Chapter 54: Soul’s Return

Chapter 54: Soul's Return

The meal concluded in an awkward and delicate atmosphere.

Lu Yan didn't know if the old man was angry, but after eating his fill, the old man took away the health supplements and the Want Want gift pack without even sparing him a glance.

Watching the old man leave, Yu Zekuan felt helpless and said to Lu Yan, "Wait for me in the private room for a while. I'll send my grandfather to the entrance and give some instructions to the driver before coming back."

Lu Yan and Xue Jin nodded in unison, urging him, "Go quickly."

They were afraid that if they were too late, the old man might die of anger.

After Yu Zekuan hurriedly left, only Lu Yan and Xue Jin remained in the private room. They sat across from each other, staring at each other with wide eyes, the atmosphere more awkward than before.

Seeing Lu Yan staring at him, Xue Jin adjusted his glasses and smiled calmly, "Are you curious about my relationship with Brother Zekuan? Despite not sharing the same surname, we have the same grandfather."

No, Lu Yan wasn't curious at all. He looked up at Xue Jin with a sympathetic gaze, "You don't need to say anything; I already know everything."

Xue Jin: "Ah?"

Lu Yan: "You were abandoned by your mother shortly after birth. The old man, out of kindness, adopted you and found you a family. You grew up together with Zekuan, not blood brothers but as close as such. You've just returned from studying abroad and will soon start working at Yinchuan Group."

After speaking, he added, "Your favorite dish is shredded pork with green peppers, right?"

Xue Jin stared in surprise, "How do you know all this?"

Lu Yan lied without batting an eyelid, "Zekuan told me."

Xue Jin still felt something was off and frowned, "But Brother Zekuan doesn't know that I like stir-fried pork with green peppers."

Lu Yan feigned mystery, leaning closer to Xue Jin, half-truths mixed with lies, "Actually, I can read faces and predict fate. I can even calculate your romantic prospects."

Xue Jin was a materialist and didn't believe in supernatural forces. Hearing this, he laughed, assuming Lu Yan had accidentally learned his preferences. He didn't take it seriously but asked politely, "Is that so? Then tell me how my love life will be?"

Lu Yan pretended to scrutinize his face, "Hm...you'll have a girlfriend within five years. 'Xue' has grass on top, needing wood to match. Your future girlfriend may have the surname Lin, or possibly Li, Yang, Mu, or Liu—any name with 'wood' in it could be possible."

Hearing Lu Yan mention the name 'Lin', Xue Jin's heart skipped a beat. He blushed and felt hot, recalling someone, "Lin? She really has the surname Lin?"

Lu Yan hadn't expected Xue Jin to be so innocent in his youth and began to spin tales, "Of course. And your personality is too soft. The way of heaven and earth emphasizes harmony between yin and yang, complementing and assisting each other. Your future girlfriend might have a strong personality."

It all matched, Xue Jin compared the conditions in his mind and found that they coincided with his childhood sweetheart, Annie Lin. But how could he possibly like her?

She always scolded him for being a poor boy, a country bumpkin, fierce and unlikable.

Xue Jin unconsciously pulled his chair over to sit next to Lu Yan, his tone carrying a hint of respect, "Master, can you calculate anything else?"

Lu Yan patted his shoulder, "There's no need for such formality. Since you call Zekuan 'Brother', call me 'Brother' as well."

Given that Xue Jin almost killed him in his previous life, this title of 'Brother' was rightfully earned. Lu Yan had no psychological burden.

Xue Jin, who hadn't yet experienced the devastation of losing his family, was quite gullible, "Brother Lu, besides predicting romance, can you calculate anything else?"

Lu Yan: "Let me see your palm lines."

Xue Jin immediately extended his right hand.

Lu Yan held his hand, pretending to examine it for a moment, then pointed to one of the lines, "You have a major calamity at the end of this year. If you overcome it, you'll be safe. If not..."

Xue Jin was somewhat nervous, "What happens if I don't overcome it?"

Lu Yan paused, "If you don't overcome it, there's a high chance of disaster, affecting those around you. I've checked Zekuan's palm lines; they're the same as yours, also indicating a calamity at the end of the year."

