Chapter 1087: Chapter 61: Uncle, I’ve Discovered Our Generation Gap Is Huge
Right when the phone was pressed close to his ear, a soft girlish voice brushed into his ear canal. "Uncle."
Xiao Nanqing leaned back against the chair, eyes closed, without saying a word.
After about ten seconds, Mu Yan’s puzzled voice came again, "Xiao Nanqing?"
Xiao Nanqing frowned and gave a cold snort. "What did you call me?"
"Hehe, Uncle." Mu Yan chuckled.
Xiao Nanqing pressed his thin lips together. "What are you doing not sleeping so late?"
"I was just about to sleep when your call came." Mu Yan said.
Xiao Nanqing opened his eyes, paused for a moment, and said, "You haven’t gotten into trouble, have you?"
"Uncle, in your eyes am I just a troublemaker?" Mu Yan said, displeased.
"Aren’t you?" Xiao Nanqing retorted.
"Of course I’m not!" Mu Yan muttered.
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Xiao Nanqing’s mouth. "Mu Xiaoyan, listen up. If I come back and find out you really caused trouble, just watch how I deal with you!"
"Can’t you think something good about me for once?" Mu Yan said gloomily.
"I’d like to, but you’ve got to give me something to work with." Xiao Nanqing’s lips quirked up as he spoke.
"When we don’t click, even one sentence is too much! I’ve realized there’s a huge generation gap between us." Mu Yan huffed.
Xiao Nanqing fell silent.
"...If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up, okay?"
Mu Yan waited a while and, getting no response, said listlessly.
Xiao Nanqing’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. "Go to bed early."
Then without waiting for Mu Yan to reply, he hung up.
Putting the phone back in his palm, Xiao Nanqing tilted his head slightly and looked toward the door.
Yuan Lei stood at the doorway, eyes red and swollen, gazing at Xiao Nanqing with grief.
Xiao Nanqing’s eyes darkened, the light in them growing deeper.
...
Lu Family villa.
Lu Cheng’en and Lu Zhiquan’s father had never split from the family; they had lived together all year round.
That night.
Because Lu Zhiquan had come home, Lu Cheng’en personally cooked a whole table of dishes that Lu Zhiquan liked.
During dinner, the table was filled with harmony and warmth, laughter and chatter.
After the meal.
Lu Zhiquan and Lu Cheng’en went for a walk in the back garden.
"Uncle, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"
Lu Zhiquan turned his head to look at Lu Cheng’en’s kindly face beside him.
Lu Cheng’en thought for a moment, then looked at Lu Zhiquan with smiling eyes and said, "If we’re talking about unfulfilled wishes, your uncle does have one."
"What is it?" Lu Zhiquan stared at him.
"Haha." Lu Cheng’en laughed as he reached out to squeeze Lu Zhiquan’s arm. "It’s seeing you get married and have children! Your uncle hopes you can be with the woman you love, have a few kids, and live a happy, ordinary life. Don’t keep doing such a dangerous job."
Lu Zhiquan’s gaze froze, then he said earnestly, "Uncle, don’t worry. I will definitely be with the woman I love, and I will definitely be happy."
Looking at Lu Zhiquan, the smile on Lu Cheng’en’s face did not fade in the slightest. "Ever since your mom gave birth to you, your uncle has been the one raising you. Now, in this world, you’re the one your uncle worries about the most, and also the one he cherishes the most."
Lu Zhiquan’s heart clenched; he looked deeply at Lu Cheng’en. "In my heart, Uncle, you’re also the most important person to me!"
"Haha..."
Lu Cheng’en held onto Lu Zhiquan’s arm as they walked forward.
Lu Zhiquan watched Lu Cheng’en from the side, a flicker of red light flashing in his eyes. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Uncle..."
"What is it?" Lu Cheng’en looked at him with a smile.
"...Turn yourself in."
Lu Cheng’en suddenly stopped; the hand gripping Lu Zhiquan’s arm loosened as well. He slowly turned his head to look at Lu Zhiquan. "Turn myself in?"
Lu Zhiquan’s throat tightened. "You’re the drug lord, Yan Shu, aren’t you?"
"I’m Yan Shu?" Lu Cheng’en narrowed his eyes.
Lu Zhiquan drew in a sudden breath, reached out, and gripped both of Lu Cheng’en’s shoulders, staring at him with hope. "Uncle, turn yourself in. Only if you turn yourself in will the law be lenient with you. I’ll also do everything I can to help you. Okay?"
Lu Cheng’en kept his eyes narrowed, gazing calmly at Lu Zhiquan for a long time before curling his lips into a smile. His tone was still gentle. "Don’t joke with your uncle."
"Uncle!"
Lu Zhiquan gripped Lu Cheng’en’s shoulder even tighter, his eyes bloodshot. "Stop pretending! I know everything now! Listen to me—go turn yourself in, while there’s still time!"
"Zhiquan, I think you’re confused! How could your uncle possibly be Yan Shu? Silly child, and you say you’re not joking?" Lu Cheng’en shook his head as he spoke.
"I’m not joking with you, and you can stop acting like I’m joking with you!"
