Chapter 77: An Incident (3000+)

Luo Le ignored the people behind him and pulled open the door, ready to follow in.

Suddenly, his hand was grasped by a slightly cool hand. He tilted his head slightly and saw Huo Lanjing's forlorn gaze.

This time, Luo Le didn't tangle with him. With a layer of gloom hidden in his lowered eyes, he said, "Huo Lanjing, don't push me."

Upon hearing this, Huo Lanjing paused, then released his hand.

With no constraint, Luo Le entered the room and shut the door firmly.

Staring at the closed door, Huo Lanjing was slightly dazed, still maintaining his previous posture.

Wind City, watching the person who had entered, tilted his head to glance outside and asked, "He's still out there?"

Luo Le bent down to change his shoes. "Who cares about him?"

Wind City's eyes narrowed slightly. "Indeed."

Today, they picked up Chen Chen together, as Wind City was already familiar with the school Chen Chen attended.

The next morning, Luo Le dressed Chen Chen neatly and asked Wind City to take him to school.

He leisurely sipped half a pot of tea before strolling out.

Upon arriving at the research institute, he swiped his card as usual.

Identification error.

Luo Le paused, then swiped again several times, but the result remained the same.

A smartly dressed attendant by the entrance smiled warmly, "Is there a problem? Do you need assistance?"

Every day, a different person manned the gate, and Luo Le had never seen this particular attendant before.

He waved his hand, stepped aside to the left, allowing others to enter first.

After creating some distance, he intended to inquire about the issue, only to find that his AI device couldn't access the building.

Gu Zhiwei's identity was issued by Wind City previously. Could it have an expiration date?

Wind City didn't mention anything about it.

Given the shady origins of the identity, Luo Le didn't feel right asking at the main hall.

Luo Le retraced his steps and returned home to find Wind City putting on shoes, seemingly ready to leave.

Seeing him, Wind City looked up and asked, "Brother Le, why are you back?"

Luo Le stepped in and said, "Is there a time limit on Gu Zhiwei's ID?"

Wind City looked puzzled. "No, no one has ever reported such an issue."

Luo Le frowned. "I can't access the Mind Network now."

Wind City was taken aback. "Hold on, let me check."

He immediately contacted the person who had processed the ID.

The moment the message was sent, a reply swiftly arrived.

However, when Wind City saw the message, his expression became rather nuanced.

Luo Le inquired, "What's wrong?"

Wind City didn't respond verbally. Instead, he illuminated his screen, which displayed a single sentence: Come find me.

The identity of 'he' in that message was self-evident.

"From Wind City, Cheng: 'Brother Le, do you know him?'"

Luo Le shakes his head; he has no idea who this person is.

No, Gu Heting has also changed several identities, and he even took on an identity before and asked him if he wanted it.

Luo Le inquired, "Have you seen this person before?"

"Wind City shook his head. 'I've only seen a vague profile picture of him.'"

He said, tapping on the photograph to enlarge it.

Although the image was somewhat blurry, Luo Le recognized him at a glance after living with Gu Heting for several months. It was him.

What should be done?

Luo Le was somewhat troubled. Now that this identity was gone, the house purchased under this name would likely be seized soon.

Something suddenly occurred to him, and he hastily asked, "Will Chen Chen's identity be in jeopardy?"

Wind City furrowed his brows slightly. "Was Chen Chen born in a hospital?"

"Mm-hmm."

"In that case, there shouldn't be any issues. Logically speaking, this house should be registered under Chen Chen's name. It's just that..."

Luo Le asked, "What is it?"

Wind City pressed his lips together, looking troubled. "Your relationship... You gave birth to him using Gu Zhiwei's identity. If you were to change your identity, you would then have to adopt him legally..."

An adopted son turns out to be a biological one.

Luo Le smiled bitterly, thinking he could only wait for his mentor's return and ask if there was any solution.

"Maybe Huo Lanjing has an idea. Should we ask him?"

After saying this, Wind City studied Luo Le. Seeing that he remained silent, he continued, "What he did was truly inhumane. We can't just let him bully us without consequence. Consider it his atonement. Besides, if not for him, you wouldn't have had to fake your death."

Luo Le lowered his head in deep thought.

Wind City sighed. "It's alright, no rush. Take your time to think. But for now, try not to go out. I'll take care of Chen Chen."

Luo Le nodded, acknowledging that this was their only option.

"Are you going out?"

"Yes, I have some matters to attend to. I'll pick up Chen Chen tonight."

"Then I'll trouble you."

Actually, Luo Le wasn't one to burden others. If it were just him, he wouldn't mind. But he couldn't bear to see Chen Chen suffer in any way.

Since initiating the divorce with Huo Lanjing, I have been troubling my mentor, troubling Wind City, and troubling... Gu Heting.

How could he possibly repay all these favors owed to so many people?

Luo Le sighed and shook his head.

Seeing this, Wind City pursed his lips and said, "Don't overthink it. Just get some rest."

Luo Le pressed his lips together. "Alright, go quickly."

The door closed gently, the lock clicking into place.

Sitting on the small sofa by the entrance where one would change shoes, Luo Le gazed at the potted orchids in the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, lost in thought.

Suddenly, Wind City received a message: Qin Chen wanted him to pick him up.

He was reluctant to go and simply stated that his resignation application had already been submitted.

Yet Qin Chen refused to approve it.

His application had been held up with Qin Chen for a day, making him nothing more than Qin Chen's personal assistant.

Feng Cheng couldn't accept this injustice, but he had no choice but to come.

He planned on arguing with Qin Chen about why the request was denied.

If Qin Chen insisted, Feng Cheng would write a complaint letter. If that didn't work, he'd break the rules.