In matters like these, it was better to believe than to doubt. Xue Jin was already half-convinced by the earlier predictions. Hearing that it might affect his family, he became even more anxious, "What should we do? Should Brother Zekuan and I go to a temple to pray?"

Lu Yan shook his head disapprovingly, "You must believe that human determination can overcome fate. It's better to rely on yourself."

Xue Jin furrowed his brow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Lu Yan hinted subtly, "This is a calamity caused by a villain, involving power and wealth. You and Zekuan must be cautious. This person isn't related to you but can be seen often, and likely works at Yinchuan Group, having access to large sums of money and accounts."

Although the course of events in this life had changed, Jiang Boyun had been expelled from the company, Lu Yan was still worried that the other party might make a comeback. After all, no one knew better than him how difficult it was to change fate.

Lu Yan often wondered in his previous life whether Yu Zekuan was born with that gloomy and isolated demeanor, or if Xue Jin was naturally cunning and calculating.

He couldn't know for sure.

Until today, meeting them in person, seeing them alive and sitting in front of him, including the still-living Grandpa Yu, Lu Yan belatedly realized how many lives that accident had changed.

Xue Jin was easy to deceive, Yu Zekuan was easy to deceive, and Grandpa Yu was easy to deceive. They were all simple-minded people. Only through deeper interaction could one discover their true nature, unlike Lu Yan, who seemed passionate but was actually cold-hearted.

Lu Yan once tried to save Yu Zekuan, which was good, but knowing that he could only stay in this world for thirty days, he still chose to involve Yu Zekuan, which seemed to become a great evil.

Perhaps Lu Yan, as a dying man, thought differently from others. He always felt that as long as he could be with the person he liked, even if it was just for a month, a day, or an hour, it was worth it. Why think about the future?

He was also worried that when his mission ended and he left this world at the end of the month, fate would be reset like a clock, so he couldn't help but give Xue Jin some subtle reminders.

Lu Yan lowered his voice solemnly, "What I told you today, you cannot tell anyone, understood?"

Xue Jin nodded heavily, troubled, looking at him and hesitantly opening his mouth, "Brother Lu?"

Lu Yan: "Hmm?"

Xue Jin stuttered, "The villain you mentioned, unrelated to us but often seen, working in the company and having access to finances and accounts..."

Lu Yan sensed something amiss, "What do you want to say?"

Xue Jin gathered his courage and spoke, "Are you talking about yourself?"

Lu Yan: "..."

Indeed, it was no wonder Xue Jin would become an elite in a few years, given how smart and quick-witted he had been since childhood.

Lu Yan gave a faint smile, deliberately lowering his voice to a sinister tone. "Then you'll have to be careful around me from now on, alright?"

Xue Jin: "…" QAQ How… how scary.

Meanwhile, Yu Zekuan finally managed to get the old man into the car. With one hand resting on the roof, he leaned close to the window, chatting for quite some time before successfully cheering the old man up. "Go back and rest. In a couple of days, I'll bring Ayan over for dinner at the old house. The gift will definitely satisfy you."

Sitting inside the car, the old man heard this and blew his top, puffing out his cheeks and glaring. "What gift? I don't care about his gifts! Look at what he brought today—B… Brainwhite?!"

Yu Zekuan suppressed a laugh. "Brainwhite is suitable for the elderly. He didn't give the wrong thing. Be more magnanimous; why quarrel with the younger generation?"

The old man was even less pleased. "Are you implying that I'm old?"

Yu Zekuan coaxed him. "Not old, not old. Go back quickly, or you'll miss your sleep."

The old man continued grumbling. "I've never seen you bring anything good back. That Jiang Boyun last time was despicable and cunning, and now this Lu Yan is stingy. I'll be driven to my grave by you sooner or later!"

After saying this, he picked up an elegantly wrapped black box from beside him on the seat. He threw it directly into Yu Zekuan's arms through the car window, snorting coldly. "Show that brat what a proper gift looks like. Driver, let's go!"

Yu Zekuan caught the box subconsciously. Before he could react, the car had already left. Opening it, he saw a jade pendant of exceptional quality inside. It must have been the gift the old man had prepared for Lu Yan. No wonder he had been so irritable earlier.

