DREB CHAPTER 69

The commotion caused by Qi Zhen was anything but small. A group of people, including the staff, rushed over as soon as they heard the sound of the wine bottle shattering on the ground.

Qi Zhen’s face was covered in blood, making him look frighteningly pale. Amid the gasps from the crowd, his eyes were fixed on the figure running off in the distance. He muttered the same words Lu Anling had said when he first met Li Yan, “Good at pretending.”

Liu Kai and the others were stunned by Qi Zhen’s condition. “That kid did this!? He’s got some nerve! Hurry, chase after him! Bring him back!”

“Call an ambulance first! Qi Zhen, quickly…”

Qi Zhen wiped some blood from his face, his vision blurry. After rubbing his eyes a few more times, he raised his hand to stop the bodyguards. “Come back! Don’t chase him! That’s Mr. Lu’s precious treasure. What if you scare him!”

He even managed a smile, turning to Lin Cheng, who had just arrived. “Have you noticed he’s only afraid of Ah Ning?”

Lin Cheng had only met Li Yan a few times, but based on how timid Li Yan acted around Lu Lianning, he never would have guessed that this same person could smash a wine bottle over someone’s head.

Li Yan had been running like a headless chicken for quite a while, gasping for air, not daring to stop. Only when he realized there were no footsteps following him did he finally halt, no longer forcing himself forward.

When he stopped and looked around, he had no idea where he was.

The manor was enormous, and though he was likely still on the grounds, the sky had darkened, and he couldn’t recognize where he had come from.

He thought about asking someone for directions but feared being caught.

Only after the rush of adrenaline faded did a creeping sense of panic set in.

He walked nervously down the unfamiliar road, not knowing how much time had passed as his mind went completely blank.

Suddenly, lights flashed behind him, illuminating the road, and a car honked several times as if afraid he wouldn’t notice. The vehicle approached Li Yan. “Beep beep beep beep, I’m the little driver here to take Li Yan home~” Qi Zhen rolled down the window, singing a newly composed tune.

Li Yan stopped, staring at Qi Zhen’s hastily bandaged head. There were still bloodstains on his clothes that hadn’t been cleaned off, but he was still smiling happily.

Qi Zhen stopped the car and leaned out the window, inviting Li Yan inside. “Get in. If you keep walking, you won’t make it back by morning.” He glanced at Li Yan, who stood there with a tense expression. Qi Zhen’s gaze swept over him, noticing the sweat beading on his forehead and the other half of a broken wine bottle still clenched in his hand.

The jagged edges of the bottle glinted faintly in the light, gripped tightly in his palm.

Qi Zhen’s smile faltered. He added, “Maybe you should toss that first.”

Li Yan hadn’t even realized what he was holding until he followed Qi Zhen’s gaze to his hand. Startled, he let go, and the broken bottle fell to the ground with a clink.

The whole scene felt like something out of a roadside horror movie—a bloodied driver with a bandaged head gently coaxing an ordinary young man to drop his weapon.

Li Yan shook his head, refusing to get into the car, his distrust plain on his face.

Qi Zhen met his gaze. “You won’t find your way back. It’s too late. I don’t even know if the butler’s out looking for you.”

“Look at me. Do I seem like I’m in any shape to do anything to you? My head’s still pounding.”

“Get in the car. I didn’t bring anyone with me to catch you. What are you so afraid of?”

Li Yan looked at him as if Qi Zhen were a kidnapper pretending to be kind.

Li Yan finally said, “You’ve been drinking, and you’re injured. You should wait for a driver.”

Qi Zhen didn’t argue. He got out of the car and waited by the roadside with Li Yan for the driver to arrive.

During the wait, Qi Zhen kept trying to make conversation, but Li Yan thought he was a pervert and deliberately kept his distance.

“So, if you didn’t want to get in the car, why didn’t you run when I drove up earlier?” Qi Zhen asked, tilting his head.

Li Yan thought for a moment before replying, “I was afraid you’d run me over.”

Qi Zhen, convinced by his logic, finally understood why Lu Lianning had been so obsessed with Li Yan all these years.

Li Yan seemed ordinary, easy to control, someone who could be broken without effort. But in reality, he was the kind of person who, even after being knocked to the ground, would get back up and keep walking without bothering to dust himself off. He stuck to his own logic and path.

