MMLDU Chapter 84

The interview from that day planted a seed, which finally grew and bloomed in the following days, leading to a constant stream of negative news about Pei Lang.

Pei Ziqing, watching as Pei Lang gradually cleared his name, felt twisted inside. So, he brought up old scandals and tried to put the past back into the public eye. It couldn’t be that because of his current change, everyone would forget what Pei Lang was like before. It wouldn’t be that easy for him to wash away his past.

While Pei Lang and Yan Han were out for a walk to digest, Su Jia called.

When they learned about the negative news, they opened their phones to see the situation had quickly worsened on the internet. The comments were filled with arguments. The goodwill Pei Lang had built with the public was rapidly being destroyed. The mastermind behind this was obvious. Pei Lang rubbed his temples, frustrated. How could this still be happening even now? Wasn’t marrying Yan Xiuyuan his ultimate goal?

“I will handle this as soon as possible,” Yan Han reassured him.

Yan Han didn’t remove the trending topic but allowed it to continue escalating. The situation worsened, and more people started cursing Pei Lang. Meanwhile, Pei Ziqing, sitting at home, watched these insults with amusement.

Suddenly, the door to the house was violently kicked open. Yan Xiuyuan stormed in, slapping Pei Ziqing hard. “Look at the mess you’ve caused!”

Most of the negative news about Pei Lang was tied to Yan Xiuyuan and Pei Ziqing, which made it seem like their relationship was unbreakable and that Pei Lang was merely a homewrecker, a villain who seduced his brother-in-law.

It was all their plan from the start, rooted in Yan Xiuyuan’s dislike for Pei Lang. Now, as he loved Pei Lang but couldn’t have him and as he saw Pei Ziqing was no longer the innocent, kind person he once seemed, how could he bear to watch Pei Lang being slandered and insulted like this?

After the slap, Pei Ziqing was stunned for a long while, then let out a cold laugh.

He had always been dark-hearted and deeply hated Pei Lang. Skilled in disguise and manipulation, he had easily made others dislike Pei Lang. Now that things had reached this point, everyone knew the truth and he didn’t need to pretend anymore. After all, Yan Xiuyuan would never change his mind.

“So? You feel sorry for him? Don’t forget you were involved in all of this too. Isn’t it a bit ridiculous for you to care about him now?” Pei Ziqing’s words were like a knife, deeply piercing Yan Xiuyuan’s heart.

“Yan Han isn’t someone you can mess with. What you’re doing will only provoke him. If you’re determined to ruin yourself, don’t drag me into it,” Yan Xiuyuan said as he roughly threw Pei Ziqing to the ground.

He had leverage over Yan Han because he had obediently married to avoid jail time. If Pei Ziqing pushed him too far, they would both be in deep trouble. His Uncle, with his dark and scheming nature, could do anything.

“Admit it, you just like Pei Lang now. Does he need your pity? How many people has he been secretly flirting with behind your back? How could it possibly be your turn?” Pei Ziqing hated Yan Xiuyuan’s cowardice in his late-blooming feelings for Pei Lang. Since they were no longer pretending, Pei Ziqing didn’t hold back—his every word hit the mark, infuriating Yan Xiuyuan to the point of wanting to strangle him.

Sure enough, as soon as the words were out, Yan Xiuyuan violently stormed up and gripped his neck. “Shut up! Don’t say another word! I don’t want to hear it!”

Pei Ziqing struggled in pain, fear mixed with sarcasm. “You can’t dare… to hear it, hehe~ That’s because you… also think that deep down… umm…”

Yan Xiuyuan tightened his grip. Pei Ziqing felt death closing in. Just when he thought he might die, Yan Xiuyuan’s phone rang. The person on the other end said something. After a moment, Yan Xiuyuan let go of him, straightened his clothes, and hurriedly left without looking back.

Pei Ziqing, saved from death, sat up from the ground, hiding the mocking smile and suddenly filling his eyes with tears of frustration and bitterness.