Holding down the turmoil churning in his chest, threads of collapse glimmered in Lu Zhiquan’s eyes as he stared at Lu Cheng’en. "You are Yan Shu. I’m a hundred percent certain!"
Seeing the moisture welling at the corners of Lu Zhiquan’s eyes, Lu Cheng’en’s brows slowly knit together.
Lu Cheng’en was silent for a long while, then narrowed his eyes and said, "That’s right. I am Yan Shu."
Even though he had already confirmed that Lu Cheng’en was Yan Shu.
Hearing Lu Cheng’en admit it himself at this moment, a dull ache surged uncontrollably in Lu Zhiquan’s chest.
Lu Cheng’en turned slightly toward Lu Zhiquan, his gaze on him still filled with affection. "Zhiquan, give your uncle some time. Your uncle has already started pulling out."
"Pulling out?" Lu Zhiquan stared blankly at Lu Cheng’en.
Lu Cheng’en nodded and reached out to grip Lu Zhiquan’s arm, speaking solemnly. "At the beginning, your uncle didn’t choose this path of his own free will. I was forced into it, that’s all. Before, there was no way to get out. But now it’s different. Your uncle is confident he can walk away and live cleanly and uprightly."
Lu Zhiquan fixed his gaze on Lu Cheng’en.
If Yan Shu weren’t Lu Cheng’en.
Lu Zhiquan would never, ever have believed him.
But hearing the same words from Lu Cheng’en—his uncle—it was impossible for Lu Zhiquan not to want to believe.
Seeing the hesitation in Lu Zhiquan’s eyes, Lu Cheng’en’s eye sockets tightened almost imperceptibly. "Zhiquan, aside from my identity as Yan Shu, when has your uncle ever deceived you? Your uncle is already getting on in years; I haven’t got that long left anyway. I’m not afraid of turning myself in, and I’m even less afraid of the law’s punishment. I just still want to stay alive long enough to see you marry and make a career for yourself with my own eyes, to see my little grandnephew."
Lu Zhiquan’s eyes twitched violently; his hesitation and inner conflict were starkly visible.
Lu Cheng’en let go of his arm and slowly walked forward. "Your uncle has always been cautious in his work. I’ve never allowed anyone I didn’t trust to know my real identity or what I look like."
"Yet this time you’ve found out that I’m Yan Shu, so I’m guessing it’s thanks to that girl who escaped by a fluke back then."
Lu Cheng’en walked a few steps, then stopped, turned sideways to look at Lu Zhiquan, his gaze mild. "And you like that girl."
Lu Zhiquan pressed his lips into a thin line, looking at Lu Cheng’en.
Lu Cheng’en walked back again, stood in front of him, and smiled as usual. "That girl slipped away right under my nose and managed to evade my people for six or seven years. She’s really something. Your uncle remembers her very clearly."
"Uncle..."
"Don’t be nervous."
Lu Cheng’en reached out and patted Lu Zhiquan’s shoulder. "I’m not at all surprised you’d like that girl. And I’m quite impressed with her myself. If you can win her over and make her your wife, your uncle would be happy."
Lu Zhiquan’s face was taut.
Watching Lu Zhiquan’s unrelenting expression, Lu Cheng’en shook his head. "Zhiquan, your uncle is still your uncle. You have to believe what I’m telling you."
Lu Zhiquan’s brows tightened.
He looked at Lu Cheng’en, but no one could know how tormented he was inside at this moment.
Lu Cheng’en was the elder he respected most, the one who had raised him single-handedly, a family member even more important than his own father.
How was he supposed to steel himself to arrest him?
Knowing full well that with the crimes he had committed, once he fell into the net of the law, death was a certainty!
In the past two days, Lu Zhiquan had been thinking.
Was there any way to spare his life?
And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that only if his uncle turned himself in voluntarily could he possibly escape the death penalty.
But even then.
He would live the rest of his life without freedom!
Now, hearing Lu Cheng’en tell him that he was already starting to pull out, Lu Zhiquan couldn’t help but feel a tremor of hope, hoping he really would stop!
As long as he stopped, everything that had happened before would be left in the depths of history; in another five or ten years, Yan Shu would be nothing more than a legendary figure in K City.
If enough time passed, maybe people wouldn’t even remember who Yan Shu was anymore!
Lu Zhiquan lowered his head and suddenly shut his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was laden with weight and anguish. "Will you really walk away?"
Lu Cheng’en stared at Lu Zhiquan’s face and narrowed his eyes slightly. "This is my promise to you. Just give me one year. A year from now, there will be no more Yan Shu in K City."
Lu Zhiquan clenched his fists, both arms trembling slightly from the effort.
He opened his eyes and fixed a deep, steady gaze on Lu Cheng’en. "If you haven’t kept your promise a year from now, I won’t go soft again."
Lu Cheng’en looked at Lu Zhiquan. After tens of seconds, he tightened his grip on Lu Zhiquan’s arm, then smiled and nodded at him before finally letting go and continuing to walk forward.
Watching Lu Cheng’en’s back, Lu Zhiquan felt his heart in that instant become a wasteland ravaged by disaster.
Comments