DREB CHAPTER 84

Liu Qing brought Li Yan back to his home, boiled some hot water, and gave him medicine.

He made some congee, but after Li Yan drank a bit under his watchful eye, he threw it all up. Liu Qing didn’t force him to drink more; instead, he gave him the medicine and let him sleep early.

Perhaps because his body truly wasn’t well, Li Yan, who usually struggled to fall asleep, drifted into a deep slumber this time.

Sensing something was off, Liu Qing grew anxious about Li Yan, worried that, if he wasn’t careful, Li Yan might lose the will to live again. He took Li Yan along to reconnect with their old friends.

At first, Li Yan was depressed, but after more than half a month, things began to improve.

He couldn’t stay at Liu Qing’s place forever. After all, Liu Qing was married, and his wife was at home, which wasn’t very convenient.

Liu Qing patted Li Yan’s shoulder and grinned. “You’re back now, and you’re still young. What kind of troubles could be so bad you’d want to give up? Come on, don’t forget to join us tonight; we’ve arranged a card game with Uncle Li and the others!”

He handed Li Yan a small bag of medicine before taking him home. The wiring in Li Yan’s house was old and wouldn’t be fixed until the next day. With no other choice, Liu Qing asked him to stay another night, but Li Yan declined, saying he’d already imposed on him too much.

In the end, Liu Qing brought him a candle and lit it with his lighter.

As he left, he reminded Li Yan, “I’ve filled your thermos with hot water, and that bag of medicine is some supplements your sister-in-law bought for you. She said you look too frail, so don’t forget to take them. You wouldn’t want to waste her kindness.”

Li Yan nodded, offering a faint smile of gratitude.

Gradually, Liu Qing pulled him back into his old life. The first month felt unreal, as if in a dream. But later, he got together with the guys a few times to play cards, drink, grill skewers, and have ramen.

Li Yan once again tasted the familiar flavors from the oldest ramen restaurant in Wujingwan Town.

In those moments, the thought of not wanting to live wasn’t as strong anymore.

That summer, Chen Yu finally graduated and entered the workforce, securing a job in the same city where he went to university.

In Wujingwan Town, it was already rare for someone to make it to university, let alone settle in a big city with a stable job and steady income. Father Chen boasted to everyone, saying the next goal was to find a local Alpha for Xiao Yu in that city.

One day, Li Yan cooked some plain noodles at home and ate half a bowl. After about twenty minutes, he poured himself a glass of water and pulled out the bag of health supplements Liu Qing had brought. Following the label instructions, he took a few pills from each vial.

As he peeled off a corner of the packaging, he noticed there was another layer beneath it. Examining it carefully, he re-sealed it just as neatly.

He took a sip of water and swallowed the pills.

At noon, the Chen family held a large banquet, and this time, Chen Yu had brought many gifts for his father.

He had also bought things for Li Yan, filling his small house halfway with cartons of milk, fruits, and other supplies.

By evening, as the sun had set, Chen Yu stepped out of his house and saw Li Yan squatting in his yard, poking at something with a small stick.

As he got closer, he noticed Li Yan was poking at a worm on one of the cabbage leaves in his garden. A round hole had already been chewed through the leaf.

Chen Yu squatted down next to him, their gazes both fixed on the vegetable patch.

He asked, “I called you to come to lunch earlier—why didn’t you come?”

Li Yan replied, “I didn’t feel like going. My stomach’s been a bit upset. As long as you all had fun, that’s what matters. I heard your uncle and his family came too?”

Chen Yu’s tone grew slightly impatient. “Yeah, they brought a bunch of kids and almost blew the roof off.” Turning to Li Yan, he added, “Didn’t Master Qin Liu say you could go back to work if you wanted? You’ve been sitting at home with nothing to do. You should think about going back, instead of being so…” Chen Yu paused, searching for the right words. “…so unmotivated.”

He glanced at Li Yan, who looked like a gust of wind might knock him over. Chen Yu gritted his teeth. “It’s all that bastard’s fault for putting you through so much.” The more he spoke, the angrier he became. “Is he a pervert!? Did you know that back when I was in school, he even had people following me?” Realizing he was raising his voice, Chen Yu softened his tone, trying to reassure him. “But that’s all in the past now, Xiao Yan-ge. You can’t keep living in the shadow of those days. You have to move on…”

“Don’t speak ill of him!” Li Yan suddenly cut him off.

Chen Yu was stunned, wondering if he had misheard, his face showing doubt. “What did you say?”

Li Yan abruptly stood up, dropping the small stick he had been holding. He repeated, loud and clear, “I said the Chen family’s house was built with his money. Don’t speak badly about him!”

