Chapter 127: Misidentification

Chapter 127: Misidentification

Lu Yan was forcefully taken by Duan Jiyang to an unfamiliar residence. The bodyguards weren't overly polite but not excessively rough either. Once inside, they pushed him onto the sofa. Lu Yan noticed half a cup of coffee on the nearby coffee table, indicating clear signs of daily life. It was likely Duan Jiyang's private residence.

This was intriguing. Shouldn't he be taken to the hospital for compatibility testing instead of being brought home?

Lu Yan was well aware of Duan Jiyang's intentions but feigned ignorance. He sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, speaking casually, "President Duan, you didn't go through all this trouble just to reminisce about old times, did you?"

Duan Jiyang showed no expression as he gestured for the bodyguards to retreat to the door. He slowly walked in front of Lu Yan. Perhaps due to his terrible mood, even his voice carried an indelible gloominess. "Stop pretending. You know about Lu Bing's condition, don't you?"

Lu Yan showed no reaction. "So what?"

Duan Jiyang frowned deeply. "Lu Bing can't find a suitable kidney donor. You're his younger brother; you have the highest chance of being a match."

Lu Yan inwardly scoffed, knowing it was about this. "Lu Wanshan is still Lu Bing's father. Why don't you ask him to get tested?"

Duan Jiyang shook his head. "He's too old, it's not suitable."

Lu Yan's eyelids twitched violently. "What does that mean? I'm young, so I deserve to die?"

Lu Yan directly got up from the sofa, creating distance between himself and Duan Jiyang, and coolly mocked, "Duan Jiyang, I only knew your family was in real estate. This is the first time I've heard that you also have business dealings with Myanmar."

If you like kidney harvesting so much, why not do business in Myanmar?

"Lu Bing is still in the hospital undergoing dialysis. It's hard to find a suitable kidney."

Duan Jiyang somehow quietly approached Lu Yan. After much deliberation, he seemed to make a decision and asked in a low voice, "Can you donate a kidney to him?"

Lu Yan was speechless.

He touched the surgical scar on his abdomen, feeling it unlikely. "I can donate my appendix to him."

It had been cut out not long ago.

Duan Jiyang was stunned upon hearing this. He stared into Lu Yan's eyes, seeing no sign of deceit, and asked with a grim face, "Are you joking?"

Lu Yan laughed, slightly shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not joking."

He could only give Lu Bing his appendix. As for a kidney, not a chance.

Duan Jiyang narrowed his eyes, seemingly trying to discern something from Lu Yan's expression. "Do you hate me that much? Hate Lu Bing that much? Can you watch him die without lifting a finger?"

Lu Yan realized he couldn't communicate with someone so obtuse. His tone was playful. "Duan Jiyang, since you love Lu Bing so much, if he doesn't make it, you should die with him. I'm not close to either of you. Lu Bing treated me coldly when we were kids, never treating me like a brother. I won't donate a kidney for a stranger. I'm here now. If you have the guts, kill me and take my kidney. If I'm still breathing, you'll be preparing to serve jail time."

His phone had already been confiscated upon arrival, making it impossible to call for help. But Lu Yan didn't believe Duan Jiyang would dare to do anything forcibly. It was just a relationship; there was no need to challenge the law and ruin the rest of one's life.

Duan Jiyang indeed didn't plan to use force. He walked to the coffee table, sat down, picked up a brown paper envelope, and played with it in his hands. Suddenly, he asked, "Lu Yan, what if I told you that if you're willing to donate a kidney, I'd marry you immediately?"

Lu Yan was taken aback.

He had never heard such a ridiculous joke in his life, momentarily suspecting there was something wrong with his ears. He nearly burst out laughing, finding Duan Jiyang's self-obsession absurd. "I don't like you. Why would I marry you?"

Even though he had anticipated this answer, Duan Jiyang still felt an inexplicable surge of anger. His fingers tightened suddenly, almost tearing the envelope bag. Photos instantly spilled out onto the floor, revealing images of Lu Yan and Tang Rufeng together during this period.

Duan Jiyang gritted his teeth and asked, "Because of this poor student?!"

Lu Yan glanced at the photos. "You investigated me?"

