Part 4
Shen Yunqian: “Three.”
Fu Lan gave a light scoff. “You think this can threaten me? Do I look like a soft-hearted person?”
“Two.” Shen Yunqian tightened his grip on the handle.
The smile on Fu Lanâs lips froze. As if certain, or perhaps to comfort herself, she said, “…You wouldn’t dare. You can’t go through with it.”
But Shen Yunqian immediately showed her whether he dared.
Si Jinyan closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling. He clearly felt a moment of pain in his neck. He shouted, “Shen Yunqian!”
“One.” Shen Yunqian raised his arm.
“Wait.” Fu Lan narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”
Shen Yunqian: “I already told you.”
“Release the tiger back to the mountain? What a joke. Only one of you can leave. How about I give you two choices?”
Fu Lan tilted her chin forward slightly, her tone playful. “Do you want him to leave, or do you want your brother’s life?”
She reached out, and the third bodyguard, exceptionally perceptive, handed her a gun.
“My patience is limited. Youâd better choose quickly.”
Fu Lan looked down and toyed with the heavy black gun. As if thinking about what to have for lunch, she said casually, “I told you long ago I don’t have that kind of kindness. If I truly cared about him, why would I leave him behind when he was so young and fake my death?”
Si Jinyanâs eyes instantly turned red. His lips moved slightly. “What did you say…?”
Fu Lan spoke lightheartedly, as if narrating an insignificant past event. She asked Shen Yunqian.
“You must have seen the basement in the Shen family’s back garden. It used to be where the gardener kept old junk. For a while, I lied to little Yan, saying the flowers needed to be watered every night and talked to so they would bloom more brilliantly. Only if the flowers bloomed well would Mrs. Shen let little Qian and little Ji play with him. Little Yan didn’t have many people who were kind to him growing up, and he finally had two friends he liked. To protect that friendship, he believed me.”
“But do you know why he hated you so much later?”
At this point, Fu Lan turned to ask something unrelated: “Remember that glass of milk before bed?”
Shen Yunqianâs memory was instantly pulled back to his childhood. At that time, Song Lan was still the Shen familyâs nanny. Every night, she would make two glasses of milk for him and his brother.
Shen Yunqian hated the taste of milk. To avoid making his mother angry, his glass always ended up in Shen Yunjiâs stomach.
During that period, Shen Yunjiâs temper was always bad, like a highly flammable human bomb. The doctorâs diagnosis was practically saying Shen Yunji had intermittent explosive disorder. Later, he was sent abroad to recuperate for several years before he slowly recovered.
“You added something to the milk.” Shen Yunqianâs breath hitched. He spoke with certainty.
Fu Lan didn’t deny it, which was as good as a confession.
“Who are you?! How could you know… who exactly are you…!”
Si Jinyan could no longer care that his life was in another’s hands. Forgetting the knife at his neck, he tried to rush forward and question Fu Lan.
Shen Yunqian didn’t dare truly withdraw the knife, nor could he let the man slit his own throat.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, he could only manage a steady grip on the otherâs arm and deal a heavy blow.
“She is your mother. Understand? Your mother isn’t deadâare you satisfied?”
Si Jinyan couldn’t accept it for a moment, repeatedly denying it: “She isn’t! She isn’t! My mother is long deadâshe isn’t her!”
“You’re anxious when I don’t tell you, but you’re unhappy when I do.” Lu Xunye threw caution to the wind. “And you.”
“What’s so impressive about having a broken gun?”
He brushed aside the gun before him, glared at the first bodyguard, and walked straight toward Fu Lan.
“You went through all this trouble to trap us hereâyou don’t just want to confess your crimes and then mock us, do you?”
“Itâs not that I look down on you, but youâve kidnapped and deceived me so many times. Youâve had plenty of chances to kill me. If you wanted me dead, Iâd be dead by now. Iâm truly curiousâwhat do I have thatâs worth using?”
Lu Xunye intentionally tried to disgust her. “You keep mentioning the pastâdo you want me to write a book for you? Thereâs no need; my schedule is quite full.”
