DREB CHAPTER 102

Since Li Yan’s return, he often felt that time passed too quickly, leaving him with a surreal sense of disbelief.

The weather that day was chilly and overcast, and on such days, he would feel aches in his back. The damp chill seemed to seep into his bones.

On days like this, he preferred not to go out but enjoyed the warmth while watering the flowers in the greenhouse.

In the living room, Lu Lianning was flipping through a stack of documents, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

The television was playing the day’s news when suddenly, surveillance footage appeared on the screen. It was a report about a car accident involving an elderly man. However, it wasn’t a simple accident.

The elderly man had attempted a scam by pretending to be hit, but it backfired, and he was struck and killed on the spot.

The footage showed the elderly man intentionally falling in front of the car. The driver rolled down the window, and the two exchanged heated words, their emotions visibly intense. The driver then reversed, stepped on the gas, and drove straight into the man, sending him flying several meters away.

Lu Lianning’s eyes abruptly froze, and even the butler paused his actions and softly said, “This seems to be…”

During those years, Lu Lianning often worried about Li Yan and would arrange for someone to follow him and take pictures. The old beggar frequently appeared in those photos.

The incident had now become a hot topic online, with many people who had experienced similar scams expressing outrage, saying things like, “He deserved it.”

Others believed the driver had gone too far, arguing that no matter the situation, he shouldn’t have killed the man. Some speculated that the driver must have been under the influence; otherwise, why would he be so reckless as to hit someone like that in the middle of the street?

Lu Lianning switched the channel without a change in expression, intending to tell the butler to pay extra attention to the TV in the coming days.

However, just as he turned his head, he saw Li Yan coming down from the second floor, his eyes red and fixed on the television. His fingertips gripped the handrail so tightly they turned pale.

Lu Lianning immediately stood up, but Li Yan turned and ran back upstairs.

Li Yan scrolled through the news on his phone, piecing together the details of the incident. He learned that the driver was a wealthy young man, sparking significant controversy. It was revealed that the driver was Qi Hua from the Qi family.

When an agitated Li Yan asked Lu Lianning how the case would turn out, Lu Lianning lowered his gaze and replied, “The driver is Qi Zhen’s cousin.”

“Qi Zhen implied that, for the sake of his aunt…” Lu Lianning’s words were cut short when Li Yan interrupted him.

Li Yan said, “Enough!”

Exhaling sharply, Li Yan instinctively pushed Lu Lianning away. “You… just go… I want to be alone for a while…”

Lu Lianning remained silent for a moment, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

The next day, a stranger came to the house. Introducing himself as a lawyer, he arrived when Lu Lianning wasn’t home, so it was Li Yan who met him.

The lawyer explained that he was there to see Li Yan, informing him that Mr. Yue had left a will and bequeathed his inheritance to him.

The lawyer handed over the documents, but Li Yan’s hands trembled, causing him to drop them. Papers scattered across the floor.

That evening, when Lu Lianning returned home, he found the butler quietly tidying up the table, which still held a few empty bottles of liquor.

“Did he drink?” Lu Lianning asked, his tone tinged with complexity.

The butler recounted the lawyer’s visit earlier that afternoon.

Caught off guard, Lu Lianning asked, “How much did he leave?”

“A hundred thousand,” the butler replied.

It seemed to represent all the savings accumulated over a lifetime.

Had he ever imagined, during those moments spent sitting on the curb with Li Yan, that the price of a single piece of clothing Li Yan wore could surpass his entire life’s savings?

“Where is he?” Lu Lianning asked.

“He had a bit to drink, said he felt dizzy, and went upstairs to rest,” the butler replied.

It was definitely too early for rest.

When Lu Lianning went upstairs, he deliberately softened his steps, not wanting to disturb Li Yan. What he didn’t expect was to find the room empty—there was no sign of Li Yan on the bed!

Rubbing his brow, his pace quickened as he headed back downstairs. The butler, who had just finished tidying the table, suddenly said, “A fruit knife is missing from the cutlery on the table.”

It was undeniably a cold, bleak day.

Li Yan’s hands and feet were numb, his whole body seemingly void of feeling as he stepped forward with a vacant stare.

The address sent by Qi Zhen flashed on his phone screen as he moved against the biting wind.

At that moment, he didn’t know Qi Zhen had sent the same address to Lu Lianning.

In less than fifteen minutes, Lu Lianning found him. Agitated, he grabbed Li Yan’s shoulders and gripped them tightly, demanding, “What are you trying to do!?”

“It’s freezing outside, and you came out dressed so thinly!”

Before he had yelled, Li Yan had felt fine. But the moment he did, Li Yan’s blank eyes seemed to regain focus, and a chill began to seep into him.

“I… I don’t know what I’m trying to do,” Li Yan said, his voice hoarse.

The sky was already darkening.

Tears welled in his eyes, streaming down as he stared at Lu Lianning.

Lu Lianning couldn’t bear the look in his eyes, nor could he stand seeing Li Yan cry.

He pulled Li Yan’s cold body into his arms, speaking in a tone that was both frustrated and defeated, as if conceding. “Fine! Go ahead. As long as you don’t kill him, no matter how you stab him, I’ll take care of it.” Holding Li Yan tightly, he whispered into his ear, “I’ll handle it for you, Li Yan.”