Duan Jiyang didn't know why he was so angry. He clenched his fists tightly to barely restrain his emotions and spoke coldly, "Lu Yan, your taste is getting worse and worse. You used to mock me for treating you as a substitute for Lu Bing. What about now? What are you doing?"

Upon hearing Duan Jiyang's words, Lu Yan bent down to pick up the photo at his feet. One of them captured Tang Rufeng's face perfectly. Under the light, a closer look revealed a striking resemblance to Duan Jiyang.

This was a detail Lu Yan had never noticed before. In his heart, Tang Rufeng was Tang Rufeng, and Duan Jiyang was Duan Jiyang. Neither was a substitute for the other, and they had no similarities. But to outsiders, they looked remarkably alike.

Even Pan Yuan had misunderstood, thinking Lu Yan was looking for a replacement.

Lu Yan caressed the clear features of Tang Rufeng on the photo, then glanced at Duan Jiyang's somewhat gloomy expression, letting out a sudden soft laugh. He sat back on the sofa. "What am I doing?"

Since Duan Jiyang found it repulsive, he would deliberately target the other's sore spot.

"Duan Jiyang, let me be honest with you. I don't like you at all. I just couldn't stand Lu Bing's superior attitude and wanted him to suffer a bit. Later, I found out you're nothing special either."

Lu Yan's slender fingers held the photo, shaking it under the light. Sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows shone in, making Tang Rufeng's face vivid and bright. He looked at the photo calmly:

"He's not your replacement. I wouldn't do such a thing."

If not a replacement, then genuine affection?

Duan Jiyang felt he had never experienced more humiliation than today. He walked in front of Lu Yan, crouching down and lowering his voice word by word, "Lu Yan, even if you don't care about yourself, you should at least consider that poor student and your mother, right? I have over a hundred ways to make sure they can't survive in City A, without breaking the law. Want to try?"

Lu Yan paused upon hearing this. He looked at Duan Jiyang's fierce expression, knowing the other was serious. "You like Lu Bing that much, going to such lengths for him?"

Duan Jiyang retorted coldly, "So what if I do?"

What could be done? You're noble, you're great.

Lu Yan had ten thousand curses he couldn't utter, only able to forcefully suppress them. After a while, he managed to let out a bitter laugh. "Fine, isn't it just donating a kidney? When do we go for compatibility testing?"

Now it was Duan Jiyang's turn to pause. The expression on his face faded, gradually turning into confusion. "Is it for that poor student, or for your mother?"

Lu Yan gave him the middle finger. "None of your damn business!"

Duan Jiyang and Lu Yan seemed to have incompatible energies, unable to coexist under the same roof. Seeing Lu Yan finally concede, he left the house, leaving two bodyguards to watch over the other.

Jiyang Duan, with nowhere else to go, returned to the old family estate. During this period, he had been at the hospital tending to Bing Lu, neglecting his company affairs, which had stirred discontent among the majority of shareholders—let alone Jianfeng Duan, the chairman.

As Jiyang pushed open the door, a deep, aged voice suddenly rang in his ears, always unhurried yet sending a shiver down his spine, instilling resistance and unease.

"I heard you've been staying at the hospital with that eldest son of the Lu family, not even returning to the company?"

Jianfeng Duan had clearly been waiting on the sofa for some time; his teacup was stone cold. His age had taken a toll on his mobility, and a cane had somehow appeared by his side, a sight that triggered in Jiyang memories of being disciplined as a child, freezing him in place.

With a grim expression, he uttered a single word: "Father..."

Jianfeng Duan rose from the sofa with the aid of his cane, approaching Jiyang step by step. Though age had diminished his physical stature compared to his son, the fatherly authority remained unshakable. "Do you even know who you are?"

Jiyang subtly took a step back, his voice suddenly softening. "I do."

Jianfeng could not bear his son's lack of confidence, the cane striking the floor loudly as he berated, "You know?! I see you're so bewitched by that boy from the Lu family you've forgotten your own name! Starting tomorrow, you must return to the company, or never come back again!"

This was his ultimatum, but Jiyang did not take it seriously. After all, he was the only heir of the Duan family, with no one else to inherit the company. "Father, Bing is still in bed. I can't abandon him. Let the others handle the company matters for now."