“If you have something to say, spit it out. No one wants to play house with you. And you keep saying ‘my mother, my mother’âdid you wrong her? You keep her name in your mouth every dayâdid you do something to betray her?”
“Shut up.” Fu Lan finally showed some anger.
Lu Xunye was relentless: “Are you shamed into anger?”
Bang!
The gunshot exploded in his ear, the bullet grazing the side of his neck.
Lu Xunye shrunk his neck slightly, then stuck it back out, half-panting and half-mocking: “How did you wrong Jiang Qingran? Did you hounded her to death or steal her family?”
As if seeing through Lu Xunyeâs tactics, Fu Lan gave a sneer. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Don’t you want to know how your good companion chooses? Don’t you want to know whether you carry more weight in his heart, or if Shen Yunji is more important to him?”
“I don’t.”
Lu Xunye blurted out his denial.
“To put two living lives on a scale and force someone to chooseâno decent human would ask such a tasteless question. Furthermore! You have no idea where Shen Yunji is.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Xunye saw the woman press her hand against her stomach. Her face turned pale, and even her exquisite makeup couldn’t fully conceal her state.
Seeing Fu Lanâs brow furrow and the veins pop at her temples, Lu Xunye lowered his voice. “In truth, you don’t actually dare to kill us, because you feel guilty. Am I right?”
Another bang! rang out.
“Lu Xunye!”
This time, it pierced flesh.
At first, Lu Xunye only felt his leg go weak. By the time the pain surged back, it was intensifying, causing his body to buckle into a half-kneeling position. The intense pain in his leg immediately numbed half his body, and cold sweat soaked his sideburns.
It felt as though someone had shouted his name, but his mind was blank, unable to think.
He panted lightly, hand over the wound. Crimson blood flowed between his fingers, and cold sweat dripped from his brow, falling drop by drop onto the grey concrete floor.
Biting his trembling lip, Lu Xunye looked up stubbornly. Sweat ran into his eyes, blurring his vision. The stinging pain nearly forced out biological tears.
He squinted and silently mouthed: “I was right.”
As the words fell, Lu Xunye felt something cold pressed against his forehead. He knew it all too well, especially since he was currently suffering because of it.
Fu Lanâs teeth ached with hatred. “Then you can see for yourself whether I truly dare to kill you.”
Lu Xunye grabbed the barrel of the gun and let go of his bitten, bleeding lower lip. He looked up with no sign of fear. “Go ahead.”
Shen Yunqian shouted frantically, “The one you want to kill is me! The Shen family member you resent is also me! Let the innocent person goâcome at me!”
Any trace of maternal affection was gone. Fu Lanâs gaze was indifferent. “Is this the attitude you take when begging for mercy?”
“What can I use to bet that youâll keep your word?” Shen Yunqianâs hand holding the knife trembled.
“You have no choice.” Fu Lan curled her lips. “The next shot won’t be as simple as the leg.”
Lu Xunye roared hoarsely, “Don’t! She cares about Si Jinyanâif you let him go, you won’t be able to leave either. She won’t keep her word!”
Fu Lan said nothing, watching Shen Yunqianâs hesitant expression with a smile.
“…” Shen Yunqian paused for two seconds, then threw the knife forward. Simultaneously, his left hand shoved Si Jinyan.
Si Jinyan was pushed away. He stumbled forward two steps before being caught by the second bodyguard.
Si Jinyan reflexively threw off the manâs hand. “Get away from me.”
Fu Lan, as if discovering something new, mockingly poked Lu Xunyeâs head with the gun. “I didn’t expect our little Lu to be so likable.”
“Can you let him go now? Iâll swap places with him. The one you want to deal with is me, isn’t it?” Shen Yunqian raised both hands, walked past the second bodyguard, and headed toward Fu Lan.
From beginning to end, the second bodyguardâs gun remained aimed at Shen Yunqian.
The sound of approaching footsteps behind him trod on Lu Xunyeâs heart, stretching out his perception of time. It felt like an agonizing eternity.
Recommended Reads
