Chapter 51: The Harbinger of Doom Approaches

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“Sister Lan, you’re still up?”

Remembering the confrontation that afternoon, Yang Rui’s voice carried a hint of distance.

“Come in and sit for a while. I happen to have something to ask you about.”

The darkness concealed the impatience on Yang Rui’s face, and Yan Lan did not notice.

Yang Rui took two steps back and craned his neck to look into the brightly lit living room. Pulling a long face, he said, “If I go in now, won’t your husband tear me limb from limb?”

“You little brat! What nonsense are you talking about?” Yan Lan’s pretty face warmed as she scolded him. “If I tell you to come in, then come in. What are you afraid of?” She paused, then added, “Old Cao isn’t here! He went with Little Zhu to their bank. Something about checking the overnight market.”

He wasn’t here?

Yang Rui’s heart gave an inexplicable leap. Why did the atmosphere feel even more wrong now?

As though confirming his suspicions, Yan Lan realized the moment the words left her mouth that they sounded inappropriate. Her face grew even hotter, though fortunately the darkness provided the perfect cover.

“Come inside. It’s cold out here. You’re dressed so lightly—you’ll freeze.”

Yan Lan stepped aside.

Yang Rui hesitated, but in the end he braced himself and walked in. After quickly scanning the room and confirming that Cao Wanri really was nowhere to be seen, he not only failed to relax; the taut string in his heart drew even tighter.

What was wrong with him? Why was he feeling so guilty?

Seeing him standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet, Yan Lan burst out laughing.

“You naughty boy, what’s gotten into you today? Are you afraid Sister Lan might eat you?” She sniffed, then took two steps closer. “Oh, you’ve been drinking? Didn’t they say alcohol gives a man courage? How come the more you drink, the less courage you have?”

“I haven’t!”

Yang Rui’s protest sounded feeble. His awkwardness had already betrayed him.

Yan Lan brought over a cup of hot tea and pressed it into his hands.

“Drink up. Warm yourself and sober up a little.”

She sat down across from him, a gentle smile on her face.

A warm current flowed through Yang Rui’s heart. Apart from the vague warmth his mother had given him before her death, when had anyone ever cared for him with such tenderness?

Thinking of that gentle figure who had been taken by illness far too soon, and then of his taciturn father, who had spent his entire life as the village doctor, his heart tightened. His eyes reddened despite himself, and he blurted out, “Sister Lan, you’re really good to me! You’re better than my mother… No, better than my father! I don’t even know how I could ever repay you!”

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“You little brat, a few mouthfuls of liquor and you start spouting nonsense!” A flush spread across Yan Lan’s face as she chided him. “Besides, your father… At least he raised you and gave you the money to open your shop…”

She had meant to comfort him, but regretted the words as soon as they were spoken. She knew a little about Yang Rui’s family situation. The relationship between father and son was terribly cold.

Sure enough, the emotion on Yang Rui’s face instantly froze. His eyes dimmed, and the corner of his mouth pulled into a self-mocking curve.

Yes, his father had given him the capital. But what about everything after that? Living expenses? Concern? The old man probably had never even asked whether his own son was dead or alive.

Rather than a starting point, the shop in the Light Textile City felt more like a cold “buyout fee.”

“I’m sorry…”

Yan Lan saw the pain and estrangement that flashed through his eyes, and her face filled with remorse. She knew she had unintentionally prodded that frozen corner of his heart once again.

“Hey, it’s nothing!”

Yang Rui waved it off, pretending to be at ease as he swiftly changed the subject.

“What did you want to ask me about?”

Seeing the smile he forced onto his face, Yan Lan felt a faint ache in her heart. She studied him for a long moment before saying, “Several people called looking for you after you left this afternoon.”

“Who?”

Yang Rui’s eyes lit up. Every call might be a lifeline.

