DREB CHAPTER 71

Lu Lianning couldn’t quite understand why Qi Zhen would say something like, “he’s not worth it.”

It was as if he had sacrificed so much for Li Yan, only to be let down in the end.

He hated Li Yan, and Li Yan hated him in return.

A scheming Li Yan hating a ruthless Lu Lianning—there was no question about it.

How could something like that even involve the question of whether it was “worth it”?

When you hate someone and go to great lengths to torment them, you certainly don’t stop to consider if it’s worth it.

On a weekend night, Lu Lianning was planning to take Li Yan out. Li Yan wasn’t particularly eager to go with him, mainly because the last time Lu Lianning had taken him to a banquet, he was left with some rather unpleasant memories.

But Lu Lianning never cared about what Li Yan wanted.

The dinner itself was strange enough, but perhaps because Lu Lianning had arranged it, no one dared refuse, so they all showed up.

Sitting to Lu Lianning’s left was Song Ruan, to his right was Li Yan, across from him was Gu Chen, and diagonally across was Qi Zhen, who had just removed his bandages. Also present were Zheng Zhi and Lin Cheng.

Probably no one, except Lu Lianning himself, knew why they had all been gathered for this meal.

At the table, only Qi Zhen made a few nonsensical remarks and exchanged banter with Zheng Zhi. Song Ruan looked dejected from the start. He occasionally glanced at Lu Lianning, but he didn’t spare him a single look.

Gu Chen hadn’t seen either Lu Lianning or Li Yan in a long time. He looked at Li Yan, having heard bits and pieces about what had transpired between him and Lu Lianning. But things had escalated to a level even he hadn’t anticipated.

Unlike Qi Zhen, Zheng Zhi, and Lin Cheng—who had only come to know Li Yan after Lu Lianning had brought him around—Gu Chen had been the one to introduce Li Yan to Lu Lianning in the first place. He had witnessed how they interacted at the beginning.

So seeing Li Yan like this now left him deeply shocked.

He couldn’t fathom what Lu Lianning had done or what methods he had used to leave Li Yan frozen in time, stuck five or six years in the past.

Li Yan looked like he hadn’t changed at all.

But no one should remain the same after five years with no trace of time’s passage.

In contrast, Lu Lianning had changed drastically. Perhaps due to his dominant position in recent years, his aura had sharpened. His expression remained inscrutable, not allowing anyone to glimpse his true emotions.

But soon, Gu Chen realized something was off.

He saw Li Yan, still with that timid look, leaning toward Lu Lianning to say something. Lu Lianning’s face remained expressionless, though his brows furrowed slightly as he responded. Gu Chen couldn’t hear what they were saying; they were too close, speaking too softly.

But it probably wasn’t anything pleasant, because after Lu Lianning answered, Li Yan seemed even more embarrassed.

Gu Chen watched as Lu Lianning reached out with his chopsticks and took the top piece of rib from Li Yan’s bowl. Only then did Li Yan lower his head and continue eating.

Was it that he couldn’t finish it? Or didn’t want to?

Gu Chen was slightly surprised, rethinking his earlier assumption. Li Yan wasn’t exactly the same as before. The rough, reckless demeanor he once had was gone. And if Gu Chen wasn’t mistaken, it seemed like Lu Lianning had just been taking care of him.

Song Ruan finally exploded when Lu Lianning placed a piece of fish on Li Yan’s plate.

“Mr. Lu, you’re really quite thoughtful. That plate looks like it can barely hold any more…” Song Ruan remarked, his eyes fierce yet tinged with redness.

Before Lu Lianning could respond, Qi Zhen’s eyes lit up with interest, while the others remained silent, waiting to see how Lu Lianning would handle this private matter.

But before anyone else could react, Li Yan spoke up. He quickly straightened his posture and explained to Song Ruan, “It’s not like that… He just wanted me to remove the fish bones for him, not to give it to me to eat.”

As he spoke, he meticulously removed the bones from the fish and placed it back on Lu Lianning’s plate.

He was still quick at deboning fish.

Yet, it had been years since Li Yan had served food to him, let alone picked out bones.

Lu Lianning stared at the perfectly cleaned fish on his plate for a moment before shifting his gaze back to Li Yan’s face. Li Yan, avoiding eye contact, looked away.

After a brief silence, Lu Lianning let out a sneer, then picked up the fish and ate it.

The entire meal felt perplexing. Aside from Qi Zhen’s ramblings, no one really tried to liven up the atmosphere.

Yet somehow, this seemed to satisfy Lu Lianning. Other than that cryptic laugh, he hadn’t shown any sign of displeasure all evening.

When Song Ruan left, he looked devastated. He had thought that Lu Lianning inviting him to dinner meant there was still a chance for them. Instead, it seemed Lu Lianning used the dinner to make him realize the harsh reality.

Li Yan, more anxious than Lu Lianning, looked like he wanted to comfort Song Ruan, but Lu Lianning pulled him back into the car.

“Enough is enough, Li Yan,” Lu Lianning said in a calm voice, looking at him. “Do you know all your little thoughts are written all over your face? You think if I marry Song Ruan, you’ll be free?”

“Keep dreaming,” Lu Lianning added.

On Monday morning, around 9 AM, a time when Lu Lianning normally wouldn’t be home, he was there.

When Zheng Zhi arrived, Lu Lianning was still in his loungewear. He opened the door to his bedroom and let Zheng Zhi in.

As Zheng Zhi stepped inside, he wrinkled his nose. The room was heavy with the scent of Alpha pheromones, mingling with other, more suggestive smells.

There was no need to ask; it was clear what had just transpired in the bedroom.

And Lu Lianning made no effort to hide it.

Li Yan lay on the bed with his eyes closed, utterly exhausted and sound asleep. Despite the daylight outside, the curtains were drawn tight, with only a small nightlight turned on.

His neck was marked with several bite marks and hickeys.

Zheng Zhi opened the case he brought, broke open a vial, and drew its contents into a syringe.

Turning to Lu Lianning, he asked, “Where should I inject it?”

Lu Lianning, seated at the bedside, lifted the thin blanket and gently placed Li Yan’s calf on his lap. Rolling up the sleep pants to expose the ankle, he gestured for Zheng Zhi to come over.

Zheng Zhi sensed that something wasn’t right. “Just like this? Aren’t you worried he’ll wake up?”

Lu Lianning replied, “I gave him some medicine.”

Zheng Zhi frowned in disapproval, finding it hard to believe. Normally, Lu Lianning was decisive and straightforward, even a bit reckless at times. But now, he seemed oddly self-deceptive, unwilling to face the situation with Li Yan head-on.

“You think you can keep this pregnancy a secret forever?” Zheng Zhi asked, unable to comprehend.

Lu Lianning clearly didn’t want to discuss it. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Zheng Zhi frowned again. “It’s too dim. I can’t see the vein properly.”

With no other choice, Lu Lianning called for the butler to bring another lamp. When Zheng Zhi inserted the needle, Li Yan let out a low groan but, fortunately, didn’t wake.

Once the injection was complete, all three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Still disapproving of Lu Lianning’s approach, Zheng Zhi asked, “What if it bruises by tomorrow?” He had always known that getting Li Yan to agree to have a child with Lu Lianning would be difficult. But instead of trying to work through it, Lu Lianning had simply ignored the issue, hoping he could bypass it entirely.

Zheng Zhi’s persistent probing into the complications irritated Lu Lianning.

But needing his help, Lu Lianning just put on a stern expression, refraining from any harsh words.

After a moment of silence, his demeanor returned to normal. He removed the cotton ball from Li Yan’s injection site and said, “He’ll just think I pinched him.”