The old man had been a force in the business world for decades, never making a losing deal. Yet, Lu Yan had tricked him into giving away a jade pendant with just a box of Brainwhite. Anyone would find it baffling.

Yu Zekuan smiled, closed the box, and turned to walk back towards the hotel. However, before he could enter, his phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Yu Zekuan changed direction, walking instead to a quiet spot by the roadside. Only then did he answer the call, his voice low. "Hello?"

There was some noise on the other end of the line, which suddenly fell silent. An unfamiliar man's voice sounded. "President Yu, we've taken care of everything you asked us to do. Jiang Boyun has recently been selling his house and car. Because he's in such a rush to sell, he can't find buyers in the short term. Forced to, he's mortgaged them all to loan sharks."

Yu Zekuan lowered his eyes, lighting a cigarette nonchalantly. "How much did he sell them for?"

The man replied, "Around six to seven million. His house isn't in the city center, and the car was old. He couldn't sell them for much. He's still begging and pleading to cover the remaining amount."

Jiang Boyun had only been with Yinchuan Group for a few years, barely saving any money. As office gossip had it, even if he earned a million a year, it would take him over a decade to save up tens of millions without eating or drinking. And Jiang Boyun hadn't even been earning a million a year. That astronomical deficit was enough to suffocate him.

Yu Zekuan slowly exhaled a wisp of smoke, his lips unusually crimson and lustrous. He flicked the ashes off the cigarette, his expression a stark contrast to when he was talking to the old man, icy and tinged with sarcasm. "Since he's so worried about money, why don't you help him think of ways to raise it? Maybe find some loan sharks to make up the difference?"

The man hesitated. "Do you really want him to gather enough money? Actually, we could let him go to jail first, and then deal with him after he gets out."

"But I don't want him to go to jail."

Yu Zekuan stared at the endless stream of vehicles ahead, his gaze deep.

"Four or five years is too long. I don't want to wait until then."

After saying this, he hung up the call, stubbed out the cigarette, and threw it into the trash bin. Turning around, he entered the hotel.

When Yu Zekuan returned to the private room, he was surprised to see Lu Yan and Xue Jin chatting together as soon as he opened the door. His gaze swept back and forth between them, raising a brow faintly. "I didn't expect you two to have so much in common to talk about."

Seeing him return, Lu Yan subconsciously touched the tip of his nose. "How is it? Is the old man still angry?"

Yu Zekuan handed him the box in his hand. "The old man probably won't be able to sleep tonight. Who told you to swindle him? Here, take it. This is Grandpa's gift for meeting you."

Lu Yan opened the box and was instantly blinded by the overwhelming aura of wealth. Goodness, he hadn't expected the old man to be so generous, directly gifting a jade pendant carved from emerald. If he had known, he should have bought two more boxes of Brainwhite for him today!

The regret on Lu Yan's face was too obvious. Even Yu Zekuan couldn't help but chuckle. "What are you thinking?"

Lu Yan said happily, "I'm thinking that next time we meet, I have to bring Grandpa a lot more gifts."

Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!!

Yu Zekuan sternly reminded him, "No more Brainwhite."

Lu Yan: "What about a Want Want Big Gift Pack?"

Yu Zekuan: "No way!"

Lu Yan: "Why not?"

Yu Zekuan: "No reason."

Lu Yan: "Oh."

Because Xue Jin lived in the same direction as them, Yu Zekuan conveniently dropped him off on the way home. After Xue Jin got out of the car halfway, there were only the two of them left inside, and the atmosphere became strangely quiet.

Yu Zekuan suddenly asked, "Did you enjoy chatting with Xue Jin?"

Lu Yan was engrossed in studying the jade pendant the old man had gifted him. Hearing this, he replied casually, "It was pretty good."

Yu Zekuan looked straight ahead, his fingertips gently caressing the steering wheel. "He's a bit silly."

Lu Yan recalled how Xue Jin had followed Yu Zekuan in his revenge in his previous life and nodded in agreement. "Not only is he silly, but he's also very easy to deceive."

"What about me?"

Yu Zekuan suddenly turned his head to look at Lu Yan, his voice low and unreadable. "Lu Yan, am I easy to deceive as well?"