It was almost impossible to leave a lasting trace on him.

And to someone like Lu Lianning, that kind of resistance was a thorn—a challenge that only made him more determined to succeed.

Qi Zhen and Li Yan sat in the car with a cushion’s distance between them.

The driver, clearly nervous, kept glancing in the rearview mirror at his boss’s head, which had been roughly bandaged. He worried that the wound might start bleeding again.

“It’s already too late.” Li Yan reminded Qi Zhen of his earlier promise, “You said I could blame everything on you, right?”

Qi Zhen responded without hesitation, “Yes, of course. Blame it all on me.”

The driver was speeding but kept the car steady. Li Yan figured he was eager to drop him off and rush Qi Zhen to the hospital.

Li Yan’s eyes drifted again to Qi Zhen’s head, the spot where he had hit. He pressed his lips together, feeling slightly embarrassed, though he reminded himself that Qi Zhen had started it.

But now, Qi Zhen was injured, while nothing had happened to him.

Even though Qi Zhen acted like it was no big deal, as if getting his head smashed with a bottle was the same as a minor cut on his hand, no one else seemed to share that view.

When Li Yan got out of the car, he still felt uneasy. He looked at Qi Zhen and, this time in a softer voice, asked, “Can you not mention what happened today to Lu Lianning?” He emphasized, “Not just about being late.” His eyes lingered on Qi Zhen’s head.

Qi Zhen nodded in understanding. “I’m not the type to snitch.” He smiled at Li Yan again. “Besides, I get the feeling you’ve been putting up with me for a while now.” He touched the bandage wrapped around his head.

Li Yan’s response was to slam the car door shut.

When Li Yan entered the house, the butler and the rest of the staff were in the living room, with the courtyard lights still on.

As soon as the butler saw him, he immediately made a phone call, likely to inform the search party to return.

Li Yan went upstairs, took a shower, changed, and lay down on the bed. Just as he closed his eyes, the butler walked in.

“Are you hurt?” the butler asked.

Li Yan lay there stiffly, eyes wide open, and denied, “No.”

The butler handed him a phone. Without needing to check, Li Yan already knew it was Lu Lianning.

Hearing Lu Lianning’s voice, Li Yan curled up on the bed, gripping the phone as he listened.

It seemed Lu Lianning already knew what had happened. He started scolding Li Yan, who quickly defended himself, saying, “He was the one who insisted on pulling me into the car.”

“But you two actually fought!” Lu Lianning’s tone was harsh, clearly displeased.

Inwardly, Li Yan cursed Qi Zhen a thousand times. That man’s promise was obviously worthless.

“Are you hurt?” Lu Lianning asked after a brief pause.

Frowning, Li Yan tried to explain again, “But he started it.”

Lu Lianning fell silent.

The quiet made Li Yan anxious as if the tension on the other end of the phone was suffocating him.

Finally, Li Yan admitted in a compromising tone, “Fine, he’s the one who got hurt. I hit him on the head with a bottle.”

At that moment, Lu Lianning suddenly took a deep breath, as if all the anger he’d been bottling up since Li Yan’s disappearance had just burst. “I’m asking if you’re hurt, damn it! Was it on purpose!”

Li Yan pursed his lips and replied in a small voice to Lu Lianning, who had somehow become angry again, “No…”

But Lu Lianning, already beyond furious, abruptly hung up the phone.

Li Yan listened in a daze to the busy signal. Less than three seconds later, the phone rang again.

“Give the phone to the butler!”

In a hurry, Li Yan handed the phone to the butler, who had been in the room the whole time. It felt as if he were passing off a ticking time bomb.

The butler listened to the call, nodding as Lu Lianning gave instructions, occasionally responding with, “Mm.”

When the call ended, the butler told Li Yan to get up so he could check for any injuries.

Li Yan stayed under the thin blanket, insisting, “I’m not hurt.”

But the butler stood still, watching him.

Eventually, Li Yan pulled his hand out from under the blanket, revealing a few cuts from the shattered glass.

The butler fetched the first aid kit, applied medicine, and treated Li Yan’s hand.

Afterward, he took out the phone, snapped a few photos of Li Yan’s injuries, and sent them to Lu Lianning right in front of him.