“Don’t cry.”

As Lu Lianning finished speaking, the fruit knife slipped from Li Yan’s sleeve, hitting the ground with a crisp clatter.

Only then did Li Yan break down in Lu Lianning’s arms. This time, it wasn’t just silent tears but real, audible sobs that filled the air.

From the car parked nearby, Qi Zhen’s expression changed slightly when he saw the knife fall from Li Yan’s sleeve.

He tilted his head, a hint of curiosity crossing his face, wondering if the way Li Yan felt that night years ago—when he devised the three-million-yuan plan—was the same as what he felt today when he grabbed the knife and headed toward Qi Hua.

He couldn’t understand why someone like Li Yan existed.

To Qi Zhen, Li Yan had evolved from “a greedy and foolish man” to “a somewhat clever person,” then to “an ordinary person,” and finally to “an ordinary person who wasn’t quite ordinary.” Even in his youth, Li Yan had an innate recklessness, like a wild animal unfamiliar with the rules of the city—lacking aggression but instinctively protective of himself.

Logically, after all the suffering and pain he endured, he should have changed. Yet, even in his thirties, he remained naive and impulsive.

Qi Zhen attributed this to how well Lu Lianning had taken care of him over the years.

In subsequent business dealings with the Qi family, Lu Lianning made some concessions, on the condition that Qi Zhen would no longer interfere in his cousin’s affairs.

Qi Zhen agreed.

He also requested to keep the knife that Li Yan had held that day, claiming he had heard that gripping it could give someone the courage to embrace destruction and the bravery to pursue true love.

At that, Lu Lianning shot him a disdainful look and called him a lunatic.

In the end, Qi Hua was sentenced through normal legal proceedings.

Li Yan watched the news on TV at home.

With the hundred thousand yuan left by Lao Yue, Li Yan bought a burial plot for him in City A.

More than three months later, Li Yan unexpectedly ran into Lin Sheng on a street where Lao Yue used to linger.

Their eyes met, and it was Li Yan who greeted him first, politely but somewhat stiffly.

Lin Sheng had probably already heard of Li Yan’s return. He seemed to have moved past his initial anger at Li Yan’s unwillingness to fight back. Now, he faced Li Yan with a calm demeanor.

They walked side by side for a while, and Li Yan felt a bit awkward.

After a stretch of wordless walking, just before they were about to part ways, Lin Sheng couldn’t hold back and asked, “Why?”

He seemed genuinely puzzled, unable to understand why Li Yan would forgive someone like Lu Lianning, given all the heinous things he had done.

Li Yan was taken aback by the question, but the truth was, he had no answer. Lin Sheng wouldn’t understand him either.

After offering a vague and evasive response, Lin Sheng eventually let it go.

Finally, as he looked at Li Yan’s uncertain expression, Lin Sheng said irritably, “Let’s go out for a meal next time. I remember you still owe me one.”

Li Yan’s expression shifted into an embarrassed smile.

He nodded and replied, “Alright.”

That night, Li Yan lay in bed, wrapped in Lu Lianning’s embrace. Under the dim glow of the nightlight, the two were pressed closely together.

Lu Lianning could now sleep soundly in the light.

Li Yan’s gaze rested on Lu Lianning’s face for a moment before he turned slightly, laying his head against Lu Lianning’s chest and closing his eyes.

Li Yan couldn’t truly answer Lin Sheng’s question because Lin Sheng couldn’t see what Li Yan had gained from Lu Lianning. Lin Sheng already had those things, so all he saw was Li Yan’s continual loss.

Lin Sheng, who had dropped out of school and returned to the country after a disagreement with his partner over differing views, could never understand why he could easily break ties with his mentor after one argument and never look back, while Li Yan, after enduring so much pain, could still return to Lu Lianning’s side.

To Lin Sheng, it seemed unworthy of Li Yan. Just as to Qi Zhen, it seemed unworthy of Lu Lianning.

But only Li Yan knew what he had gained.

Li Yan’s life had reached a point where his family was gone, and suffering had stripped him of everything. With Lu Lianning, he had finally gained the right to be an ordinary person.

He could cry, express pain, harbor resentment, and feel wronged.

He no longer had to run so fast that he couldn’t feel the pain before bracing for the next bout of suffering.

It turned out that Li Yan could cry, and his tears could be useful.

Lu Lianning would always yield to his tears, challenging the survival logic that Li Yan had clung to his whole life.

In the past, life had left Li Yan wading aimlessly through a dark river alone.

He never knew when a stone might trip him. There was no way to predict it, no way to avoid it. He would stumble and fall, the water closing over his head until he could barely breathe.

Only by fighting desperately, staying on tiptoe, could he catch a single breath.

He had been running endlessly, trying to escape.

But then Lu Lianning said, “I’ll handle it for you, Li Yan.”

So Li Yan stopped running and looked around.

The dark, muddy river that had wound through his life since his youth had transformed.

Only when he looked up did he see—the sky was clear.

From then on, the dark river flowed ever bright.

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Translator’s note:

Happy Lunar New Year! 🎆

This is the last extra! Thank you for reading ❤️