Jianfeng asked sternly, "What if I forbid you to go?!"

Jiyang, emboldened by something unknown, suddenly met his gaze. "When Mother was on her deathbed, you were just as indifferent. Now that the person I love is in trouble, I won't be as heartless as you..."

"Smack—!"

Before Jiyang could finish, his face stung sharply, turned by Jianfeng's strike. The sound was crisp and loud, ringing in his ears as he felt disoriented.

Jianfeng shook his head slowly, disappointment and determination evident. "A hopeless case, if you think that boy from the Lu family is more important than your company, then continue to stay by his side. You don't have to return to the company anymore!"

Without lingering, he left the house, the sound of a car engine starting in the courtyard reaching Jiyang's ears. Only then did he slowly raise his hand to touch his numb, painful right cheek.

Before Jiyang was six, his memory of his father was different. Jianfeng would play with him every day, no matter how busy, treating his wife with gentleness and patience, balancing work and family, envied by many outside.

But after Jiyang's mother died unexpectedly and Jianfeng gradually swallowed up the Wang Group, everything changed drastically. He became unpredictable, moody, a shadow of his former self.

Jiyang sat alone on the steps from dawn until the sun set, shadows descending to envelop him. Only then did a hint of unseen hatred flash in his eyes.

Jiyang knew his mother's death was not simple.

He also knew how cold and ruthless his nominal father was, but years of oppression had made him accustomed to endurance, unable to find an outlet for his frustration.

The house was vast and luxurious, yet empty, devoid of any warmth.

Jiyang, recalling something, took out his phone and turned on the screen. A faint glow illuminated a photo of him and Bing Lu. He gently traced the other's smiling face with his fingertips, his eyes softening as if remembering a past event.

His friends only knew that Jiyang fell in love with Bing at first sight, but no one knew they had met once when they were ten.

The summer climate was always stifling, and most people went on vacation. That year, coinciding with Jiyang's mother's death, Jianfeng was too busy with company affairs to care for him, so he sent the nanny to take him to a suburban manor for a change of scenery.

At that time, Jiyang was rebellious, deliberately ditching the nanny to climb a mountain, only to accidentally fall into a river and nearly drown. Fortunately, there were many tourists staying at a nearby resort hotel, and a boy around his age happened to pass by, jumping into the water to save him.

That near-drowning was perilous; the river bottom was littered with abandoned steel structures. Jiyang was cut and bleeding all over, but fortunately, the water wasn't deep, and they both managed to crawl ashore.

To this day, Jiyang couldn't forget the proud look on the boy's face as he stood on the shore, hands on his hips. "Hey, why aren't you supervised by an adult when playing alone? If I hadn't found you, you'd have drowned!"

Jiyang lay on the bank, his eyes stinging from the river water. He struggled to sit up,不服气. "Neither are you accompanied by an adult."

The boy burst out laughing. "Unlike you, I'm not a landlubber. Climb home yourself, and don't fall in again. My parents are waiting for me."

He patted his butt and walked away, his right shoulder covered in bloody wounds from the river, a terrifying sight.

Now, recalling it, Jiyang could barely remember what the boy looked like, only those black, mischievous eyes, full of liveliness. He subconsciously asked, "Hey, what's your name?!"

The boy paused, suspiciously turning back. "What do you want?"

Jiyang choked for a moment before saying, "You must have run away too. I'll tell your parents."

The boy stuck out his tongue. "Then remember well, I'm Bing Lu, land's Lu, ice's Bing."

Bing...

"Click."

With the sound of a switch, the room lights suddenly illuminated, abruptly cutting off the memories from years ago. Jiyang was instantly brought back to reality, his expression stunned.

The nanny stood at the door, puzzled as to why Jiyang was sitting on the staircase instead of in his room. Her gaze fell on the red slap mark on his face, instantly understanding something. She cautiously spoke up, "Young Master, it's dinner time. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

Jiyang held his face, frowned, and got up hurriedly, throwing a sentence over his shoulder as he went upstairs. "Don't bother cooking for me!"

It was supposed to be the day after tomorrow that Jiyan would take Yan Lu to the hospital for matching, but the slap mark on Jiyang's face was too obvious. It took about five days before he reappeared in front of Yan Lu again.