With that, he turned and went straight into the house.

Chen Yu stood there, dumbfounded. After a moment, he finally shouted, “Are you out of your mind! Did he drive you insane with all the torture! Are you seriously defending him now!”

The only response he got was the sound of the door slamming shut.

–

Five years later.

During a break between classes, Lu Zerui whispered something secretive to his friend Wu Xu.

“I’ve found my mother.”

Wu Xu was visibly shocked by this revelation and exclaimed, “Really?!” It was common knowledge that no one had ever seen Lu Zerui’s parents. All they knew was that his dad was a powerful big boss, but his mom was a mystery.

His parents never attended any of the school’s parent-teacher events. Every day after school, a black car would come to pick him up, yet no one had ever seen his parents.

However, Lu Zerui had a fierce reputation. Once, a classmate said that no one cared about him, even claiming that his father didn’t like him and had dumped him on his grandfather. When Lu Zerui heard this, he beat the boy up so badly that the boy cried. Lu Zerui had pinned him down, hitting him repeatedly in the face. It wasn’t until the teacher arrived that he was pulled off.

Since then, no one dared to mess with Lu Zerui.

He was tough and mischievous, and most kids avoided him. Wu Xu was one of the few who still played with him.

At that moment, Lu Zerui pulled a photo out of his pocket and showed it to Wu Xu under the desk.

In the picture, a young man with dark skin sat on the back of an open truck transporting sheep. He held a lamb in his arms and smiled gently, his eyes shining.

However, the young man didn’t quite look like an Omega. Wu Xu, who already knew how to tell genders apart, quickly said, “Are you sure? He doesn’t look like an Omega to me.”

Lu Zerui’s face darkened immediately, and he replied, “But I stole this from my dad’s study. It was hidden deep in a cabinet at the very bottom.”

His dad didn’t seem like the type to randomly keep a stranger’s photo. This must have been someone very important to him.

Lu Zerui insisted, “He’s not a Beta. He’s an Omega.”

It’s hard for young children to admit when they’re wrong, and Wu Xu was no exception. Determined to prove he was right, Wu Xu said, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask the teacher. She taught us, so she definitely knows!”

“Fine, I’ll ask!” Lu Zerui stood up and hurried over to the teacher, who had just walked in. He held up the photo. The teacher reached out to take it, but Lu Zerui didn’t let go, making it clear he only wanted her to look.

“What’s wrong?” the teacher asked, crouching down.

Her eyes fell on the photo in Lu Zerui’s hand, which showed a young man with black hair and a warm smile.

“Is he a Beta or an Omega?” Lu Zerui asked.

The teacher examined the picture carefully. “Judging by his appearance, he’s likely a Beta.”

That afternoon, Lu Zerui was in a bad mood. When he got home from school, he angrily kicked down the building block castle he had built in the living room yesterday.

He had been so proud of it, just the day before.

Lu Anling glanced at him but didn’t intervene. Setting down his cup of tea, he told Lu Zerui, “Your father said he’ll come pick you up tonight.”

“I’m not going back!” Lu Zerui stomped upstairs.

After dinner, Lu Lianning called to say he would come to get him, but Lu Anling replied, “He said he doesn’t want to go back. Let him stay here a few more days. You’re so busy with work—can you even take care of him?”

There was a brief silence on the other end before Lu Lianning finally said, “Alright.”

That night, Lu Zerui was half-lying in bed when the butler entered with a glass of juice.

The butler noticed that Lu Zerui was clutching something in his hand, looking as though he might tear it up.

“Where did you find that?”

Lu Zerui paused, then looked at the butler. “I found it at home.” He spread the photo out on the nightstand, carefully smoothing the creases to make it easier for the butler to see.

“Did my father kick my mother out because of this person?”

The butler answered honestly, “No. He is your mother.”

Lu Zerui’s eyes lit up momentarily but then dimmed again. Remembering what his teacher had said, he suspected the butler was lying.

“But only Omegas can be moms. He’s a Beta.”

In a matter-of-fact tone as if reciting from an encyclopedia, the butler responded, “Because your father is very powerful, even a Beta can be your mom.”

“What kind of powerful?”

The butler explained, “It’s like when you were the one who knocked your classmate to the ground, made his nose bleed, and kept punching him, but in the end, his parents still came to your house to apologize. That kind of powerful.”

Lu Zerui quickly understood this unusual kind of power. He nodded and announced an important decision, “I’m going to find him.”

Then he pointed to the signpost in the picture. “What does this say?”

The butler answered, “Wujingwan Town.”