DREB CHAPTER 81

Qi Zhen’s face was covered in bruises, the area around his left cheekbone swollen and purple. The other person must have hit him hard; even after nearly a week, the marks were still visible.

He lit a cigarette at the end of the hospital hallway, leaning against the windowsill by an open window. Beside him stood Lu Lianning, his face tense and showing signs of deep fatigue.

Qi Zhen took a drag from his cigarette, exhaled, and turned to Lu Lianning. “What are you so nervous about?”

After a moment of silence, Lu Lianning finally replied, “When Li Yan was over seven months pregnant, he tried to slit his wrists.”

Surprise flashed across Qi Zhen’s face, making the wound on his lip pull painfully, and he winced.

“That’s unexpected. Seems he really resisted having your child. So now you’re scared he’ll try to kill himself again?” Qi Zhen nodded toward Li Yan’s hospital room door, which was guarded by men Lu Lianning had stationed there. “You’ve got him under close watch.”

Observing Lu Lianning’s expression, Qi Zhen composed himself. He stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the trash.

“It doesn’t matter if he wants to die. Just train him until he doesn’t dare. I still have some of that 0937 drug. Consider it an apology—this time, it’s free.” Qi Zhen looked like he was helping his brother solve a simple problem. He lowered his voice, making a suggestion that would surely tempt Lu Lianning. “If he doesn’t behave, lock him up and teach him until he does. It’s not like you haven’t done it before.”

“Qi Zhen!” Emotions flared on Lu Lianning’s face, but his eyes held no trace of gratitude or kindness—only a clear warning.

Qi Zhen suddenly felt the conversation was tiresome. He frowned, puzzled by Lu Lianning’s reaction.

“Ah Ning, what kind of person do you think Li Yan is! Do you honestly believe he’s some ordinary guy? Look at what he’s done—borrowing from loan sharks, changing his name, running off with his dead wife’s brother, trying to crawl into your bed, and when he couldn’t get money from you, he had the guts to take a job for three million!”

“He’s no different from Chen Yu—someone who will do anything to survive!”

Qi Zhen’s gaze locked onto Lu Lianning’s face. “Do you know what it means when someone like him doesn’t want to live anymore?”

Lu Lianning exhaled deeply. “I know… but I can’t… I really can’t lock him up again.” He knew he had messed things up. He hadn’t expected that having a child would push him and Li Yan to this dead end.

Or rather, it wasn’t just about having a child—it was the fact that he had fathered the child. If it had been Chen Yaxin who was pregnant, if it had been their child, would Li Yan still refuse even to look?

Lu Lianning could imagine that if Chen Yaxin were still alive, Li Yan would have tenderly touched his wife’s pregnant belly, smiling with warmth and anticipation.

What a pity.

What a pity that Chen Yaxin died, and that Li Yan ended up meeting him.

Seeing Lu Lianning’s expression, Qi Zhen burst into laughter. “Ah Ning, you should really take a look at yourself in the mirror right now.” He leaned in closer. “Is this the face you show to Li Yan? Do you realize that someone like him will tear you apart the moment he senses you’re afraid of his death?”

With brutal honesty, Qi Zhen laid it out. “Ah Ning, if he keeps trying to die—once, twice, three times—if he succeeds, he’ll be free. If he fails, he’ll keep pushing. So, do you think he’ll die first, or will you finally break and decide to let him go?”

Lu Lianning knew what Qi Zhen wanted him to do, but… but…

Lu Lianning muttered unconsciously, “But he just gave birth. His body… I can’t do it…”

“If you can’t, then let him go!” Qi Zhen’s face revealed a trace of pity as he looked at Lu Lianning’s disoriented and defeated expression.

To Qi Zhen, the Lu Lianning he now saw in front of Li Yan was like a wolf with its claws and fangs removed, no longer even capable of biting like a dog.

Qi Zhen and Lu Lianning weren’t just childhood friends; they were business partners with interests involved. Qi Zhen believed he understood Lu Lianning well and that they had a close bond. Yet, this closeness had repeatedly been tested because of someone named Li Yan.

Naturally, Qi Zhen became curious about Li Yan and had gone over his file more than once.

To be honest, Li Yan didn’t seem like someone too difficult to handle.

If Lu Lianning hadn’t been so set on hating him back then and had spent the last five years showing Li Yan even a little kindness, this “clever but ordinary Beta” wouldn’t have been so hard to win over.

In that case, they might actually have found happiness together as a family.

And Qi Zhen, who had quietly harbored feelings for Lu Lianning for a long time, would have been left behind as a lonely scoundrel.

Qi Zhen didn’t want to see that.

Lu Lianning was supposed to be a content and lonely scoundrel with him. But now, after acting like a scoundrel with Li Yan, Lu Lianning no longer wanted to be alone. He wanted happiness. He wanted a family.

Now, he was neither fully a person nor fully a scoundrel anymore.

When Qi Zhen returned from the hospital and pulled up to his house, he noticed someone standing under the streetlight.

The figure was small, and his first thought was that it was the Omega who had been pestering him lately. He’d blocked that Omega’s number; how could he have found his house?

Surely, he wouldn’t be that bold.

But as the figure noticed a car pulling in and looked up, a pair of familiar watery eyes met his—it was Song Ruan.

Qi Zhen rolled down his window. “What’s up, Young Master Song?”

Upon seeing Qi Zhen, Song Ruan hurried over to the car, leaning against the window. “Did you give my letter to Mr. Lu?”

Tsk, still calling him Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu was too busy having a baby with a lover who didn’t even love him. Even if Qi Zhen had given him the letter—which he hadn’t—Lu Lianning wouldn’t have spared it a glance.

With a straight face, Qi Zhen dismissed him. “Yeah, yeah.”

Seeing Qi Zhen’s expression, Song Ruan’s lips turned downward. “You’re lying to me, aren’t you!”

Qi Zhen had no patience for the conversation. He was already irritated by Lu Lianning’s decision to act soft-hearted in front of Li Yan.

He was ready to drive straight in, but Song Ruan, oblivious to his expression, seemed completely unaware of how dangerous it was for an Omega to wait outside an Alpha’s home at night to confront him.

Clinging tightly to the car window, as if to muster his courage, Song Ruan shouted louder, “Why are you lying to me! You didn’t give him the letter, did you?”

“Why hasn’t he written back to me… Ah…” Just as Qi Zhen was midway through a turn, Song Ruan stumbled and fell.

Qi Zhen heard a brief cry, followed by the soft sobbing outside his window.

Song Ruan’s fair skin had a natural, baby-like pinkness, and now, with just a few tears, his cheeks flushed deeper. He bit his lip, trying stubbornly to hold back his crying. He had been waiting since mid-afternoon, standing alone in the cold wind. After finally seeing Qi Zhen, he wanted to confront him, only to be treated like he didn’t exist.

Qi Zhen sat in the car, his eyelids lowered, watching Song Ruan sit on the ground crying like a spoiled child. He couldn’t understand how Lao Song had raised such a baby.

He stared at Song Ruan’s face that was red from crying, his hands clenched tightly around his clothes, with tears clinging to his long eyelashes.

If nothing else, his face looked quite appealing like this.

Qi Zhen raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued. After all, when something falls into your lap, it’d be rude not to take it.

He opened the car door and walked over to Song Ruan.

Song Ruan looked up at him, wiping away his tears as he said with a vicious voice, “I’ll never believe you again! Give me my letter back!”

He sounded so fierce.

Qi Zhen couldn’t help but chuckle in surprise. He reached down to pull Song Ruan up, speaking softly, “The ground’s cold. Why don’t you come cry inside?”