, that he would protect himself.
He also sent a thumbs-down emoji.
This was something they had agreed upon to prevent An Qiang from finding out; when things weren’t right, they would send a thumbs-down emoji at the end of the message to tell each other it was really them.
An Le was worried, but since Xiao Xiao didn’t want to tell him, he couldn’t do anything and could only fret.
Lu Heng hugged An Le, gently stroking his back and whispering, “This is between them; you don’t need to get involved.”
“But, but I don’t want Xiao Xiao to have a hard time.”
Just as Xiao Xiao didn’t want him to have a hard time.
He didn’t know if Lu Heng could understand their feelings, but he was worried.
Lu Heng: “Then I’ll have someone check and see what’s been happening to Xiao Xiao lately, okay?”
“Okay.”
An Le looked up and kissed Lu Heng on the face, whispering, “Thank you, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Heng smiled, said nothing, picked up his phone and dialed a number, instructing someone to investigate what Xiao Xiao had been doing recently.
After Lu Heng finished, An Le kissed Lu Heng on the face again.
Lu Heng was aroused, just about to embrace him for a kiss when the person in his arms suddenly ran away.
An Le excitedly ran to get his drawing tablet, his face full of anticipation as he showed it to Lu Heng.
“Mr. Lu, look, this is Mom.”
Lu Heng took the tablet, carefully looking at Zhou Xiao’s portrait, then looked up at An Le and softly said, “You and your mother look very alike, both very beautiful.”
An Le smiled, pursing his lips: “Of course, Mom is the most beautiful.”
Sitting in Lu Heng’s lap, he took out his phone, connected it to the tablet, and sent the picture to Xiao Xiao.
Soon, Xiao Xiao replied: Mom is beautiful.
An Le: Mm.
After that, An Le gave Xiao Xiao a few more instructions, hoping he would stay safe, take care of himself, and regularly report his safety.
Xiao Xiao replied with an OK and didn’t say anything else.
An Le had no choice but to show off the picture to Lu Heng, but he ended up having everything taken away from him and pinned to the desk.
An Le froze, calling out fearfully, “Mr. Lu?”
Lu Heng grabbed An Le’s hand and guided it to his own lower body, whispering, “Le Le, you tease me and then ignore me? No Omega is like you.”
Touching the erection, An Le’s face flushed instantly, stammering, “But, but this is the…office.”
Doing this in the office wasn’t very good, right?
But Lu Heng didn’t care, picking up the remote to lock the door before unbuttoning An Le’s shirt…
—
An Le never imagined this would happen in the office. After it was over, he sat in his workstation, his face red, not daring to say a word or move, afraid that something would leak out.
Lu Heng was extremely satisfied, whistling happily while working in the afternoon.
An Le was completely lost in thought until his phone rang. He took it out and saw a large sum of money had been deposited.
One million, three hundred and seventy-seven thousand yuan.
An Le was stunned: “Why, why so much money?”
Lu Heng didn’t look up, whispering, “Luo Ping’s pair of sapphire earrings were sold.”
“Oh.”
An Le then remembered that it was the money from the earrings.
He smiled, took a screenshot, and transferred ten thousand yuan to Xiao Xiao.
This scared Xiao Xiao into immediately calling him back…
—
Gu Chen looked at the picture on the computer and smiled, “He paints very beautifully.”
An Qiang took a sip of tea and said helplessly, “Le Le does have some talent for painting, but it’s a pity that he wasn’t sent to study during that time.”
It was fortunate that An Le wasn’t sent to study; if An Le had a wide range of knowledge, he wouldn’t be so easy to control.
Even now, An Le was still under their control.
Gu Chen’s gaze remained fixed on Zhou Xiao’s portrait painted by An Le, never leaving it for a moment.
After some time, Gu Chen suddenly said, “I can’t keep up the pretense anymore.”
Pretending to be a good person was tiring, and he didn’t want to maintain his image in An Le’s eyes anymore.
An Qiang suggested, “Why don’t you just tell him directly? With your conditions, he won’t refuse.”
“Not necessarily.”
Gu Chen shook his head: “Didn’t his mother refuse back then?”
He hadn’t expected back then that Zhou Xiao, who seemed gentle and weak, with a good temper, would be so stubborn.
And Zhou Xiao was the only one he had ever fallen for who had escaped, becoming his biggest regret in life.
An Qiang smiled awkwardly: “That was an accident. By the way, Mr. Gu, An Le seems to have noticed that his mother’s death was suspicious and has been secretly investigating. What do you think?”
“Don’t worry.”
Gu Chen: “I’ll stop him.”
With him intervening, Lu Heng wouldn’t find any evidence.
After saying this, Gu Chen looked at An Qiang again and whispered, “As long as you don’t screw up, everything will be fine.”
“Good, good.”
An Qiang nodded with a smile. He couldn’t screw up either. Luo Ping was already locked up at home. If it didn’t work, he would just find an excuse to make Luo Ping…
An Qiang already had a plan.
After the two discussed it, An Qiang went home.
Gu Chen sat alone on the sofa, hugging the computer, his eyes sinisterly fixed on An Le’s painting…
—
An Le didn’t know that his phone was being monitored and happily went home with Lu Heng.
An Qiang hadn’t returned home yet, and he went straight to the study to try the password. He tried all the passwords his mother had asked him to remember when he was a child, and in addition, he tried An Qiang’s birthday, company anniversary, and even his illegitimate son’s birthday, but he still couldn’t open the door.
An Le returned to the room dejectedly: “Mr. Lu.”
Lu Heng had already finished showering and was sitting at the head of the bed looking at his phone. Seeing him come back, he immediately put down his phone and asked, “Still no success?”
An Le nodded: “No.”
Lu Heng reached out and pulled him into his arms: “Have you tried all the passwords you know?”
An Le: “Mm, I’ve tried them all, but it’s no use.”
Lu Heng: “Don’t worry, tomorrow, after An Qiang leaves, we’ll go ask Luo Ping.”
Luo Ping certainly wouldn’t know the password to the secret room either, but she would probably know a little about the clues related to these things.
An Le had no choice; no matter how much effort he put in, he couldn’t open the door, so he could only ask Luo Ping tomorrow.
It was already late, and An Le intended to take a shower and go to sleep.
But just as he reached the bathroom, his phone dinged. It was a message from Gu Chen.
It wasn’t strange for Gu Chen to message him, but what was strange was that it included the portrait of his mother that he had just painted today.
An Le froze, blankly looking up at the bathroom, then turning back to Lu Heng, handing him the phone and asking, “Mr. Lu, why does Gu Chen have this picture?”