“The first was Xie Tingfeng. He reminded you not to forget to go to his club tomorrow. The second was a man named Niu Dajiang. He said it was urgent and asked you to call him as soon as you got back. The third…”

Yan Lan paused, watching his reaction carefully.

“It was a young woman named Meng Yu. She said her vacation would begin in a few days and told you to ‘get ready’ to welcome her…”

She noticed something was wrong and blinked.

“Little Yang? What happened to you?”

Yan Lan stared at Yang Rui in astonishment. He had been grinning so broadly at the first two calls that his eyes nearly disappeared. But the instant he heard the name Meng Yu, his entire body seemed to have been frozen in place. His face went deathly pale.

She had met the girl before. She was quite pretty. How had she managed to frighten him so badly?

What could Yan Lan know? To Yang Rui, this Miss Meng was practically the inescapable bringer of disaster written into his fate.

The two had been next-door neighbors since childhood. Yang Rui was four years older, so they could technically be called childhood sweethearts. But there was not the slightest trace of romance in that relationship. As far as Yang Rui was concerned, it was a thirty-year history of physical and psychological “conditioning,” soaked in blood and tears.

Even as a child, Meng Yu had been the village’s notorious little tyrant. Unfortunately, she had also been born with a face as fair and adorable as a porcelain doll, making her beloved by everyone. She ruled over the children her own age—and even Yang Rui, who was several years older, was beaten into complete submission by her, stripped of every last bit of resistance.

Once she grew into a young woman, things only became worse. She blossomed into a graceful and radiant beauty, but those “demonic claws” were remarkably precise: they targeted Yang Rui and Yang Rui alone.

Winter and summer vacations, long weekends… She was like a clock wound with perfect precision, appearing in Yang Rui’s life right on schedule to harass him in every possible way.

Now she was already in the third year of her graduate studies. She was about to enter society, yet she still refused to let go of her “childhood playmate.”

At the thought of the approaching “vacation” and the “care” that would come with it, Yang Rui felt a chill run down his back. He shuddered on instinct.

The shadow of that female demon was destined to hang over him for the rest of his life.

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“Hey! Come back to earth!”

Yan Lan waved a hand in front of his eyes.

“N-no, it’s nothing!” Yang Rui snapped back to reality and spoke at lightning speed. “Sister Lan, I… I’m thinking of taking a trip out of town in the next couple of days! If Meng Yu calls again, tell her I’ve gone to Hangzhou to develop my career! Yes, tell her my business is taking off and I’m so busy my feet barely touch the ground. I don’t have time…”

He caught the look in Yan Lan’s eyes—the unmistakable expression of someone saying, Keep going, I’m listening to every word you make up—and promptly ran out of steam.

“Ahem. Sister Lan, I admit I’m a little handsome, but that isn’t my fault, is it? When you stare at me like that, I feel terribly embarrassed…”

“You little brat! Come here and let me hit you!”

Yan Lan raised her fist threateningly. Yang Rui hurriedly covered his head.

“Not the face! This is how I make my living!”

Yan Lan lowered her hand, exasperated and amused all at once.

“I really don’t know what to do with you! You can’t hide from her forever. Do you know what Meng Yu said to me before she hung up?”

“What… what did she say?”

Yang Rui’s heart tightened.

“She said: ‘Tell that guy not to even think about hiding! And he’d better not make excuses and sneak off somewhere! If I find out he deliberately disappears, then hmph…’”

Yan Lan imitated Meng Yu’s tone so perfectly that it was almost uncanny.

Yang Rui could practically see Meng Yu grinding her teeth on the other end of the phone. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.

Good heavens, was he ever going to be allowed to live in peace? When would this miserable existence finally come to an end?

At the thought of the approaching “vacation,” he was close to tears.

He instinctively reached for a cigarette, only to realize after placing it between his lips that he had no lighter. He looked up and met Yan Lan’s mischievous smile. With no choice, he sheepishly put the cigarette away and said with a self-deprecating cough, “Ahem… I am a little afraid of her.”

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