This question was too solemn, causing Lu Yan to pause subtly for a moment. When he looked up at Yu Zekuan, however, he saw that the latter had already shifted his gaze back to the road ahead. The dark shadows from outside the car window fell on his face, as if adding an invisible scar.

Lu Yan smiled mischievously, his gaze cunning. "President Yu, since you're so nice to me, even if I deceive you, I wouldn't harm you."

For some reason, although their relationship was getting closer and closer, Lu Yan still preferred calling him "President Yu" in private, as if he had a special fondness for this title.

Yu Zekuan thought, Isn't that still deceiving? He didn't say anything else, driving in silence. The cold wind whistled past, ruffling the strands of hair on his forehead, making his expression inscrutable.

It was too strange, too strange.

That odd feeling resurfaced from the depths of Lu Yan's heart once again.

To put it bluntly, he felt as if Yu Zekuan had been possessed by a ghost lately, alternating between normalcy and abnormality. And given that the man suffered from mental illness, his occasional erratic behavior... somehow seemed normal?

This state persisted until they returned home.

Lu Yan was in the process of unbuttoning his shirt, preparing to take a shower, when the lights in the room were suddenly turned off. His vision plunged into darkness as a warm body stealthily approached, pinning him against the wall—

No need to guess who it was: Yu Zekuan.

Lu Yan instinctively wrapped his arms around his waist. "What's wrong?"

Though Yu Zekuan hadn't consumed any alcohol today, he appeared somewhat overexcited. He gave Lu Yan a not-too-hard bite, his teeth grazing his lips, sending a shiver of tingling sensation through him: "Kiss me..."

It sounded like an order.

Lu Yan tasted a hint of blood on his tongue. He subconsciously licked his lips, thinking this wasn't a kiss but rather a bite. Nevertheless, he pressed the man against the wall and kissed him skillfully, then proceeded to undress him with equal proficiency.

Clothes scattered across the floor.

They kissed from the living room to the bathroom, and from the bathroom to the bedroom. The soft bed enveloped their wet bodies, sinking them deeply into its embrace, cocooning them like silkworms.

"Lu Yan..."

"Lu Yan..."

Yu Zekuan's breathing was labored, each utterance of Lu Yan's name carrying a different emotion—sometimes tender and entwined, sometimes gritted through clenched teeth, sometimes low and deep, as if harboring profound resentment.

Lu Yan paid no mind; after all, Yu Zekuan was provoked by him every day. This tone of love and hate was far too familiar. He tightly held onto Yu Zekuan's wrists, his tone still unserious. "I'm here, what did President Yu want to say?"

Yu Zekuan's voice broke into fragments, unable to form a single word. Suddenly, he raised his head and bit down on Lu Yan's shoulder, hard enough to draw blood.

"Mmph!"

Lu Yan grunted, revealing that fox-like expression of aggrieved innocence. "Why did you bite me?"

Lying beneath him, Yu Zekuan stared at Lu Yan's face, saying nothing. After a moment, a low chuckle escaped his lips, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably, as if he were a madman.

"..."

A normal person might have been scared witless, but Lu Yan was no ordinary individual. Calmly, he reached out to cover Yu Zekuan's mouth and pulled the blanket over him with practiced ease. "Stop laughing, or the neighbors will come complaining."

Yu Zekuan was taken aback, then laughed even more intensely, tears streaming down his face, staining his pale eyelids crimson.

Lu Yan pulled him into his arms, lowering his head for a kiss, and the world finally fell into complete silence.

Lu Yan always enjoyed good sleep quality. After all, in this world, there was no pain or danger to torment him. After a bout of intimacy, he relaxed and soon drifted into a drowsy slumber.

In the dead of night, he awoke to a suffocating sensation, as if a heavy stone were pressing against his throat and chest, making it difficult to breathe and gasp for air.

Instinctively, Lu Yan opened his eyes. Due to his drowsiness, it took several seconds for his vision to clear, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of icy, dark eyes in the darkness—

Yu Zekuan hadn't been sleeping.

He looked down at Lu Yan with cold eyes, his hands clasped around his neck.