He realized, unknowingly, that he had lost everything—what he once had was now slipping farther and farther away. No jobs, no one to love him, and even his fake marriage had shattered. How had it all come to this? According to the plan, he was supposed to grow old with Yan Xiuyuan while Pei Lang continued his life as a useless burden that everyone despised.

How did it end up like this? Was he destined to lose to Pei Lang in this lifetime?

Pei Ziqing’s heart tightened. The more he thought, the more painful and unbearable it became. He certainly knew he couldn’t provoke Yan Han, but there was no turning back for him anymore. The incident would eventually be traced back to him. Instead of waiting in silence, it was better to start a fire.

But just as his fire was about to burn Pei Lang, someone intervened.

The scandal involving Pei Lang had been carefully orchestrated by Pei Ziqing and Yan Xiuyuan. As long as there was a plan, they knew how to find the tiniest clues. Yan Han had already investigated and collected solid evidence, including recordings on Pei Lang’s phone. Once this evidence came to light, the situation would flip drastically.

Pei Ziqing and Yan Xiuyuan instantly became the targets of public outrage.

They had ridden on the wave of online public opinion, stepping on Pei Lang to market a fake love story, using netizens as pawns, which stirred up anger and dissatisfaction.

Pei Lang’s show of arrogance was meant to provoke him on purpose.

His seduction of his brother-in-law was instigated and guided by someone behind the scenes.

The indecent yellow images were maliciously photoshopped and spread as rumors.

The voice recordings that were released actually made it sound like Yan Xiuyuan was the one obsessing over Pei Lang.

With the help of paid internet trolls and premeditated schemes, all of these incidents were used to pin Pei Ziqing to the cross, subjecting him to public wrath and judgment. Pei Lang was transformed from the aggressor into the victim. After being misunderstood and misrepresented for so long, netizens, while angrily cursing Pei Ziqing, couldn’t help but feel sorry for Pei Lang’s ordeal.

Especially after learning that Pei Lang nearly died on set due to someone switching the props and that the mastermind behind it all was Pei Ziqing. The true nature of the devil was finally revealed.

In truth, Pei Lang didn’t know about most of this. If Yan Han hadn’t investigated and uncovered the truth, those dirty rumors would have likely stayed with him forever.

Pei Ziqing was lambasted online for hours. Upon seeing the comments, he became mentally unstable, screaming and crying like a madman. Eventually, the police arrived to take him away.

Yan Xiuyuan had no time to deal with him. His own company was in crisis. His father was desperately trying to help him fix things. He had no spare time to help Pei Ziqing.

Pei Ziqing was taken for investigation and Pei Lang was fully cleared of any wrongdoing. The matter continued to gain attention for several days.

Recently, Pei Lang wasn’t feeling very well emotionally. Yan Han could see that he was troubled. “Do you think I went too far?”

After all, they were blood relatives. Yan Han assumed that Pei Lang was worried about Pei Ziqing’s situation.

“No, you did great. Thank you for standing by me,” Pei Lang smiled, expressing his gratitude. He then focused his attention on Yan Han’s legs, poking them gently and observing his reaction. “Have your legs felt different these past few days?”

“No, they’re getting stronger,” Yan Han replied, not understanding why Pei Lang was asking.

“If there’s anything unusual, make sure to tell me right away, I…” Pei Lang was afraid he was worrying too much, unsure of how to explain if Yan Han asked. “The weather’s been turning colder lately. You’ve been busy running around for me. I’m just worried your legs might hurt.”

“I’m not tired, don’t worry,” Yan Han reassured him.

Pei Lang was concerned that if something happened to Pei Ziqing, the system might revoke Yan Han’s ability to stand on his own legs since this was something Pei Ziqing and Yan Xiuyuan’s marriage had brought about.