In any case, he was determined to quit the military.

After waiting for two hours, Feng Cheng still hadn't seen anyone and hadn't received a single message.

Qin Chen was playing him again!

"Wind City."

Huo Lanjing stood behind Feng Cheng, accompanied by two subordinates, each carrying two oversized suitcases.

A foreboding sensation suddenly gripped Wind City's heart.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here." The tone was sharp.

He just couldn't seem to warm up to Huo Lanjing.

"I'm here to pick someone up."

Huo Lanjing's voice betrayed no particular emotion; he turned and gestured at the luggage behind him.

"He wants you to bring those items to him."

Upon seeing the four suitcases behind him, Wind City suddenly had a realization.

"Are you trying to get me out of Brother Le's way?"

Being unjustly suspected would irritate anyone.

Huo Lanjing's pupils constricted, and his pheromones involuntarily leaked out.

A chill fragrance tinged with peril wafted, akin to the ominous black clouds preceding a storm.

Wind City instantly felt the pressure, beads of cold sweat breaking out on his back.

But this time, he wasn't as disheveled as before.

Huo Lanting couldn't help intensifying his dominance, his icy gaze assessing, "I'm not that bored."

He turned and left, with the two behind him also picking up their luggage and following.

With the pheromones dissipating, Wind City heaved a sigh of relief.

Gazing at Huo Lanjing's departing figure, he found it somewhat perplexing.

He seemed genuinely here just to convey a message.

Their figures vanished around the corner.

Wind City sensed something amiss, turning to glare at the suitcase by his side, filled with murderous intent.

With four enormous suitcases, how was he supposed to manage them back home?

No address was provided either.

As Wind City was pondering, the location was suddenly sent to his mind-computer.

Eyeing the string of addresses, Wind City approached and kicked one of the suitcases in irritation.

The suitcase glided across the floor, coming to a stop only after colliding with another one.

*

After Huo Lanjing left, he sent a message to Qin Chen.

"Master, where are we heading next?" Uncle Wang inquired from the co-pilot seat about their destination.

Huo Lanjing glanced up at the sign on the building. "Back home."

"Yes," Uncle Wang acknowledged.

Uncle Wang understood that he was referring to the Huo residence and silently tapped on the location.

Ever since their young master returned yesterday, his expression had been rather grim.

In the past, he would always leave early and return late, constantly visiting Madam. But today, he hadn't.

Something must have happened between the young master and Madam.

It wasn't appropriate for him to inquire too much into his master's personal affairs.

After returning home last night, Huo Lanjing's mind was filled with Luo Le's words:

-Don't force me.

He genuinely only wanted to protect Luo Le.

That was all...

If this had happened in the past, Huo Lanjing would have kept the child and forcibly taken them back home.

When the paternity test between him and the child was confirmed, he had entertained the idea of using the child to bind Luo Le to him.

That notion flickered through his mind only for a brief moment.

Perhaps Luo Le could be tied down by the child, but he wouldn't be happy about it.

However, after his conversation with Huo Fei, he gained a lot of clarity.

Since then, Huo Lanjing rarely displayed his emotions openly.

When provoked, he wouldn't engage in pointless arguments; he would simply ensure that person never crossed his path again.

Few individuals were capable of genuinely enraging Huo Lanjing.

But Luo Le was different; he seemed to have a unique trigger mechanism.

Huo Lanjing found himself easily angered by Luo Le, yet he had never considered using the same tactics against him that he employed with others.

In the past, he had always attributed this to the arranged marriage between their families.

But that was not the case.

As Luo Le had pointed out, they had fulfilled the commitment of their arranged marriage from the previous generation.

In truth, Huo Lanjing still didn't understand what love was. In the past, he wanted to find Luo Le; now, all he desired was to protect her.

Even if Luo Le still despised him.

Huo Lanjing suddenly spoke up, changing their destination.

Moments later, the black luxury car came to a stop not far from the school entrance.

Upon seeing the five-digit, solitary number on the license plate, everyone instinctively kept their distance.

Wind City intended to deliver Qin Chen's luggage and discuss some matters afterward. Presumably, it would be Luo Le who came to pick up Chen Chen.

Huo Lanjing waited for a long time. The once bustling entrance gradually emptied.

He didn't spot the familiar car either.

At the entrance, only a handful of people remained, and Chen Chen was among them.

After a while, Huo Lanjing, after much internal struggle, stepped out of his car.

Just as he was about to reach the destination, a low-cost van suddenly appeared in front of him, the kind that could accommodate around eight passengers.

Huo Lanjing felt an inexplicable sense of unease wash over him.

"Someone, catch them!"

The voice was panicked.

Huo Lanjing froze for a moment as the van sped away. He looked towards the entrance and noticed that Chen Chen was no longer there.

Another familiar car rushed past him.

He caught sight of Luo Le behind the wheel.

Huo Lanjing cursed inwardly when he suddenly heard someone call his name from the right.

"Master, get in the car."

He slid into the driver's seat, unlocked the vehicle, and took control manually.

In no time, his car was side by side with Luo Le's.

There was only Luo Le in the other car. He wanted to make him stop, but the window was already rolled up.

Even if he called out, Luo Le wouldn't be able to hear him.

Huo Lanjing's car was more high-end than Luo Le's, but Luo Le's speed was just as impressive.

The road was narrow. Luo Le executed a stunning turn, overtaking him in the process.

Huo Lanjing's heart skipped a beat. It was easy to flip on such a curve – was he risking his life?

Little did he know, Luo Le had taken this turn a hundred times or more.

Huo Lanjing accelerated to keep up.

In no time, they caught up and split apart to surround the vehicle.