"Phone. Give it back."

These were the first words Yan Lu said to Jiyang upon meeting, his face cold as he extended his hand. His impatience had reached its peak. In these few days, Jiyang had almost cut off all his communication, leaving him unable to contact the outside world. The bodyguards were like dead men, not uttering a word no matter what he asked.

The slap mark on Jiyang's face had disappeared, no longer showing the embarrassment of that day. Hearing Yan Lu's demand, he asked emotionlessly, "Why, do you want to call your little lover?"

Yan Lu rolled his eyes. "Of course, I'm not calling your little lover, am I?"

His words grew increasingly disrespectful.

This attitude vaguely reminded Jiyang of something familiar, but he dared not dwell on it.

"Do the matching first. When it's done, I'll give you your phone back."

Yan Lu pushed his luck. "After the matching, I want to go home. I don't want my mother to worry."

Jiyang remained silent.

Yan Lu scoffed. "What, are you afraid I'll run away?"

Duan Jiyang wasn't worried about this. If Lu Yan really didn't want to donate, he couldn't lock him up forever. Conversely, if Lu Yan truly wanted to protect that poor student and Yang Qin, he would certainly cooperate with the matching process and donate his kidney. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly uttered a single word: "Fine."

This was a private hospital, where Duan Jiyang had already arranged for doctors to conduct the compatibility check. When Lu Yan went in to have his blood drawn, Duan Jiyang directly headed to Lu Bing's ward to visit him. At that time, the latter had just finished his dialysis and lay on the bed with a pale face, visibly suffering and worn out.

"Lu Bing."

Duan Jiyang walked to the bedside and sat down, reaching out to touch his forehead, his tone unable to hide his concern. "Are you feeling any better today?"

Lu Bing only felt nauseous and weak. Hearing this, he shook his head and managed to force a smile. "I'm fine. Why did you come to the hospital today? Don't you have work at the company to attend to?"

Duan Jiyang spoke succinctly. "I've brought Lu Yan over for kidney compatibility testing. If it's successful, I'll immediately arrange for a kidney donation surgery for you."

As soon as he said this, there was a brief silence in the air. Lu Bing's eyelashes fluttered momentarily, appearing somewhat surprised. "He's willing to donate his kidney to me?"

Duan Jiyang held back his wandering hand, his tone heavy. "Even if he doesn't want to, I have ways to make him agree."

Lu Bing hesitated slightly. "But..."

Misunderstanding his meaning, Duan Jiyang reassured him. "There's no 'but.' I know donating a kidney can harm one's health. When the time comes, I'll hire the best doctors and nutritionists for him. I won't let anything happen to Lu Yan."

Lu Bing frowned slightly, never expecting that one day he would accept help from his most hated younger brother. But after much hesitation, the desire to live prevailed, and he nodded slightly. "I'll leave it all to you."

Duan Jiyang gently clasped his fingertips, bringing them to his lips for a kiss, whispering softly. "My life was saved by you back then. No matter what, I won't let anything happen to you."

His expression was earnest when he said these words, but he overlooked the fleeting stiffness and panic on Lu Bing's face. "It was so many years ago; there's no need to bring it up again."

Duan Jiyang, however, said, "You may forget, but I cannot forget."

Time ticked away, and Duan Jiyang felt that enough time had passed before getting up to leave the ward. At that time, Lu Yan had just finished his examination and came out. He had originally been wearing a jacket, which he took off for convenience during the blood draw. Now, he wore a sleeveless light white sports shirt, revealing smooth muscle lines in the air, exuding a youthful aura that dazzled the eyes.

Seeing Duan Jiyang, Lu Yan directly extended his right hand toward him, his tone unfriendly. "Give me my phone."

Duan Jiyang didn't break his promise. He took out a black phone with a drained battery from his pocket and handed it over, warning him in a faint voice. "I advise you not to say anything you shouldn't. Otherwise..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed a dark scar near Lu Yan's right shoulder, as if it had been scraped by a stone. His expression changed abruptly, and he subconsciously grabbed Lu Yan's shoulder, asking, "Where did the injury on your shoulder come from?!"