This world existed because of Pei Ziqing and Yan Xiuyuan. If the main storyline deviated, the world would collapse, and both he and Yan Han would cease to exist. They had just fallen in love, after all.

But could he really let it go?

Pei Ziqing’s actions would definitely be punished according to the laws of this world. With Yan Han stepping in, Pei Ziqing would likely end up spending the rest of his life in prison. Asking for leniency for Pei Ziqing… Pei Lang couldn’t do it. He couldn’t say it out loud either—it would make Yan Han suspicious.

Moreover, Pei Ziqing’s actions were indeed deserving of punishment.

It had been several days, and Yan Han’s legs hadn’t shown any abnormalities. Pei Lang couldn’t help but pray that maybe the system had disappeared and the world could develop freely without worrying about deviating from the plot.

Pei Lang couldn’t find the system and could only guess anxiously. A few days later, Pei Ziqing’s sentence came down—life imprisonment.

Yan Han worked quickly. Even before his older brother had started trying to protect anyone, the judgment was already made because of the solid evidence Yan Han provided.

This made Yan Tong very angry. He didn’t like his daughter-in-law much, but Yan Han was too ruthless in his actions. After all, they were family. Pei Ziqing’s actions were dragging the Yan family’s reputation and his dignity as the older brother through the mud.

That day, Old Master Yan called Yan Han, asking him to return to the old house. Yan Han agreed.

Pei Lang sat next to him, listening. After Yan Han hung up the phone, Pei Lang leaned over and asked, “Your brother and the others will be there tonight, right?”

Pei Lang could already guess that the reason they were going back to the old house was because of Pei Ziqing. Yan Han nodded heavily, weary, and pulled Pei Lang into his embrace. This was the only way he could find comfort and drive away the exhaustion.

“I’ll go with you. If they bully you, I’ll help you fight back, especially Yan Xiuyuan. He deserves to be scolded,” Pei Lang said angrily, hugging Yan Han back.

The cloud in Yan Han’s heart dissipated, the frost in his eyes melted, and he smiled as he kissed the top of Pei Lang’s head. “If one day I lay a hand on Yan Xiuyuan, will you think I’m too heartless?”

“Of course not. Yan Xiuyuan deserves it. If you do anything to him, it’s because he did something wrong first. Don’t worry, husband, I’ll always believe in you. No one knows you better than I do.” Without that golden finger, Pei Lang might not have answered so firmly.

He had once directly peered into Yan Han’s heart. His husband was a man with a strong exterior but a childish and slightly arrogant inner self. Raised in such a family, he could never truly be himself. His cold, indifferent attitude was merely a form of protection, which was why there was such a gap between his outer demeanor and inner self.

Pei Lang always knew just the right words to comfort Yan Han. Yan Han held him tighter, unwilling to let go of such a wonderful wife.

Time passed quickly. It was soon time to go to the old house, with Su Jia taking them there.

Yan Han sat in a wheelchair and Pei Lang pushed him into the old house. The moment they arrived, the atmosphere was strange and oppressive.

“Father,” Pei Lang greeted.

“Father,” Yan Han echoed.

They both greeted the elder at the same time, ignoring Yan Tong’s unfriendly gaze. Pei Lang’s eyes flicked to Yan Xiuyuan, whose gaze was glued to him, making him uncomfortable. It wasn’t until Yan Han shot him a look that Yan Xiuyuan hurriedly lowered his head.

“Since we’re here, I won’t beat around the bush. Ziqing made a mistake, but after all, he’s still family. How can you do this to me, your older brother?” Yan Tong questioned, his tone filled with anger. The matter had caused a stir at the company. Whispers about the Yan family’s scandal of having a murderer spread everywhere.

How could he not be angry?

“Big brother also said he made a mistake. Mistakes come with punishment,” Yan Han didn’t back down, holding Pei Lang’s hand in a show of defiance.

Pei Lang held Yan Han’s cold hand in return, openly displaying their affection.

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